THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT *
1. 国企改革领导小组成立 实施方案将出台特别报道新京报网 The State Council has established a State Owned Enterprise Reform leading Group, NDRC vice chair and deputy director of office of Comprehensive Reform Leading Group Mu Hong disclosed March 7, says an indication SOE reforms will soon be unveiled // 3月7日，中央全面深化改革领导小组办公室常务副主任、国家发改委副主任穆虹在两会上透露，国务院成立了国企改革领导小组，由国务院领导亲自挂帅。“可以期待，国企改革系列实施方案今年将与社会见面。”
2.【舒立时间】吴敬琏纵论改革视频频道财新网-Video Wu Jinglian talks with Hu Shuli about the pace of reforms, says financial and fiscal reforms preceding on plan but SOE reforms are desperately needed
Related: 吴敬琏：左右极端都会给社会带来灾难_共识网 Wu Jinglian says left and right extremists will bring disaster to society // 在社会变革中，理想的式是政治观点分歧双方温和派的结合。如果不这样，只要一方出现极端派，另一方也必定分裂出自己的极端派，如果两边的温和派不能掌控局面而被边缘化，社会就会被撕裂而趋向极端，而在两个极端之间的震荡，“不走到绝路不会回头”。
3. China shifts stimulus focus from monetary to fiscal policy – FT.com $$ China has tripled the quota for bond sales by local governments to Rmb1.5tn ($240bn) in a bid to shunt some of their hefty debts back on balance sheets at lower rates of interest. Ultimately this is set to reach Rmb3.5tn, according to local media.
Related: China’s Solution to $3 Trillion Debt Is to Deal with It Later – Bloomberg Business just like everyone else does… // “It will buy time for the government to solve the local debt problem, as the transition period takes three to five years,” said Ivan Chung, a senior vice president at Moody’s in Hong Kong. “The 1 trillion yuan debt-swap plan will be able to cover the refinancing needs of the maturing bonds this year, as municipal bond issuance is not enough.”
Related: 经济参考网 – 代表委员呼吁延长地方债务处理过渡期 增加专项债额度，防系统性区域性风险 全国人大代表、山东省财政厅厅长于国安接受《经济参考报》记者专访时表示：“我们省上次上报的债务规模还是实事求是的，这次上报的规模没有被认定，尚不方便公布，不过确实比2013年6月审计署审计的要增加较多。” 针对这一问题，全国政协委员、国家审计署原副审计长董大胜接受《经济参考报》记者采访时表示：“去年财政部要求各地清理、甄别、上报债务规模，要将其纳入预算管理，一些地方政府在这个过程中把不属于地方政府偿还的债务也算入地方政府债务，有的地方增长还比较快，20%、30%、甚至50%的增长都有。我认为这是不可能的。” 专家分析认为，清理甄别后地方债规模的数据必将刷新、达到新的高度。这里面或许有地方虚报的成分，或许有标准不甚统一的原因，不过不可否认，这同样意味着地方债务规模的确有不小的攀升。//expect in increase in the amount of local debt
4. Hu Jintao’s weak grip on China’s army inspired President Xi Jinping’s military shake-up: sources | South China Morning Post President Xi Jinping grew determined to shake up the army after he saw first-hand how his predecessor Hu Jintao was treated as a mere figurehead by his deputies, sources told the South China Morning Post. Xi, who became the Central Military Commission’s third vice-chairman in 2010, witnessed how his fellow vice-chairmen Xu Caihou andGuo Boxiong took over the army’s staff affairs right under Hu’s nose, a military source said.
Related: Retired generals point to ‘horrible’ graft in PLA | South China Morning Post All People’s Liberation Army ranks have a price, getting a Communist Party membership has a price, and important military positions are reserved for cronies, senior officers children and in-laws, three retired PLA major generals told local TV this week, addressing the “horrible” corruption in the military.
5. China to roll out plans to raise retirement age within two years to cope with ageing population | South China Morning Post The current system, which was formulated in 1953, allows men to retire as early as 60 and women at 55. Yin said any adjustment would be “gradual”, the retirement age raised by only a few months each year. But he did not say when the plan was likely to take effect. “The public has yet to reach a consensus on raising the retirement age … The plan will be released to the public well in advance,” he said. National pension funds still had an accumulated surplus of more than 3 trillion yuan (HK$3.8 trillion) by the end of last year, but regional imbalances were significant, the minister said.
Related: 人民网舆情监测室–中国现有公务员720万 延迟退休方案2017年出台 尹蔚民说，我们国家720多万公务员，60%分布在县以下机关工作，条件更为艰苦，工作任务十分繁重。但是由于县以下机关机构规格比较低，所以基层公务员晋升难、待遇低的矛盾比较突出。 为了解决这个问题，提出建立公务员职务与职级并行制度。经过中央批准，去年在4个省选择了4个县进行了试点工作，经过一年的试点达到了预期目的，验证了公务员职务与职级并行制度的可操作性。经过中央批准，在今年全国县以下机关都要实行公务员职务与职级并行的制度。
Related: 养老保险2.0版：2017年正式推出延迟退休方案要闻一财网 人口老龄化导致提高退休年龄成为国际化趋势。OECD(经济合作与发展组织)国家提出的口号是“活得越长，工作更长”。退休年龄是养老保险制度中最敏感的变量，既影响保费收入，又影响退休金支出，对于基金的收支平衡是双向影响。 杨燕绥在接受媒体采访时介绍，研究显示，退休年龄每延迟一年，养老统筹基金可增加40亿元，减支160亿元，减缓基金缺口200亿元。
6. 经济参考网 – 丝路基金运作路线图现雏形 依托发起人“一带一路”项目资源优势，适时引入机构民资 Economic Information learns more about plans for the Silk Road from from NPC delegates, including that will soon open up to investment from long-term private investors // 近日，《经济参考报》记者就丝路基金路线和规划采访两会代表委员时独家获悉，丝路基金将择机引入一些有中长期承诺的机构民资，运作前期可能依托国家开发银行（以下简称国开行）大量的境外项目储备资源、中国进出口银行的资金和渠道优势、中国投资有限责任公司（以下简称中投公司）的海外投资经验，发挥协同作用，资金主要投向“一带一路”沿线国家的基础设施建设、能源、钢铁、电力、通信等相关行业领域。目前，国内有意参与“一带一路”的省份也正在积极制定相关规划。
Related: With China’s Silk Road initiative, SCO eyes bigger global role – Xinhua The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will combine national development strategies with the China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt initiative and work for deeper involvement in global affairs, its secretary-general said Tuesday. “A 10-year strategy has been drafted by the Russian side. It is expected to be adopted during the SCO summit in (Russia’s) Ufa,” Dmitry Mezentsev said a day ahead of the opening of the 10th session of the SCO Forum in the western Siberian city of Khanty-Mansiisk. “The strategy will be the SCO’s proclamation for deeper and wider participation in global affairs,” and combine the national economic strategies of SCO members with the big Silk Road Economic Belt project, he said.
7. Apple’s high-stakes negotiations with the Chinese government could complicate Obama’s tough talk on snooping – Quartz Quartz backtracks from earlier reporting that Apple had “capitulated” to China and handed over source code // Two people briefed on the company’s discussions in China said it had not provided any source code to the Chinese government. Cook has said Apple “will not ever provide a back door, that would be access to a back door,” one of the people told Quartz. The company agreed after Lu’s visit to California to submit its products to the government for approval to sell in the country, just as it has in the past, these people said.
8. Under the Dome-Sinica Podcast In this episode of Sinica, Kaiser Kuo andDavid Moser interview Calvin Quek of Greenpeace, who works on pollution problems and has significant experience lobbying the private sector to curtail investments into the worst-offending, environmentally unsustainable technologies. We are also joined by Peggy Liu, chairperson of JUCCCE (Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy), a non-profit organization focused on Chinese government training and other green initiatives.
Related: 柴静雾霾调查：穹顶之下视频频道财新网 Under the Dome video is on the Caixin site.
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