(Economic Observer) What signal does China's strengthening of price index regulation release?
China News Service, Beijing, June 17 (Reporter Wang Enbo) The National Development and Reform Commission of China recently issued the "Management Measures for the Price Index of Important Goods and Services (Trial)" to regulate the compilation and release of relevant price indices.
At a time when prices in the bulk commodity market are complex and changeable, what signal does this official release release?
The compilation and release of price indices play an important role in promoting the formation of reasonable prices and improving the transparency of price signals.
In recent years, some market institutions have competed to compile and release price indices that reflect changes in the prices of important goods and services in China.
However, due to the lack of normative guidance, there are many problems.
Xu Guangjian, a professor at the School of Public Administration of Renmin University of China, pointed out that some price indices have played an adverse regulatory role in the normal operation of the price mechanism due to insufficient product price information or insufficient scientific compilation methods.
It should be noted that there are still some price indices, due to the greater arbitrariness driven by economic interests, which has produced the effect of misleading the behavior of market entities, disrupted the market price order to a certain extent, and exacerbated market price fluctuations.
The “Measures” put forward system standard requirements around various behaviors such as price index compilation, release and information disclosure.
Among them, it is clearly stipulated that the main body of the price index should be independent of the direct stakeholders in the commodity and service market reflected by the price index.
At the same time, it is emphasized that the price authority can conduct compliance review on price index behaviors and take disciplinary measures for non-compliance behaviors.
The analysis believes that the relevant measures are of great significance for China to strengthen the construction of the rule of law on prices and establish and improve the legal norms of price indexes.
Xu Guangjian said that with price reforms and market system reforms, various price indices continue to be produced. This is the result of market institutions learning from the mature practices of the international market in the process of China's further opening up to the outside world.
Regarding the compilation and release of the price index, the relevant government departments have adopted an inclusive and supportive attitude, and at the same time explored how to regulate through the construction of the rule of law, which reflects the orientation of promoting development through regulation and conforms to the reform direction of "delegating control and serving".
For example, the "Measures" does not set an entry threshold for price index actors. All types of market entities can compile and publish price indexes without the need to obtain qualifications through application, review, and filing, mainly from the basic capabilities required to compile and publish price indexes. From a perspective, some principled requirements are put forward for the price index actors.
This is the basic requirement to ensure the normal and standardized operation of the price index market.
A high-quality price index is also an effective starting point for strengthening and improving price control.
At present, the prices of most goods and services in China have been liberalized and market regulation has been achieved, but the liberalization of prices is by no means laissez-faire.
Zhao Gongyi, a senior economist at the Price Monitoring Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that in the market economy, problems such as information asymmetry and spillover effects are common, which triggers "market failure."
Therefore, the government must be a good "night watchman" and play the role of the government's "visible hand" when market prices are difficult to form effectively or when abnormal fluctuations occur to realize the dialectical unity of "effective market" and "effective government".
Zhao Zhengyi pointed out that there are currently more than 130 China's important commodity and service price indices compiled and released by different institutions at home and abroad, but there are not enough "good indices" that can be used as effective starters for price control.
The "Measures" not only fills in the gaps in the domestic index code of conduct system, but also puts forward clear requirements for high-quality price indices.
It is expected that after several years of operation of the Measures, China will form a batch of truly high-quality price indices, which will become an effective starting point for the government's price control.
In the current bulk commodity market and the complex and variable prices, what does it mean for China to strengthen the supervision of price index behavior?
Industry insiders believe that the prices of most commodities have continued to rise since the beginning of this year. The reasons are not only the epidemic, production and demand, trade and other fundamental factors, but also related financial institutions' speculation factors, and some price index signals are unreasonable.
The compilation and release of some price indexes is poorly scientific and random. The index's "small samples, not strong representativeness, rapid rise and slow fall" have been criticized by the industry for a long time, disrupting market expectations and contributing to the irrational rise in prices.
Zhao Gongyi believes that through the "Measures", a batch of low-quality price indices will be eliminated and standardized, and a batch of high-quality price indices recognized by the market, with good reputation and strong influence will be formed, which will help guide high-quality price indices for important goods and services. Formation to promote fair competition and healthy and orderly development of the price index market will also help increase China’s price influence in important international commodity markets.
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