It does not mention the trade war, though it
focuses on the same policies that Washington,
Europe, Japan and other trading partners say
violate Beijing’s market-opening commitments.
Critics of those policies complain that they are
based on stealing or improperly pressuring
foreign companies to hand over technology and
shielding Chinese industry from competition.
The report was issued by the World Bank, the
Chinese Finance Ministry and the Cabinet’s
Development Research Center, which represents
the most free-market oriented wing of the ruling
Communist Party.
It marks the third time the Washington-based
bank and the DRC have collaborated on reports
urging that the government scale back its role in
the state-dominated economy. They have had a
limited impact on policy.
“Developing new drivers of growth is
becoming more urgent” due to a “complicated
international environment” and weakening
Chinese economy, a DRC official, Zhang Junkuo,
said at a news conference.
The report portrays its recommendations as an
extension of the ruling party’s market-oriented
development plans.
Xi’s government, which has waged a crackdown
on liberal intellectuals and activist lawyers,
has attacked reform advocates who criticize
government development plans.
One of China’s most prominent economic think
tanks, the Unirule Institute in Beijing, announced
last month it would shut down after the
government banned it after seeking for years to
silence its criticism of economic policy.