Future government-run public hearings must involve voluntary applicants, the State Development Planning Commission has ordered.
The decree, in a 19-point paper, follows criticism that only hand-picked representatives were allowed to attend a recent forum on rail fare increases.
The mainland's top price-regulating organisation said in the paper that grassroots representatives would be permitted to voice their opinions at public hearings on state-run industries, the Beijing Youth Daily said yesterday.
But representatives still had to have a professional background or 'reasonable cultural quality', the document said.
The paper, however, maintained that the semi-official China Consumers' Association could choose representatives for such forums, which the Government had anticipated would defuse public anger over unpopular price rises.
The decree was published after a hearing last weekend, the first such event organised by the central Government, triggered an outcry among the public and media.
The hearing concerning the rise in train fares was broadcast nationwide on China Central Television.