The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued “Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Perfecting the Standard System of Basic Public Services” at the end of January.
The Guiding Opinions defines explicitly to formulate the basic national standards for the basic public service security projects. The national basic standards are formulated and adjusted by the central government. They have the characteristics of bottom line standards and are generally applicable and equitable throughout the country.
For projects that are not easy or temporarily qualified to formulate national basic standards, the local authorities may formulate local standards in light of actual conditions.
On the premise of ensuring that the national basic standards are in place, the local authorities may formulate local standards higher than the national basic standards. Local standards shall be submitted to the higher authorities for the record in advance of implementation.