BEIJING, Oct. 25 -- New plans to advance the rule of law in China would benefit the country's economy and spur China's modernization process, said experts.

Rule of law topped the agenda of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from Monday to Thursday.

This is the first time a plenary session of the CPC Central Committee has taken this topic as its central theme.

The decisions at the plenary session are "a big step forward and a big attempt of modernization," said Giuseppina Merchionne, a professor of Chinese language and culture at the Catholic University of Milan and at the University of Trento.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is "really speeding up the pace, at least in terms of principles which then also have some practical outcomes," Merchionne told Xinhua on Friday.

Promotion of transparency of government affairs and protection of human rights in judicial procedures are some of the document's highlights that the Sinologist defined as key to fight corruption hampering the economic and social development of China.

In fact, the rule of law has always been present in China's history, said Merchionne. "In this moment, however, China knows that it cannot be the most dynamic economy in the world without putting the rule of law at the center."

This new "progressive course" was made more evident with the "moralization of China" pursued by Xi at all levels, from administrative officials to the highest ranks, which was concretely visible in the reduction of public expenses and privileges, she said.@ "From this moralizing attempt, Chinese leaders have now passed to a modernizing effort in putting law at the center like other modern and democratic countries do," she underlined.

Stefano Cammelli, an author and historian of contemporary China at the Polonews research center of contemporary China studies, agreed on the historic importance of the meeting.

The focus on comprehensively advancing the rule of law in China was "the most important turning point and the most awaited by those who love China and follow with interest the gigantic work of rational reconstruction carried out by the CPC," the professor stressed.

"The perception of the importance to realize the rule of law is the essential element for China's future and it was a splendid news to learn that the Central Committee has put it at the very center of its programs," Cammelli said.

Kenneth G. Lieberthal, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, said making the rule of law a topic of a central committee meeting was a positive direction.

The leadership in China wants to make the legal system operated in a more regularized, transparent, less corrupt, higher quality fashion, less subject to intervention by vested interests and local governments, he said.

Yakov Berger, a senior researcher with the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believed law adaptation and adjustment after the meeting should be carried out in the framework of China's constitution.

He mentioned the importance of combatting corruption, which he said President Xi has got a credit for. "The problem of corruption changes the fate of a ruling party, which should also be taken as an issue of national security," said Berger.

He hailed China's great achievements in fighting corruption since the 18th CPC national congress two years ago.

Corruption erodes the image of the CPC, and it should continue efforts to fight the problem, said Andrei Karneyev of the Institute of Asian and African Studies at the Moscow State University.

According to Karneyev, the rule of law provides the best weapons against corruption, which he said explained why the CPC made it the central theme of the Fourth Plenary Session.