Measures aim to improve livelihoods
A slew of fresh policy measures will be rolled out to help job seekers and those in dire need of improving their livelihoods, according to a circular released on April 15 by the General Office of the State Council.
The circular outlined tasks set for various regions and departments to help ensure stability and security in priority areas and promote high-quality development in the near future.
In particular, the circular said pragmatic and effective policies and reform measures should cover employment, market entities, consumption, foreign trade and investment, and people's livelihoods to increase the sense of prosperity among businesses and the public.
To create a better environment for job seekers, the number of professions that require government-approved licenses for entry should be reduced.
Thresholds for taking professional license exams should be lowered in certain cases to help those individuals with little or no working experience, it added.
Subsidies should be available to support occupational skills training and be managed by proper standards and dynamic adjustment mechanism, the document added.
Efforts will be made to remove hidden barriers against emerging industries and business models to boost employment in more areas.
Panel reshuffled to spur private education
A governmental panel has agreed to reshuffle its member departments and the way it convenes to better help spur the growth of privately funded education and better regulate cram schools.
The General Office of the State Council approved adjusting the functions and member units of the interministerial joint meeting system on private education, according to a circular released on April 16.
Under the leadership of the State Council, the joint meeting system should coordinate efforts to push forward the reform of privately funded education, regulate after-school training institutions, and extend advanced practice and experiences.
Led by the Ministry of Education, the joint meeting system consists of 20 departments, including the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and the National Development and Reform Commission.
A senior official with the Ministry of Education will serve as the convener, and the conference's office will work with the ministry to undertake daily tasks.
The circular also specifies system rules regarding the convening of meetings, the submitting of reports, the studying of issues and risks, and the dispatching of joint workgroups.
Departments involved should actively take on related work and form a long-term working mechanism, the circular stated.
Fewer traffic accidents reported nationwide
China has seen fewer road accidents in recent years, as the number of major ones dropped from 13 cases in 2014 to just three cases last year, according to Ministry of Public Security spokesperson Li Guozhong.
The decline came as the number of motor vehicles on the country's roads increased from 264 million to 372 million during that period, Li said on April 15. There are now 456 million people driving, compared with 302 million in 2014, Li added.
The ministry vowed to eliminate potential risks involving passenger buses, tourist buses, minibuses, heavy trucks, and vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals during a national conference on traffic management held recently in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.
Campaigns targeting speeding, overloading, fatigued driving, drunken driving, and other traffic violations will also be launched, the ministry added.
