The government will appropriately control the scale of
investment in fixed assets and firmly halt haphazard investment and
low-level, redundant construction in some industries and regions,
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday.
Guided by market forces, the government will use a comprehensive
range of measures, mainly economic and legal means supplemented by
any necessary administrative measures, to strengthen guidance and
control, Wen said in a government work report delivered at the
opening of the national legislature's annual session.
First, industrial policies and planning should be improved and
the information release system for industries should be improved to
correctly guide nongovernmental investment.
Second, the government must quickly formulate and revise
standards for admittance into industries and enforce market
admittance strictly. Projects that do not meet standards for
environmental protection, safety, energy consumption, level of
technology or quality and have not yet been started should be
blocked and those already under construction should resolve such
problems, while those already completed should be upgraded within a
specified time.
Third, land-use management must be improved in accordance with
the law. No land should be approved for projects that fail to meet
the requirements of the state's industrial policies and standards
for admittance into industries. The government should continue
clearing up problems relating to development zones and rectifying
and standardizing the land market.
Fourth, auditing and oversight of credit transactions must be
strengthened. Financial institutions should not make any loans to
new projects or rebuilding and expansion projects that do not meet
the requirements for market access.
Fifth, the taxation system must be tightened and the practice of
introducing unauthorized tax privileges must be stopped and
rectified.
"On the basis of these measures we will strive to optimize the
investment structure, keep the overall investment volume at a
reasonable level and improve returns on investment," Wen said.
In order to take a new road to industrialization, China must
base the national economy and society on IT and upgrade the
industrial structure, according to the premier.
To ensure stable and rapid economic development, China must
alleviate the current disparities between supply and demand in
energy, important raw and processed materials and transport
capacity, he said.
The premier went on to say that balancing investment and
consumption is an important aspect of this year's work for
macro-control. He said that consumption occupies too small a
proportion of China's GDP, noting this is not conducive to ensuring
a stable increase in domestic demand, sustaining rapid economic
growth and establishing a beneficial economic cycle.
The government must work hard to increase the incomes of both
urban and rural residents and raise their purchasing power.
(People’s Daily March 5, 2004)
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