China began its two-week-long bid to seek public advice on its draft regulations on the pricing hearing system, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website on Tuesday.

The pricing hearing should be in line with the principles of openness, fairness and efficiency, the NDRC said. The hearing should be public and media coverage should be allowed unless it involves State or business secrets.

The number of consumers should not be fewer than one-third of the participants of the hearing, according to the regulations, which included 38 articles in five chapters.

Under China's Price Law, governments should seek public comment through a public pricing hearing before fixing prices on some commodities, so participants can discuss the feasibility and necessity of the government's decision.

Since 1988, China has been in the practice of conducting pricing hearing. The original regulations on pricing hearing played an important role in facilitating democratic decision making and transparency of government pricing, the NDRC said. Enditem

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2008)