BEIJING—The World Bank is putting together sweeping proposals for China to privatize a major bank and allow farmers to sell their land, changes that could upend decades-old Communist Party ideology, according to officials familiar with the plans.
The recommendations are part of a reform agenda the World Bank is hammering out with one of the Chinese government's top think tanks, the Development Research Center, at the request of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Their work will feed into a Chinese governmentwide effort to create a reform plan in time for a Communist party conclave expected by the end of the year. The aim: to stave off a sharper slowdown in growth and put the economy on a sustainable path.
It is too early to tell whether the World Bank will formally endorse the recommendations or win approval of its DRC partner, or whether they will be adopted by the Chinese leadership.