General Secretary of the CPC Zhao Zlyang reports to the meeting on September 26, 1988 (WANG JINGDE)

Third Plenary Session of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) closed in Beijing on September 30. It concluded that the emphasis on reform and construction for the next two years is to put an end to confusion existing in economic activities, especially in the field of circulation.

The task calls for resolute and forceful measures, said a communique summing up the session.

The communique went on to point out that in order to fulfill the task, it is necessary to increase the supply of farm and sideline products, marketable light industrial and textile goods, and energy and raw materials.

"Price reforms will be conducted at a slower pace next year, and efforts must be made to ensure that next year's commodity price increase rates are lower than this year's. All work next year should serve this objective," the communique said.

The five-day session examined and adopted the report delivered by General Secretary Zhao Ziyang on behalf of the Political Bureau.

The plenary session held that the general economic situation in China is good at present but there also exist a number of difficulties and problems, with sharp price rises being the most prominent.

"Comprehensive reform should be carried out in a guided and orderly way with each aspect supplementing and promoting the others. Without a rational price structure, the establishment of a basis for a new economic system is out of the question. However, deepening the reform is not merely a matter of adjusting prices but involves comprehensive reforms in various fields, especially the reform of enterprises - large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises in particular."