China launches pilot reforms for market-based allocation of production factors in 10 key regions

China's State Council has approved two-year pilot reforms for the market-based allocation of production factors in 10 regions across the nation starting from Thursday, aiming to further breaking regional market barriers and promote high-quality economic growth.

The 10 regions are Beijing's sub-center, key cities in southern Jiangsu in East China, Hangzhou-Ningbo-Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province, Hefei metropolitan area in East China's Anhui Province, Fuzhou-Xiamen-Quanzhou in East China's Fujian Province, Zhengzhou in Central China's Henan Province, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan in Central China's Hunan Province, nine mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, CCTV News reported. 

The reform covers both traditional factors such as land, labor, and capital, as well as innovation-driven elements like technology and data. For technology, the focus will be on collaborative innovation, IP protection and commercialization, and converting scientific achievements. For land, the reform will deepen industrial land marketization, revitalize idle and inefficient land, and promote intensive and efficient allocation, according to the report.

In 2024, the combined GDP of the 10 regions accounted for over one-quarter of China's total. Implementing reforms here is expected to have broad influence and serve as a major driver for economic transformation, said the report. 

Wang Chenwei, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, said that deepening market-based allocation of factors is key to building a unified national market, noting that it is essential for a high-level socialist market economy, and crucial for breaking regional market barriers and promoting high-quality economic growth, according to the CCTV News report.