Xi calls for rule of law, deepening reforms  

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called for promotion of rule of law and comprehensively deepening reform.

Xi made the remarks at the sixth meeting of the Leading Group for Overall Reform. He said reform needs rule of law as its guarantee, while rule of law needs reform.

The fourth plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held in Beijing last week, adopted decisions on "major issues concerning comprehensively advancing rule of law." In November last year, the CPC Central Committee passed a decision on comprehensively deepened reform. Xi called the two companion pieces.

At the meeting on Monday, the leading group discussed socialist consultative democracy, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and a new type of think tank. The meeting also adopted a plan to open scientific infrastructure and large equipment to the public.

Xi called consultative democracy a great creation of the CPC and Chinese people and an unique form of democracy. He urged consensus building through broad consultation. A well functioning system of consultative democracy under CPC leadership will ensure the people remain master of the nation and live in line with the law, he said.

On the Shanghai FTZ, Xi said the lessons learned should be replicated "as soon as possible" and compared the zone to seeds cultivated from an experimental plot. "We should plant these seeds in more land so that flowers will blossom and fruits be harvested as quickly as possible," he said.

Some 12,000 firms have been established in the Shanghai FTZ since its launch in September last year. Foreign trade in Shanghai FTZ reached 747 billion yuan (122 billion US dollars) in its first year. Several FTZs are planned in suitable places other than Shanghai.