China will reform its management of skilled and professional people by forming a new assessment system and a market-oriented employment mechanism, according to a joint decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.  

Professionals will be judged in line with their abilities and achievements, instead of the existing system which focuses on education and career experience, says the decision, which calls for further improvements to the management of talented people.

The assessment should be based on achievements as well as moral bearing, knowledge and abilities, it stresses. All the existing methods of evaluating professionals should be modernized and the assessment should be approved by colleagues, so as to make it more rational and democratic, according to the decision.

However, it adds, the assessment of enterprises' managerial personnel has to be approved by the market and the investors. Managers should be assessed in accordance with the financial results of the enterprise, while bringing non-financial factors into consideration, it says.

The decision calls for a personnel system to select talented people in an open, equal and competitive way in order to find improve staff levels. An "expressway" should be opened for young talent, it stresses.

People should find their position through competition, the decision says.

Meanwhile, it calls for establishing and improving the labor market for talented people, helping them to change their jobs in a more rational manner. Employers and employees should be more independent in the labor market in accordance with market law, it says.

It urged local governments to further abolish all restrictions on the movement of skilled people and establish new systems on the management of professionals. It calls for protecting commercial and state secrets when allowing talented people to change jobs, while protecting the rights of employers and employees.

Effective mechanism should be set up to encourage and protect talented people to enable them to do a better and creative job. Under a new distribution system, these people should be paid according to their contributions, with regards to efficiency and fairness.

It calls for improving the country's public service system, pay public servants in accordance with their positions, abilities, achievements and annual assessments. The gap between different positions could be enlarged to encourage better performance and hope for promotion. Special subsidies will be paid to those with special abilities.

As China's state-owned companies are adopting a modern corporate system, they should each decide their own staff payment levels in accordance with market law, the decision says.

It calls for regularizing the recognition of talented people. A national award system should be set up to honor those who have made special contributions to the state, it adds.

Further, it calls for improvements to the security system for skills. While further improving the social security system, special means should be adopted to protect the welfare of talented people, by setting up a state insurance system for these people.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2004)