1st LD: China releases guideline on property rights protection

China on Sunday released a guideline on better protection of property rights in an effort to shore up social confidence and promote social justice.

The country will provide equal, comprehensive and law-based protection to all kinds of property rights and encourage the participation of the public in the process, says the guideline issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.

Major problems concerning property rights must be solved to increase protection and build a long-term mechanism. Although China has worked to protect property rights, there are still many problems, including infringement on private property by public power and weak protection of intellectual property rights.

Secure property rights "raise people's sense of wealth security, boost social confidence, foster positive expectations and raise the impetus for entrepreneurship and innovation by various economic entities," according to the document.

Protection will also help social justice while maintaining healthy economic and social development.

China will further clarify the relations between owners and managers of state-owned property, and push for equity diversification of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and modern corporate governance of those companies.

SOEs should improve internal supervision, ensure their boards operate within the law and better supervise their managers, the document says. Endi