PPP essential to development goals

This year marks not only the ending of China's 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), but also the beginning of a year of comprehensively deepening reforms and promotion of rule of law. Based on work done last year, many expect 2015 to see further progress in financial reform efforts.

According to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project guide published by the Ministry of Finance on January 19, the government should forge long-term cooperative partnerships with social capital. With the government having long been the driving force behind economic growth in China, legal protections are still not in place to protect private enterprises and investors.

Taking more mature market economies as a reference, China needs a robust PPP framework to support its "One Belt, One Road" initiative. Many factors should be considered in establishing the PPP framework, including fiscal relations between central and local authorities, management standards and the ability of private enterprises to satisfy contract demands. Through multiparty, market-oriented management, PPP plans can be effectively implemented.