China Economic Review’s wish list for reform in 2014.docVIP

China Economic Review’s wish list for reform in 2014 　　Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn’t have a long white bread， nor does he drive a sleigh of reindeer. However， like the mythical Western gift-giver Santa Claus， China’s party boss does have a penchant for red， something he’s made apparent with many a homage this year to China’s communist party. Th ere are other parallels to Ol’ Saint Nick. Xi， who offi cially came to power last March， has been handing out promises to revamp China’s economy like a reformist Kris Kringle. A 60-point document issued at the close of the year’s most important political summit in November pointed to several thorough and overarching reforms to China’s fi nancial and social systems， many of which could launch in the coming year. Th e promises are vague， though. CHINA ECONOMIC REVIEW has drawn up a wish list asking for fi ve economic and regulatory reforms to be carried out in the coming year， all of which are realistic and highly plausible， even likely. All we want is a date Asking Chinese regulators for a real timeline on the liberalization of the yuan is like asking Santa Claus for a large pet at Christmas： It’s just not realistic. What’s more feasible in 2014 is a concrete plan for currency convertibility in Shanghai’s free trade zone （FTZ）. Th e central government， under the direction of Premier Li Keqiang， rolled out the zone with little hesitation. After an early July announcement， the zone offi cially launched within three months. Regulators including the China Securities Regulatory Commission （CSRC） and the People’s Bank of China （PBOC） responded with guidelines that gave a wealth of details on how the zone will function. Yet， they have held off on any fi rm guidance for renminbi convertibility inside the zone. Th e Shanghai government has said that the zone should be fully functional before the close of 2014. If so， the State Administration of Foreign Exchange （SAFE）， an incredibly powerful party organ that hid