The Third Plenary Session of the Fourteenth Central Committee of the CPC

It was convened in Beijing from November 11 to 14, 1993. The Plenary Session deliberated and adopted the “Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Socialist Market Economy System”. The “Decision” consisted of 50 points and is divided into 10 parts: (1) The New Situation and New Tasks in China's Efforts to Reform Its Economic Structure; (2) Changing the Operation Mechanism of State-Owned Enterprises and Establishing a Modern Enterprise System; (3) Cultivating and Expanding the Market System; (4) Transforming Government Functions, Establishing a Sound Macro-economic Control System; (5) Establishing A Rational System of Income Distribution to Individuals and Social Security System; (6) Deepening Rural Economic Structural Reform; (7) Deepening the Reform of the System of Foreign Economic Relations, Opening Wider to the Outside World; (8) Further Revamping Scientific, Technological and Educational Systems; (9) Tightening Up the Legal System; (10) Strengthening and Improving Party Leadership and Strive to Establish a Socialist Market Economic Structure by the End of the 20th Century which will have an initial level of development.

The Plenary Session evaluated that the establishment of a socialist market economy system aims at enabling the market to play a fundamental role in the resource allocations under the macro-economic control by the state. The Plenary Session demanded to further transform the management systems of state-owned enterprises and establish a modern enterprise system which meets the requirements of the market economy, in which the property rights as well as the rights and duties are clearly defined, as well as the government administration and enterprise management should separated, and scientific management systems to be established. Therefore, China must unswervingly adhere to Deng Xiaoping Theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as the Party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism and the fundamental criteria of "Three Favorables", and must adhere to and improve the leadership of the Party, and constantly strengthen the Party's self-construction. The Plenary Session called on all Party comrades and people of all nationalities to unite more closely around the Party Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at its core, to strive for the initial-level establishment of a socialist market economy system and achieve the second strategic goal of national economic and social development till the end of the 20th century.

The “Decision” of the Third Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee summed up the basic experience of China's Reform and Opening-up, also drew on the beneficial experiences of developed countries with market economies, answered the major questions raised in the reform practice, it constitutes a major programmatic document to continue the deepening of the reform.