Expectations are running high that the third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which starts on Saturday, will shed new light on the pace and direction of reforms.The four-day meeting will map out “unprecedented” economic and social plans that will push forward profound transformations, according to Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Party’s Central Committee.Yu’s remarks, the pro-reform stances of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, and the third plenary sessions in the Party’s history as a groundbreaker have heightened expectations among investors anxious to see economic and market reforms move faster and deeper.

Will steps be taken to deal with a mountain of local government debt? Will government ease its regulatory grip and give the market greater voice in determining currency flows, interest rates and energy prices? Will foreign investors be given greater access to China’s capital markets?

This meeting, according to Zhu Haibin, chief economist for China at JPMorgan, will be the most important of the year — perhaps even of the decade.

“The communiqué of the meeting, or the ‘dissertation paper’ of the new leadership, is expected to be a roadmap of China’s economic reform in the next five to 10 years,” he said.

History shows us that the meetings of the 200-member Central Committee can be important milestones. Third plenary sessions usually focus on economic issues after the first and second meetings set Party and government leadership changes.In 1978, the third plenum initiated China’s policy of opening itself to the outside world. The one in 1993 endorsed the concept of a socialist market economy.

So what will we expect in the next week? JPMorgan suggests five issues worth watching:

1. Administrative reform

Redefining the relationship between the government and the market could reduce bureaucratic intervention in the economy and increase the role of markets in the allocation of resources.

In recent months, the central government has announced the scrapping of administrative approvals for hundreds of items, and more are expected.

Administrative reform is considered crucial if economic deregulation is to proceed. The China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which has recently been unveiled, is a testing ground for that acceleration. The adoption of the “negative list,” system in the zone, which sets forth only what can’t be done, has been viewed as a bold step forward.

2. Financial reform

Financial reform generally refers to the removal of price distortions in the market, especially those created by regulation of interest and money exchange rates. Removing tight controls would improve the efficiency of capital flows, both across China and beyond its borders.

In July, the central bank dropped its restrictions on lending rates and increased the quotas for the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program. In August, the State Council, China’s cabinet, approved the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

As next steps, the deregulation of deposit rates, the introduction of an explicit deposit insurance program, the widening of the band restricting movements in the yuan and further currency convertibility are likely to occur — but gradually.

3. Fiscal reform

Fiscal reform is aimed at striking a better balance between revenue and spending at both central and local levels. It encompasses reforms in the tax system and measures to deal with local government debt loads.

Since the beginning of this year, China’s new leadership has stepped up efforts to crack down extravagance and public expenditure. In July, the National Auditing Office started a survey of local government debt, and the country has expanded the value-added tax reform nationwide in transport and some services sectors. The fiscal authority estimates that it will lower the tax burden by about 120 billion yuan (US$19.5 billion) in 2013.

The issue of the how revenue is allocated by the central government to local governments may also be addressed, along with further expansion of the VAT reform. Also, the property tax, now in trial programs, may be expanded, and the nation’s administrative system may be pared down from the current five tiers.

Burgeoning local government debt may draw tougher budget constraints on local jurisdictions.

4. Land reform and the household registration system

Land reform is aimed at increasing the ease of transferring agricultural property and protecting the interests of farmers.

In June, the State Council proposed to fully open the household registration system in small towns and small cities and an orderly easing of registration in bigger cities. Easing the registration system would allow a freer flow of people. Pilot programs have been implemented in some provinces.

5. Resource pricing reform

Resource pricing reform aims to establish market-based pricing in commodities such coal, oil, electricity and natural gas.

Since January, the National Development and Reform Commission has eased controls on prices for many energy-related products. That process is expected to continue.

Analysts note that many important pro-reform officials, such as People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and National Development and Reform Commission Deputy Chief Liu He, are occupying important positions in the new administration.

A recent report from the National Development and Reform Commission, popularly dubbed the “3-8-3” plan, was a hot topic on the Internet in China mainly because its chief author was Liu. He is expected to play an equally central role on the drafting team for the plenary session report.

“3-8-3” plan

Much of the “3-8-3” plan overlaps JPMorgan’s talking points, with eight key areas of reform: public administration, the financial sector, the fiscal system, land management, state asset management, innovation promotion, monopoly breakups and a more open economy.

Zhang Zhiwei, an economist at Nomura, said the “3-8-3” plan seems to be a step in the right direction.

“It is a long list of structural reforms,” Zhang said. “This report provides a good preview of what may be released during the upcoming meeting.”

Still, Chinese authorities have cautioned that there is no dominant plan heading into the meeting, which will look at an array of proposals.

Certainly, the state of the economy will hang over the session’s deliberations.

In the third quarter, China’s economy grew 7.8 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace this year, in a rebound fueled largely by investment. But authorities have called for greater efforts in restructuring the economy, fearing that the rebound doesn’t sit on firm enough ground. Some analysts have even predicted a slower rate of growth for the fourth quarter.

The nation’s leaders are trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy from reliance on investment to a more balanced model driven by consumption, development of the services industry and technological innovation.

“Many of the expected reforms are just repetitions of the 12th Five-Year Plan released in 2011,” Nomura’s Zhang said. “To be frank, the progress on these reforms has not been significant, so it remains to be seen how effective the new government will be in implementing these reforms.”

JPMorgan’s Zhu said it would take time for reforms to have a positive, observable effect on the economy.

Chang Jian, an economist at Barclays, said he fears that hopes raised too high risk disappointment.

“We expect a broad reform agenda,” Chang said. “But given China’s size and population, it is only realistic to expect that most reforms will be implemented gradually to avoid destabilization.”

Chang said he expects the outcome of the session to be less aggressive than many people are expecting.

Indeed, China’s economy has yet to show any sustainable rebound since the new leadership took office. President Xi and Premier Li exhibited their commitment to reform when they adopted a “no stimulus” policy during a recent liquidity squeeze.

It seems the authorities are now stepping back from using dramatic monetary measures, such as lower interest rates and reserve requirement ratios, as economic levers.

Instead, they seem to be focused on measures with longer-lasting effects.