Report on the Work of the Government (2007)
The following is the full text of the Report on the Work of the Government delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress on March 5, 2007:
REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT
Delivered at the Fifth Session of the
Tenth National People's Congress on March 5, 2007
Wen Jiabao
Premier of the State Council
Fellow Deputies,
On behalf of the State Council, I would now like to present to you my report on the work of the government for your deliberation and approval. I also welcome comments and suggestions on the report from the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
I. Review of the Work in 2006
China began implementation of and made a good start on its Eleventh Five-Year Plan in 2006, making major achievements in economic and social development.
-The economy experienced steady and fast growth. China's GDP was 20.94 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.7% over the previous year. The consumer price index rose by 1.5%. For four years in a row, economic growth has reached or slightly exceeded 10% without significant inflation.
-Economic performance improved steadily. National revenue reached 3.93 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 769. 4 billion yuan. Profits of large industrial enterprises rose 31%, an increase of 444.2 billion yuan.
-Implementation of the reform and opening up policy was deepened. Further progress was made in reforms in key areas and crucial links. China's import and export volume totaled US$ 1.76 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 23.8%. Paid-in foreign direct investment reached $69.5 billion.
-Development of social programs was accelerated. Major achievements were made in scientific and technological innovation, there was continued development of education, the public health system was improved and progress continued in cultural and sports programs.
-People's living standards improved substantially. A total of 11.84 million urban residents entered the workforce. Urban per capita disposable income rose to 11,759 yuan, an increase of 10.4% in real terms after adjusting for inflation, and rural per capita net income grew to 3,587 yuan, an increase of 7.4% in real terms after adjusting for inflation.
These achievements mark a further increase in China's overall strength and represent another solid step toward the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
The main work accomplished in 2006 includes the following.
1. Macroeconomic regulation was strengthened and improved. The central government adopted a series of timely macroeconomic regulatory measures to address major problems affecting economic performance, such as overheated investment, excessive money and credit supply and serious trade imbalance. We strengthened land regulation by strictly controlling the expansion of land used for construction and took stern actions against violations of laws and regulations concerning land use. We strengthened supervision of money supply and credit, raised the basic interest rate on RMB loans twice and raised the reserve requirements for financial institutions three times. We strengthened the role of fiscal and tax measures in regulating economic activities. We tightened the examination and approval process, oversight and inspection of new projects to be launched on the market. We strengthened regulation and oversight of the real estate market to improve the mix of market housing available. These macroeconomic regulatory measures started to work, resulting in a drop in the growth rate in fixed asset investments and slower growth of the bank credit supply. We thus prevented rapid economic growth from becoming overheated growth and avoided drastic fluctuations.
2. Work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers was intensified. Steady progress was made in building a new socialist countryside. Central government budgetary spending on agriculture, rural areas and farmers reached 339.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 42.2 billion yuan. We rescinded the agricultural tax and taxes on special agricultural products nationwide, ending a tax that had been collected on grain farmers in China for more than 2,600 years. We continued to increase direct subsidies to grain farmers for producing grain and subsidies for growing superior seed varieties and purchasing agricultural machinery and tools, and followed a policy of granting general subsidies for agricultural production supplies. In addition, we continued the minimum purchase price policy for key grain varieties in major grain-producing areas and increased transfer payments to counties and townships with financial difficulties and major grain-producing counties. Despite serious natural disasters, the output of major agricultural products increased steadily. Grain output reached 497.46 million tons, registering the third consecutive annual increase. We worked harder to develop rural infrastructure, including roads, water conservancy, electricity and communications, and made safe drinking water available to another 28.97 million rural residents and the use of methane available to an additional 4.5 million rural families, thereby improving working and living conditions in rural areas. We made continued progress in reducing rural poverty through development, lifting 2.17 million rural people out of poverty. We formulated and implemented policies and measures to address the difficulties rural migrant workers in cities face and strengthened protection of their legitimate rights and interests by addressing the problems of low wages and unpaid wages, standardizing labor management pursuant to the law, improving job training and expanding the social safety net.
3. Adjustment of the economic structure was accelerated. We formulated policies and measures to accelerate the development of the equipment manufacturing industry and promoted independent development of major technologies and independent production of major equipment in key areas. We began to independently manufacture mega kilowatt nuclear power generators, ultra-supercritical thermal power generating units and new types of ships, and launched major projects such as those to produce high-grade digitally controlled machine tools and key manufacturing equipment. We also formulated and implemented policies and measures to carry out structural adjustments in 11 industries, including the steel, coal and cement industries. As a result, there was significant decline in the growth rate of investment in some industries with surplus production capacity and total investment for new planned projects dropped significantly. We closed down backward coal production facilities totaling 110 million tons in capacity and electrolytic aluminum production facilities totaling 1.2 million tons. A number of projects vital to China's economy were completed and put into operation and some others were started. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway was opened to traffic, all generating units at the Three Gorges Left Power Station were completed and put into operation, and construction of the Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station on the Jinsha River began. All this will play an important role in sustaining economic development.
We placed greater emphasis on saving energy and protecting the environment. We improved policies on saving energy and reducing emission of pollutants, and established a general responsibility system for meeting energy saving and pollution discharge reduction targets. We strengthened energy conservation in key industries, enterprises and projects, and conducted pilot projects to develop the circular economy. We worked hard to prevent and control water pollution in key river valleys and regions, such as the Three Gorges Reservoir area, the Songhua River, the sources and routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and the Bohai Sea. We carried out key environmental protection projects to desulphurize emissions from coal-fired power plants, treat urban sewage and dispose of waste safely. To ensure environmental safety, we launched the fourth annual nationwide campaign to punish enterprises that illegally discharge pollutants. We worked hard to protect and improve the ecosystem. Progress was made in the current stage of the campaign to restore order in and standardize the exploitation of mineral resources. Geological prospecting was intensified.
We continued to follow the overall strategy for regional development. We continued to make solid progress in the large-scale development of the western region, and the work of rejuvenating northeast China and other old industrial bases proceeded smoothly. We began implementation of the policy to boost the development of the central region. The eastern region made further achievements in leading the country in development.
4. The process of reform and opening up was accelerated. We made comprehensive plans for overall rural reform. Steady progress was made in the reform of the system of collective forest rights. Further progress was made in adjusting the distribution of the state sector of the economy, introducing the shareholding system in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and overseeing state-owned assets. Government functions were separated from the management of postal operations, and reform of the electricity management system continued. Significant progress was made in introducing a shareholding system in state-owned commercial banks; the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were successfully listed on domestic and overseas stock exchanges, and considerable headway was made in the current stage of the reform of rural credit cooperatives. The reform of the shareholder structure in listed companies was basically completed, and the basic systems of the securities market were strengthened. Reform of the insurance industry was deepened. Reform of the foreign exchange administration system was gradually deepened. Continued improvement was made in the fiscal and tax systems. Smooth progress was made in reforming the civil servant salary system and standardizing the pattern of income distribution. A thorough campaign to improve market order was launched.
We adjusted the trade mix by improving policies concerning export tax rebates, tariffs and processing trade and by controlling the export of products whose manufacture is highly energy consuming or highly polluting. We made energetic efforts to increase imports. The structure of foreign investment use was improved, and service industries, including banking, retail sales and telecommunications, were further opened up. We deepened and expanded economic exchanges and trade with other countries. We encouraged enterprises to invest overseas and cooperate with overseas-funded enterprises. We fulfilled all the commitments we made for China's accession to the World Trade organization (WTO) and improved economic systems, laws, regulations and policies related to doing business with other countries.
5. We worked hard to develop social programs. We increased funding for social programs. The central government spent 77.4 billion yuan on science and technology, 53.6 billion yuan on education, 13.8 billion yuan on health and 12.3 billion yuan on culture, representing year-on-year increases of 29.2%, 39.4%, 65.4% and 23.9% respectively.
We promoted innovation in science and technology. The Outline of the National Program for Long- and Medium-Term Scientific and Technological Development (2006-20), which took two years to formulate, has been issued and is being implemented, and related special programs and supplementary policies and measures have been formulated. Sixteen major projects were launched, including projects to develop giant oil and gas fields and coal seam gas, design and develop a new generation wireless broadband mobile communications network, design and produce large aircraft, develop manned spacecraft and explore the moon. We made breakthroughs in key technologies such as a high-performance computer, super high-quality hybrid paddy rice, third generation mobile communications and digital television, and increased China's capacity for independent innovation.
We put education high on the development agenda. A total of 184 billion yuan was allocated by both central and local governments to fund rural compulsory education, enabling us to pay tuition and miscellaneous fees for the 52 million rural students receiving compulsory education throughout the western region and in some areas in the central region, provide free textbooks to 37.3 million students from poor families and grant living allowances to 7.8 million students staying in dormitories. Of the 410 targeted counties, 317 reached the goals of making nine-year compulsory education generally available and basically eliminating illiteracy among young and middle-aged adults. The proportion of the target population attaining these two goals in the western region increased to 96% from the 77% of 2003. The central government spent 9 billion yuan over the past three years building facilities for 7,651 rural boarding schools. Eight billion yuan was spent to develop modern primary and middle school distance education f or rural areas. The project covers over 80% of the rural primary and middle schools in the central and western regions and enables over 100 million students to have access to high-quality education resources. New enrollment at secondary vocational schools totaled 7.41 million and total attendance reached 18.09 million. Total attendance at institutions of higher education reached 25 million and the gross enrollment ratio rose to 22%.
We worked to strengthen medical and health care services. Work to set up a disease prevention and control system with a wide range of functions that covers both urban and rural areas and a medical treatment system for public health emergencies has been basically completed. Work was begun to set up a rural health service system, and 2.7 billion yuan from the sale of treasury bonds was allocated by the central government for the development of medical and health care facilities at the county, township and village levels. Trials of a new type of rural cooperative medical care system were extended to 1,451 counties, county-level cities and city districts, covering 50.7% of the country's total number of counties, county-level cities and city districts and 410 million rural residents. With 4.27 billion yuan allocated by the central government and additional local government funding, we raised the allowances for rural participants in the cooperative medical care system significantly. Development of the community-based system of urban medical services was accelerated. Subsidized medical care was improved for urban and rural residents. The central government allocated 5.1 billion yuan to support local government efforts to improve public health care services. Substantial progress was made in preventing and controlling major diseases such as AIDS.
We energetically developed culture and sports. The press and publishing, radio, television, film, literature and art, philosophy and the social sciences flourished. Culture-related facilities, especially in rural areas, were improved. The project to expand radio and television coverage in rural areas was extended from incorporated villages to unincorporated villages. Continued progress was made in the project to build multi-use cultural centers in communities, towns and townships and the national shared database project for cultural information and resources. Reform of the cultural management system was deepened. Development of the culture industry was accelerated, and cultural exchanges with other countries were increased. Sports activities for the general public were extensively developed, and the level of competitive sports continued to improve. Efforts to promote socialist cultural and ethical progress were strengthened.
6. We worked hard to increase employment and improve social security work. We continued to improve and implement policies on employment and reemployment, and the central government allocated 23.4 billion yuan for employment and reemployment efforts. We created jobs through a variety of channels, stepped up vocational and technical training, provided support and assistance to zero-employment households and people who have difficulty finding employment, and helped 5.05 million laid-off workers find new jobs. The goal set out in 2004 to basically solve the longstanding problems of defaults on payment to construction companies and unpaid wages for rural migrant workers in the construction industry within three years was basically met. A total of 183.4 billion yuan has been paid to construction companies, paying off 98.6% of the total amount owed to them. This payment included 33 billion yuan in overdue wages for rural migrant workers.
The social safety net was strengthened. Trials to fully fund personal accounts for basic old-age insurance of enterprise employees were expanded to eight more province-level localities on the basis of the pilot project in the three provinces in northeast China. After years of effort, the work of incorporating basic cost of living allowances for workers laid off from SOEs into the unemployment insurance system has been basically completed. Basic pension benefits for retired enterprise employees were increased. The coverage of the social security system was further expanded, revenue from social security premiums increased, and oversight and management of social security funds was strengthened. The basic framework of a social assistance system for both urban and rural residents was set up, and charity programs continued to grow. The central government spent 13.6 billion yuan on basic cost of living allowances for urban residents, 2.4 billion yuan more than the previous year, and local governments also increased their spending on these allowances to varying degrees. A system of basic cost of living allowances for rural residents was initiated in 2,133 counties, county-level cities and city districts in 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, benefiting 15.09 million residents. Funding for providing food, clothing, medical care, housing and burial expenses for childless and infirm rural residents now mainly comes from the government budget instead of depending on rural collectives. Assistance for orphans and protection for homeless juveniles were strengthened. Allowances for all types of entitled groups were increased significantly, with an 11.2 billion yuan allocation from the central government budget, a 47% increase from the previous year. We improved the policy for compensating people whose land has been expropriated to build large or medium-sized reservoirs and for assisting people displaced for reservoir projects, benefiting 22.88 million persons. This longstanding problem is now being gradually solved.
Last year, some areas in China were hit by natural disasters of a severity seldom seen in history, including typhoons and droughts. We promptly took steps to carry out disaster relief work and rebuild disaster-hit areas. The central government raised some disaster relief allowances and allocated 11.2 billion yuan in relief funds to help disaster victims get back on their feet.
7. We continued to strengthen democracy and the legal system. Democracy at the community level made continued progress. Government-sponsored legislation was further improved. The State Council submitted seven bills to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation, including the Law on Corporate Income Tax (draft), the Antitrust Law (draft), the Law on Response to Emergencies (draft) and the revised Compulsory Education Law (draft), and promulgated 29 sets of administrative regulations, including the Regulations on AIDS Prevention and Control and the Regulations on the Administration of Overseas-Funded Banks. We accelerated development of government by the rule of law and implemented the Administrative Permit Law, the Civil Service Law, and the Program for Advancing All Aspects of Government Administration in Accordance with the Law. Oversight in the form of supervision and auditing was strengthened. Steady progress was made in reform of the judicial administrative system and its working mechanisms. The work of addressing public complaints registered by means of letters and visits was strengthened. In public security, continued improvements were made in the crime prevention and control system and extensive efforts were made to promote peace and security. Significant progress was made in work focused on improving conditions in areas with poor public security and in addressing serious public security issues. An all-out effort was made to build clean government and combat corruption and a campaign to combat bribery in business was launched. A number of major cases involving government offices and their employees were investigated and dealt with, and a number of people guilty of corruption were punished to the full extent of the law.
Work related to ethnic groups, religions, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas Chinese was further improved. We continued to make progress in modernizing national defense and the army. Significant progress was made in China's diplomatic work.
Looking back on our practical experience, we have come to the following conclusion: We must free our minds, follow a realistic and pragmatic approach, keep pace with the times, work hard with a pioneering and innovative spirit, unswervingly take the road of Chinese socialism, adhere to the reform and opening up policy, pursue development according to scientific principles, maintain social harmony during development and ensure peaceful development. Only by doing so can we attain the ultimate objectives we have set for modernization.
We owe our successes to the correct overall leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary and to the concerted efforts and hard work of cadres and the people across the country. On behalf of the State Council, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the people of all our ethnic groups, the democratic parties, people's organizations and persons from all walks of life. I would also like to sincerely thank our compatriots from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan as well as overseas Chinese. My sincere thanks also go out to all the friends of China around the world who care about and support China's modernization.
However, we are clearly aware that there are still many difficulties and challenges in China's economic and social development and some shortcomings and inadequacies in the work of the government.
First, there are still serious structural problems in the economy. There is a lack of proper balance among primary, secondary and tertiary industry, urban and rural development and development among different regions are not balanced, and the pattern of investment does not reflect consumer demand. Agriculture, the base of the economy, remains weak, and it is now more difficult than ever to steadily increase grain production and keep rural incomes growing. The overall scale of investment in fixed assets is still too large, the problem of excess liquidity in the banking system is serious, and the factors causing overheated investment and excess credit still remain. The trade surplus has become large, and the imbalance in international payments has worsened.
Second, the pattern of economic growth is inefficient. This can be seen most clearly in excessive energy consumption and serious environmental pollution. The targets for saving energy and reducing pollutant emissions were set forth in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. This is of vital importance in efforts to promote the change in the pattern of economic growth and increase energy conservation and environmental protection. All local governments and government offices did a great deal of work and made much headway in these areas over the past year. While energy consumption per unit of GDP for the previous three years rose by 4.9%, 5.5% and 0.2% respectively, it dropped by 1.2% in 2006. Growth in total emission of major pollutants declined, chemical oxygen demand rose 1.2%, down from an increase of 5.6% the year before, and discharge of sulfur dioxide rose 1.8%, down from a 13.1% gain in the previous year. However, we fell short of the targets set at the beginning of last year for cutting energy consumption per unit of GDP by about 4% and total discharge of major pollutants by 2%. The main reasons were: Industrial restructuring proceeded slowly, while growth in heavy industry, especially in sectors that are high in energy consumption or are highly polluting, was still overheated. Many backward production facilities that should have been closed down are still in operation. Finally, some local governments and enterprises failed to strictly comply with laws, regulations and standards for energy saving and environmental protection, and it will take time for relevant policies and measures to produce the desired results. Meeting these two mandatory targets in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan is very important. The targets cannot be revised, so we must work resolutely to reach them. The State Council will make annual reports on the progress made in saving energy and reducing emissions to the NPC starting this year, and at the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period it will report on the overall progress made over the five years.
Third, a number of serious problems affecting the people's interests have not been properly addressed. Problems in food and drug safety, medical services, education charges, housing, income distribution, public security and production safety remain a source of public concern. Problems arising in land expropriation and requisition, housing demolition, transformation of enterprises into stock companies and environmental protection that harm the interests of the people have not been fundamentally solved. Life remains difficult for many low-income people.
Fourth, the government's efforts to improve its performance still have room for improvement. Moves to change the way the government functions have not made the expected progress, non-separation of government administration and enterprise management remains a problem, and the responsibilities of some government offices are not clear, leading to low productivity. Expenses related to carrying out official duties have not been standardized, and extravagance and waste are inflating administrative costs. In some local governments and government offices and among a small number of their employees, there are problems of bureaucratism, formalism, isolation from the people, neglect or dereliction of duty and even abuse of power and corruption. The root cause of these problems lies in institutional deficiencies and poor oversight.
We must maintain a strong sense of responsibility to the country and the people and take more forceful measures to solve them in order to live up to the expectations of the people.
II. General Plan for Work in 2007
This is the last year for the term of this government, so we must do our best to carry out our duties with even greater drive and work tirelessly to do even better in all our work in order to deliver a good report to the people.
The basic approach and tasks for the work of the government are: to take Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as our guide and fully implement the Scientific Outlook on Development; to accelerate the building of a harmonious socialist society; to conscientiously implement the principles and policies the CPC introduced since its Sixteenth National Congress; to strengthen and improve macroeconomic regulation; to speed up adjustment of the economic structure and change of the pattern of economic growth; to strengthen resource conservation and environmental protection; to advance the reform and opening up policy and independent innovation; to promote social development and resolve issues related to the people's wellbeing; and to promote all aspects of socialist economic, political, cultural and social development to create a good environment and favorable conditions for the convening of the Seventeenth National Congress of the CPC.
Taking into consideration all factors, we have decided on the following main goals for China's economic and social development this year: On the basis of structural improvement, improved productivity, reduced consumption of energy and environmental protection, GDP is forecast to grow by about 8%, the number of jobs created in urban areas should be at least 9 million, and the rate of registered urban unemployment should be kept below 4.6%. The overall price level should remain basically stable, the overall increase in consumer prices should stay below 3%, and there should be improvement in the imbalance in international payments.
It is important to mention here that in a socialist market economy, a target for GDP growth set by the government is a guide and an indicator of the anticipated level. It serves as an important basis for setting macroeconomic targets for the budget, employment and prices. Because of changes in the domestic and international economic environments including the market, the real GDP growth rate will vary a certain amount from the projected target. In setting the target for GDP growth around 8% for 2007, we have taken into account a number of factors, such as what is needed and what is feasible. The most important task for us is to promote sound and fast economic development. To attain this goal, we should guide all sectors of the economy to conscientiously put into practice the Scientific Outlook on Development, focus on improving the economic structure and economic performance, saving energy, reducing energy consumption and cutting down on the discharge of pollutants, and to avoid seeking only faster growth an d competing for the fastest growth.
In order to realize the goals and complete the tasks for this year's economic and social development, we must closely adhere to the following policies and principles:
First, we must stabilize, improve and implement policies. Stabilizing policies means ensuring the continuity and consistency of macroeconomic policy and continuing to follow prudent fiscal and monetary policies. Improving policies means promptly revising policies and measures in response to new developments in the operation of the economy and finding specific solutions to serious issues and problems. Implementing policies means conscientiously implementing all policies and measures of the central government, improving the ability to implement policies and truly putting all policy decisions into effect.
Second, we must strengthen and improve macroeconomic regulation. The focus of this work is to keep the scale of fixed asset investment and credit under control and to promote overall balance between total supply and total demand while improving the structure. We must encourage growth in some sectors and discourage it in others, treating each sector according to its specific situation, and make more use of economic levers and legal means to guide and standardize economic activity. We need to correctly balance the relationship between central and local government organizations to give full play to the initiative of each.
Third, we need to greatly improve the quality and efficiency of economic growth. We must attach greater importance to saving energy and resources, protecting the environment and using land intensively, pay close attention to improving product quality, strengthen the competitiveness of the economy and better ensure the sustainability of economic development.
Fourth, we need to pay closer attention to promoting social development and improving the people's wellbeing. We must put people first, promote faster progress in social programs, work energetically to solve the most practical problems that are of greatest concern to the people and most directly affect their interests, safeguard social fairness and justice, and ensure that all of the people share in the fruits of reform and development.
Fifth, we need to make reform and opening up the driving force behind all our work. We must continue in the direction of reform to develop the socialist market economy. In order to meet the requirements for economic and social development, we need to promote economic, political, cultural and social restructuring and accelerate the establishment of institutional guarantees for implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development and building a harmonious society. We need to make China more open to the outside world in all respects.
III. Promoting Both Sound and Fast Development of the Economy
Looking at the overall situation, we need to concentrate on the following areas in promoting this year's economic development:
1. We will continue to strengthen and improve macroeconomic regulation.
We need to continue to follow a prudent fiscal policy.
One, we will reduce the budget deficit and the amount of long-term development treasury bonds issued by an appropriate amount. The deficit for the central government budget this year is set at 245 billion yuan, down 50 billion yuan from last year. We plan to issue 50 billion yuan of long-term development treasury bonds, down 10 billion yuan from last year. We also plan to allocate 80.4 billion yuan from the central government budget for investment in regular development projects, up 25 billion yuan from last year. Total central government investment in development projects is expected to be 130.4 billion yuan.
Two, the structure of budgetary expenditures and government investment will be improved to put more emphasis on key areas. \"Increase in three areas\" must be ensured in the use of government funds, i.e. a year-on-year increase in investment to directly improve living and working conditions in rural areas, investment in social programs such as elementary education and public health, and investment in the large-scale development of the western region. In addition, we will increase expenditures for energy conservation, environmental protection and independent innovation.
Three, we will spend the excess revenue in the central government budget in an appropriate way. Because of the fact that actual economic growth exceeded targets plus some policy factors that increased revenue, the central government revenue has exceeded the targets in recent years by a fair amount. The average annual amount of revenue over the target for the years 2003 through 2006 was 204 billion yuan, with last year's surplus reaching 257.3 billion yuan. The excess revenue was mainly spent for the following purposes: to pay off longstanding arrears in export tax rebates and payments for returning farmland to forests, to increase tax rebates and general transfer payments to local governments in accordance with the law, to increase legally mandated expenditures for education, science and technology, and to increase expenditures for the social security fund, for policy-mandated bankruptcy of enterprises and for basic cost of living allowances for residents. Fifty billion yuan will be allocated from last year's excess revenue to establish a central budget stability fund this year. The fund makes it possible to compile the central government budget more scientifically and rationally, and helps keep it stable and preserve the continuity of fiscal policy. The use of this fund will be put under budgetary control and subject to the oversight of the NPC. We must strengthen the management of public finance, work very hard to increase revenue, reduce expenditures, practice strict economy, combat extravagance and waste, and ensure the efficient use of public funds. We must administer taxes in accordance with the law, strengthen the collection and management of tax revenue and standardize the management of non-tax government revenue.
We will continue to follow a prudent monetary policy. We must employ a full range of monetary policy tools to appropriately control the supply of money and credit and effectively address the problem of excess liquidity in the banking system. We will adjust and improve the credit structure to guide banks to increase credit support for agriculture, rural areas, farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, energy conservation, environmental protection and independent innovation. We must continue to control long- and medium-term loans and strictly limit loans to backward enterprises that consume high quantities of energy or are highly polluting and poorly performing enterprises in industries with excess production capacity. We will promote steady reform of interest rates to better reflect market conditions. We will improve the mechanism for setting the RMB exchange rate, strengthen and improve foreign exchange administration, and actively explore and develop channels and means for appropriately using state foreign exchange reserves. We will adopt a variety of measures to gradually ease the imbalance in international payments.
We need to adjust the balance between investment and consumption. We must adhere to the principle of boosting domestic demand, focusing on expanding consumer demand. We will deepen reform of the income distribution system to narrow the increasing gaps in income levels and expand consumer demand. We will take a variety of measures to increase the incomes of both urban and rural residents, especially low- and middle-income persons. We will make appropriate adjustments in and strictly follow the minimum wage system, implement minimum wage standards for part-time workers, strengthen regulation and guidance for income distribution in enterprises, and set up sound mechanisms for regular pay increases and regular payment of wages. All local governments should conduct a general survey of compliance with the minimum wage system and minimum wage standards for part-time workers. We will continue to implement the policies and measures for reforming the salary system for civil servants, standardizing the pattern of income distribution among civil servants and adjusting the benefits they receive. High priority should be given to expanding consumer demand in rural areas, implementing policies and measures to stimulate increase in incomes and reduction of the financial burden of rural residents, and improving the distribution of goods, development of the market system, and the environment and conditions for increasing consumer spending in rural areas. We need to improve policies on consumption, vigorously develop consumption growth areas such as tourism, culture, recreation and exercise, and expand consumption.
We will maintain an appropriate rate of growth for fixed asset investment. We will improve the investment mix to increase returns on investment. We will continue to keep a firm grip on the controls over land and credit, and appropriately raise and strictly enforce the requirements for market access for development projects in terms of land use, environmental protection, energy saving, technology and safety, taking into consideration specific conditions in each industry. We will strictly control the launching of new projects and pay particular attention to controlling the scale of urban development. We will step up development of major projects that strengthen overall economic and social development and long-term development and accelerate construction of important infrastructure projects such as large water conservancy projects, energy production bases, trunk rail lines and national trunk highways. We will encourage more investment of non-government funds in agriculture, rural areas, social programs, independent innovation, resource conservation, environmental protection and the central and western regions. We will deepen reform of the investment mechanism and improve the decision-making system and system of accountability for major investment projects.
The real estate industry plays a major role in developing the economy and improving the housing conditions of the people, and we must promote the industry's sustained and sound growth.
One, taking into consideration the fact that China has a large population and relatively little land available for building housing as well as the current level of its economic development, we need to make appropriate plans, build housing scientifically, keep consumption at an appropriate level, build environmentally friendly buildings that conserve energy and land, and develop a Chinese development and consumption model for housing.
Two, the real estate industry should focus on developing reasonably priced commercial housing for ordinary people. The government will pay particular attention to addressing the housing problems of low-income families. We will increase fiscal and tax policy support and set up a sound system of low-rent housing. We will improve and standardize the system of affordable housing.
Three, we will properly use both government regulation and market forces to maintain a reasonable scale of real estate investment, improve the supply structure of commercial housing, strengthen oversight and regulation of housing prices, prevent overheating in housing prices and keep prices at a reasonable level.
Four, we will intensify efforts to ensure order in the real estate market, strengthen oversight over it and combat in accordance with the law actions that violate laws and regulations in all links in the real estate industry, including development, sales and real estate agencies. Local governments at all levels must assume their full share of responsibility for regulation and oversight of local real estate markets.
2. We will develop modern agriculture and promote the building of a new socialist countryside.
The issues related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers have a major impact on building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and on overall modernization efforts. This year's work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers will focus on accelerating the development of modern agriculture and effectively promoting the building of a new socialist countryside.
One, we will ensure the steady development of grain production. We must protect primary farmland, keep the area sown to grain stable, improve the structure of grain varieties grown and increase the per unit area yield of grain. We will strengthen monitoring and regulation of grain production, sale, storage, import and export, and set up a sound grain security warning system to ensure order in the grain market.
Two, we will substantially raise the overall production capacity of agriculture. We will accelerate development of agricultural facilities, improve agricultural technology and equipment, intensify agricultural research and efforts to expand application of advanced agricultural technology, improve the comprehensive system of agriculture-related services and strengthen our ability to prevent and mitigate disasters that affect agriculture. We will increase efforts to develop a system for preventing and controlling animal diseases.
Three, we will redouble efforts to boost rural infrastructure development. We will accelerate the building of water conservancy projects, roads, power grids, telecommunications, safe drinking water supplies and methane production facilities in rural areas. We will pool resources to basically complete, within two or three years, the upgrading of all large and medium-sized and key dilapidated small reservoirs in China. We will accelerate the development of safe drinking water supplies and provide safe drinking water for another 32 million people.
Four, we will increase rural incomes through a variety of channels. We will increase income in the farming, livestock, aquaculture and forestry sectors, develop secondary and tertiary industry in rural areas, particularly the processing industry for agricultural products, promote development of specialized agricultural operations, support the development of key enterprises, strengthen county economies and develop channels to increase rural employment and rural incomes. We will implement policies and measures to solve the problems rural migrant workers in cities face. We will increase efforts to relieve poverty through development and reduce the size of the poor rural population.
Five, we will promote the training of people in the practical skills needed in the countryside and the development of rural human resources. We will step up training of farmers to make them better able to apply scientific techniques to growing crops, raising livestock and producing aquaculture products and to find employment outside of agriculture, and to foster the development of a new type of farmer.
To develop modern agriculture and promote the building of a new countryside, we must strengthen government policy, funding, application of science and technology, and reform.
One, we need to consolidate, improve and strengthen the policy of supporting agriculture and giving favorable treatment to farmers. We will increase direct subsidies to grain farmers for producing grain, subsidies for growing superior seed varieties and purchasing agricultural machinery and tools and general subsidies for agricultural production supplies. We will continue to follow the minimum purchase price policy for grain. We will increase support for counties and townships with budgetary difficulties and major grain-producing counties.
Two, we need to increase allocations for agriculture and rural areas. We will effectively shift the focus of state infrastructure development and development of social programs to the countryside. Budgetary support for agriculture and rural areas, state fixed asset investment in the countryside and the proportion of land transfer income used for rural development are all slated to increase at a rate higher than last year. Allocations from the central government budget for resolving issues related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers will total 391.7 billion yuan, an increase of 52 billion yuan over last year. We will energetically promote agricultural insurance and expand the scope of the trial for policy-supported agricultural insurance.
Three, we need to accelerate progress in agricultural science and technology. We will strengthen China's ability to make innovations in agricultural science and technology, support agricultural science and technology projects, accelerate application of advances in agricultural science and technology, improve local systems for increasing application of modern agricultural technology and providing technological services, and encourage the introduction of modern agricultural science and technology to individual villages and households.
Four, we need to fully promote overall rural reform. We will accelerate reform of town and township government bodies, reform of rural compulsory education and reform of the management system for county and township budgets to gradually make the administration and management system for the countryside more streamlined and efficient. We will set up a system of government-funded rural compulsory education and a system of public finance that covers both urban and rural areas. In addition, we will promote reform of the system for land expropriation and the system of collective forest rights, energetically develop specialized farmer cooperatives, and continue to pay off and reduce debts of township and village organizations.
In order to promote the building of a new socialist countryside, we must focus on developing the rural economy and increasing rural incomes. We will continue to stabilize and improve the basic system for rural operations and continue to tailor measures to suit local conditions, proceed from reality, respect the wishes of farmers, safeguard their rights and interests, and oppose formalism and the issuing of coercive orders. |
发表于 2007-3-22 16:15:04