China will place reform of government management mechanism high on the agenda in the second half of this year, said Ma Kai, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission Tuesday.

Due to economic reforms, great achievements have been made in economic growth in the past 26 years. Further deepening government reform will help solve some deep economic problems, said Ma at the China Reform Forum that opened in Beijing Tuesday.

As GDP has been an important criterion to evaluate achievements of local government officials, it tends to encourage localities to increase investment, which drives up the regional economic growth and results in swollen fixed assets investment, Ma said.

In the coming two decades, China will enter an era of fast economic development, and problems might come up on the way as well, said Ma. China has to deepen its government reform for a better management mechanism.

"Our major tasks in the future include a clearer definition of the roles of local and central governments in economic sphere. We will also make full use of advanced communication tools to reduce the management levels of government bodies and increase the responsibility of each level," Ma said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2005)