BEIJING - A communique issued on Tuesday after a key meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC) says government functions must be transformed in a down-to-earth manner to establish a law-based and service-oriented government.

The document was adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee held from Nov. 9 to 12 in Beijing.

Scientific macro-control efforts and effective governance by government bodies are a "basic requirement" of tapping the strengths of China's socialist market economic system, the communique says.

It calls for deepening reforms of the administrative system, innovating with administrative methods and enhancing the credibility and execution of the government.