CPC 'rule of law' meeting key to reform, fairness

Seeking greater social fairness and justice is high on the agenda in China as the central committee of the ruling party is set to discuss rule of law issues.

Arrangements to promote rule of law are expected to be unveiled at the fourth plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing from Monday to Thursday.

The expected plan will contribute to laying a powerful legal basis and creating a better environment for the reforms the Party has been pushing.

The key meeting is held at a historic juncture when the Party and the nation are working to deepen reforms in such fields as the economy and administration with the goal of building an "all-round well-off society" by 2020.

It also takes place at a time when Chinese citizens are expecting more fairness and justice and looking forward to the country's prosperity and long-term stability.

In 1997, the Party decided to make "rule of law" a basic strategy and "building a socialist country under the rule of law" an important goal for socialist modernization.

Significant progress has since been made in the legal sector. In 2010, the country announced it had established a socialist system of laws. Greater judicial transparency is seen as a result of reforms.

Yet the implementation of laws is not ideal. In the minds of some grassroots leading officials, power is above the law. Government intervention in judicial cases still exists in some areas.

Pilot judicial reforms are under way in some cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen to make judges more professional and independent.

The current Party leadership is trying to give a more important role to the market with a series of economic and administrative reforms, in a bid to improve the quality and efficiency of economic growth.

The rule of law is vital to the success of reforms in a market-oriented economy. President Xi Jinping said in February that the "rule of law" must be followed and highlighted through the reform process, and any major reforms must be legally grounded.

The Party's resolve to realize rule of law is seen clearly in the cases of dozens of high-ranking officials, including Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai, as part of the country's anti-corruption campaign.

With the meeting, a wider consensus will be reached and more reforms can be expected for rule of law in China.