In 2001, the grain circulation system saw continuous advancement, centering on three policies and one reform. The national grain working conference was held to define the general principle for grain circulation system reform: opening distribution area, protecting production area, applying provincial governor responsibility system, and strengthening management. In the spirit of Circular of the State Council Concerning Policies and Measures on Further Perfecting Grain Production and Circulation and Circular of the State Council Concerning Problems on Partial Corns Dropping out of Purchase Scope at Protection Price, each area fastened adjustment of grain production structure and marketization of grain procurement and distribution; and partial regions for pilot reform to fasten marketization of grain purchase.

Cotton circulation system was further deepened. The State Council held the national cotton working conference, further setting up the orientation of marketization reform of cotton circulation system. Reform was deepened to break monopoly operation, encourage competition with equity, standardize market orders, improve and control efficiency, establish cotton enterprise operation mechanism and management mechanism which could meet the demand of socialist market economy, so as to promote the healthy development of cotton production and textile industry. The State Council enacted the Provisional Regulations on Cotton Purchase and Processing and Market Management, held firmly the qualification authorization and market access of cotton purchase and processing enterprises, and further maintained normal circulation order of the cotton market.

More efforts were added to rectification and standardization of market orders. The State Council held the national working conference concerning rectification and standardization of market economy orders, laid out the major tasks on rectification and standardization of market economy orders during the Tenth Five-year Plan Period and the work focus of 2001, set up leading group of national rectification and standardization of market economy orders, and worked out Decisions of the State Council on Rectification and Standardization of Market Economy Orders. Focuses are laid on food, medicine, agricultural assets, cotton, assembled autos to further fight against production and distribution of fake goods or shoddy goods, rectify and regularize construction market, destroy local protectionism, regional blockade, and sectional monopoly, and rectify cultural market etc. In order to implement the conference spirit, the General Office of the State Council released Circular Concerning Rectification and Standardization of Construction Market Orders, and successively transmitted Proposal on Rectification and Standardization of Medicine Market of the State Council Office for Restructuring Economic System and so on, Proposals on Deepening Pod Circulation System Reform of the State Economic and Trade Commission, and Proposals on Further Rectification and Standardization Processed Oil Market Orders of the State Economic and Trade Commission and others departments.

The price reform made an essential stride forward. The government fully played the positive roles of market mechanism and further advanced price reform. A batch of commodity and service prices were opened and laid down, thus commodity and service items priced by the central government were reduced from 141 to 13. The rural areas continued to advance the progress of uniform network and price of electricity supply. The base oil price form mechanism was reformed, and official norm price setting was turned into negotiation price setting. Reform was actively conducted on prices of water supply and house rental. Governmental activities on setting price were standardized as the Provisional Regulations on Public Hearing Governmental Decisions of Setting Price was worked out; the price public hearing system was applied on public undertaking prices, commonweal service prices, and natural monopoly operated commodity prices with direct bearing on interests of the masses. Price cheating was given a blow and the Regulations on Prohibiting Price Cheating was worked out.