Following is the full text of the Report on the Implementation
of the 2003 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and
on the 2004 Draft Plan for National Economic and Social
Development, delivered at the Second Session of the 10th National
People's Congress on March 6, 2004:
REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2003 PLAN
FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ON THE 2004 DRAFT
PLAN FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
By Ma Kai, Minister of the State Development and
Reform Commission
I. Implementation of the 2003 Plan for National
Economic and Social Development
II. Regulatory Targets and Main Tasks for
Economic and Social Development in 2004
Fellow Deputies,
As entrusted by the State Council, I am now reporting to this
session on the implementation of the 2003 Plan for National
Economic and Social Development and on the 2004 Draft Plan for
National Economic and Social Development. I am presenting these to
you for your examination and approval and also for comments and
suggestions from members of the National Committee of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
I. Implementation of the 2003 Plan for
National Economic and Social Development
Acting in accordance with the resolution on economic and social
development adopted at the First Session of the Tenth National
People's Congress (NPC), the people of all our ethnic groups
vigorously worked under the leadership of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) to promote reform, opening up and the modernization
drive over the past year. We won a great victory in the fight
against the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and we
overcame natural disasters and other difficulties. Our national
economy had rapid growth, good performance and strong vitality, and
we successfully attained our main targets for economic and social
development.
1. The economy grew rapidly, and economic efficiency improved
significantly. China's GDP hit 11.6694 trillion yuan in 2003, a 9.
1 percent increase over the previous year. Per capita GDP rose to
9,030 yuan, exceeding the important benchmark of US$1,000 for the
first time when calculated at the present exchange rate. Growth of
domestic demand was accelerated. Investment in fixed assets for the
whole country was 5.5118 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of
26.7 percent. Retail sales of consumer goods totaled 4.5842
trillion yuan, up 9.1 percent. Consumer prices rose by 1.2
percent.
Economic efficiency improved in step with economic growth.
Government revenue for the entire country was 2.17 trillion yuan,
14.7 percent more than the previous year. Economic efficiency in
the industrial sector reached a record high. Total profits of
state- owned and large non-state owned industrial enterprises were
815.2 billion yuan, an increase of 42.7 percent, 22 percentage
points greater than the previous year. State-owned enterprises and
enterprises with the controlling stake held by the state generated
378.4 billion yuan in profits, an increase of 45.2 percent. Of the
industrial products made last year, 98.1 percent were sold.
2. Structural adjustment was vigorously carried forward, and
economic vitality continued to improve. The acreage devoted to
high-quality crop varieties increased. The acreage sown to high-
quality special wheat accounted for 38 percent of China's total
acreage sown to wheat, 7 percentage points higher than the previous
year. Principal crops were further concentrated in the areas with
the most suitable conditions. The livestock and fishery industries
continued to develop, and the output of dairy products increased by
25 percent. Smooth progress was made in major agricultural,
forestry and water control projects.
Manufacturing industries with a high technological content led
industrial growth. The production of electronic and information
products grew by 34 percent. Treasury bonds continued to play a
major role in promoting structural adjustments.
A number of projects of great importance for long-term economic
and social development were completed and put into operation, and
they performed well.
Water was successfully stored in the Three Gorges Reservoir;
permanent locks on the Three Gorges Project were opened to
navigation; and the project's first set of generators began
producing power. Construction was started on the eastern and
central routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. An
additional 46,000 kilometers of highways and 1,164 kilometers of
newly completed railway lines were opened to traffic. The power
industry developed more quickly. The country produced 1.9 trillion
KWH of electricity in 2003, 15.5 percent more than in 2002. The
generating capacity of newly started projects and projects put into
operation during the year each totaled more than 30 million KW.
Tertiary industry continued to develop, and some new service
industries expanded rapidly. The number of telephone subscribers
reached 532 million, a year-on-year increase of 112 million.
Economic growth was driven to a greater degree by internal
momentum. The total amount of funds invested by enterprises from
their own resources for technological upgrading increased by 30.2
percent. The non-state sector of the economy invested actively.
Investment from collective and individually-owned businesses grew
by 22.9 percent, 6. 1 percentage points greater than the previous
year. Exports from collective and private businesses rose by 83.1
percent, contributing significantly to the rapid growth of China's
exports.
3. New strides were made in developing the western region, and
implementation of the strategy for reinvigorating northeast China
and other old industrial bases began. Ecological conservation and
environmental protection work in the western region was further
intensified. Some 3.37 million hectares of farmland were returned
to forests; 3.77 million hectares of barren hills and wasteland
were afforested; and 6.66 million hectares of seriously degraded
grassland were improved.
Greater efforts were put into infrastructure development. An
additional 317 kilometers of track was laid on the Qinghai-Tibet
railway line. The eastern section of the West-to-East Natural Gas
Piping Project was completed, allowing natural gas to be delivered
to east China. An additional power transmission capacity of over 8
million KW was installed as part of the West-to-East Electricity
Transmission Project. Another 4,200 kilometers of highways
connecting county seats were built or upgraded.
An adequate supply of potable water was ensured for 8.6 million
more rural people. More than 300,000 rural households had access to
methane. Implementation of the strategy for reinvigorating
northeast China and other old industrial bases began. The eastern
and central regions accelerated their development, and new areas of
economic growth kept emerging.
4. There was all-round development in science, technology,
education and all other social undertakings as well as continued
progress in ecological conservation and environmental protection.
Basic and hi-tech research was intensified.
Continued progress was made in the state innovation system. The
first successful manned spaceflight by Shenzhou-V was another
milestone in China's hi-tech development. Education continued to
develop. Fresh progress was achieved in compulsory education.
Regular institutions of higher learning across the country
enrolled 3.822 million students, 617, 000 more than the previous
year. Efforts to develop public health facilities were intensified,
and about 6 billion yuan from the sale of treasury bonds was
allocated to develop an anti-SARS infrastructure, disease
prevention and control networks at the provincial, prefectural and
county levels, and a public health emergency response system.
The rate of natural population growth was 6.01. Implementation
of key cultural projects proceeded smoothly. Radio, film, TV, the
press, publishing, sports and other undertakings continued to
develop.
Ecological conservation and environmental protection were
intensified, and economical and multipurpose utilization of natural
resources was promoted. Some 2.05 million hectares of forests were
developed to improve ecological conditions or serve as
shelterbelts. Banning or temporarily suspending animal grazing
allowed for 8.6 million hectares of grassland to be effectively
protected and rationally utilized.
Pollution control and treatment were accelerated in key river
valleys and regions, including the drainage basins of the Huaihe,
Haihe and Liaohe rivers, Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes, and the
Three Gorges Reservoir. The percentage of urban sewage receiving
centralized treatment, the percentage of urban household garbage
safely disposed of, and the multipurpose utilization of industrial
solid waste all increased moderately.
5. The various reforms pressed ahead in an orderly manner, and
China continued opening wider to the outside world. Institutional
restructuring of the State Council was completed smoothly, and
steady progress was made in institutional restructuring of
provincial-level governments. The experimental reform of rural
taxes and administrative charges was carried out throughout the
country.
Important steps were taken in the reform of the state-owned
assets management system and state-owned enterprises. Reform of the
electric power, telecommunications and civil aviation industries
was continued. The export tax rebate mechanism was improved. The
reform of state-owned commercial banks was accelerated. The Chinese
People's Insurance Company and the China Life Insurance Company
completed their reorganization and transformation into stock
companies and were successfully listed on overseas stock
exchanges.
Smooth progress was made in the trial reform of rural credit
cooperatives in eight provinces and municipalities directly under
the central government. Trials for restructuring the cultural
system were started in selected regions. Major and important cases
were investigated and prosecuted in the course of rectifying and
standardizing the order of the market economy, resulting in gradual
improvement of the market environment.
Foreign trade grew rapidly. Imports and exports totaled US$851.2
billion, a year-on-year increase of 37.1 percent. The scope of
foreign investment continued to expand, and the quality of foreign
investment utilization constantly improved. A total of US$53.5
billion in foreign direct investment was actually utilized. Fresh
progress was made in implementing the strategy of "going global,"
and overseas investment was further expanded and diversified.
6. More jobs were created, and people's lives continued to
improve. A total of 8.59 million more urban residents found jobs,
and 4.4 million laid-off workers were reemployed in 2003; both
figures exceeded the targets set for the year. The registered
unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in cities and towns at the end of
2003.
The urban population had a per capita disposable income of 8,472
yuan, an increase of 9 percent in real terms, and the rural
population had a per capita net income of 2,622 yuan, an increase
of 4.3 percent in real terms. Living allowances for laid-off
workers and old-age pensions for retirees were basically paid on
time and in full. Social security coverage further increased, as
more people became covered by old-age, medical, unemployment or
workman's compensation insurance. Some 22.35 million urban
residents received subsistence allowances, 1.7 million more than in
2002.
The government allocated special funds to help people in
disaster-afflicted areas restore production and improve their
living conditions. Programs to give people work in place of relief
subsidies continued to expand. Better roads and supplies of
electricity and potable water in poverty-stricken areas improved
working and living conditions there. Steady progress was made in
pilot programs to move impoverished people out of areas afflicted
by extremely poor ecological conditions.
Because of the complicated and volatile international situation,
the unexpected SARS outbreak and the numerous natural disasters,
these achievements in China's economic and social development were
made only with great difficulty. They are attributable to the
correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu
Jintao as General Secretary, which maintained control of the
overall situation and remained calm and resolute in making
decisions.
Credit also goes to local authorities and government
departments, which consciously followed the important thought of
Three Represents, unified the broad masses of cadres and people and
worked hard in a down-to-earth manner. These achievements are also
due to the National People's Congress strengthening its oversight
and guidance and the CPPCC taking an active part in the
deliberation and administration of state affairs.
While affirming our achievements, we are clearly aware that
there are still many difficulties and problems in China's economic
and social development that we cannot afford to ignore. Some
longstanding, deep-rooted problems have yet to be solved, and there
are still structural barriers holding back economic and social
development.
Moreover, there are new circumstances and problems affecting the
operation of the economy. First, farmers have difficulty increasing
their incomes and grain production has dropped considerably. The
2003 increase in per capita net income for the rural population was
0.5 percentage points lower than in 2002. The problem of
indiscriminate expropriation of arable land is serious. Grain
output for 2003 decreased by 26.4 billion kilograms
year-on-year.
Second, the problem of unemployment remains serious. We still
have about 14 million laid-off workers and unemployed people in
cities and towns. Approximately 10 million new urban residents are
expected to enter the labor force this year. In addition, large
numbers of surplus rural laborers still need to shift to
non-agricultural industries and urban areas.
Third, there is an excessively wide income gap among some
members of society, and in both urban and rural areas many
low-income people lead a fairly difficult life.
Fourth, the economic structure is still irrational, and too much
of our economic growth is based on extensive production. The
problems of haphazard investment and low-level, redundant expansion
are worsening in some industries and localities, resulting in
excess energy consumption, serious waste of resources and
environmental pollution. Considerable disparity remains between
supply and demand in coal, electricity, oil and transport capacity,
and the shortages of resources are increasingly affecting
development.
Fifth, economic and social development remains imbalanced. The
public health service system is far from sound. The situation that
rural education remains weak as a whole requires fundamental
changes. Sixth, the order of the market economy remains somewhat
chaotic. We urgently need to improve the social credit system.
Major industrial accidents occur frequently. We need to take a
long-term perspective rooted in the present and solve these
problems through reform and development.
II. Regulatory Targets and Main Tasks for
Economic and Social Development in 2004
The year 2004 is an important year for achieving the targets set
in the Tenth Five-Year Plan and a crucial time for maintaining good
momentum in economic growth. To ensure economic and social
development this year, we must follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping
Theory and the important thought of Three Represents and fully
implement the guiding principles of the Sixteenth National Congress
of the CPC and the Third Plenary Session of its Sixteenth Central
Committee. We must continue to put the people first and articulate
and bring to fruition a conception of all-round, balanced and
sustainable development.
In line with the need to balance urban and rural development,
balance development among regions, balance economic and social
development, balance development of man and nature, and balance
domestic development and opening wider to the outside world, we
must shift the focus of our economic work onto restructuring the
economy, changing the mode of economic growth, and improving its
quality and efficiency. We must nurture, guide and make good use of
everyone's initiative in accelerating development so as to bring
about sustained, rapid, balanced and sound development of the
national economy and all- round social progress.
Our main macro-control targets for 2004 are as follows:
l
Economic growth rate around 7 percent.
l
Nine million new jobs for urban residents and registered urban
unemployment rate confined to 4.7 percent.
l
Rise in the consumer price index of about 3 percent.
l
Increase in total import and export volume of 8 percent.
To attain these targets, we need to focus on accomplishing the
following tasks.
1. Adopting comprehensive measures to increase rural incomes and
maintaining and increasing grain production capacity. Following the
principle of "giving more, taking less and loosening control," we
will strive to increase rural incomes, aiming for an increase in
the per capita net income of 5 percent in 2004.
We will continue to carry out strategic restructuring of
agriculture and the rural economy. We will implement a plan to
arrange where crops are grown so as to use cropland to the best
geographical advantage. We need to strengthen scientific research
in agriculture and apply research results more widely.
We will promote the development of intensive processing of farm
and livestock products and other non- agricultural industries in
rural areas, and improve the distribution of farm products. We will
develop farmers' cooperatives for specialized production and speed
up industrialization of agricultural operations. We will strengthen
the emergency animal epidemic prevention system, improve the
systems of quality standards of farm products and for inspecting,
testing and certifying them, and implement the Action Plan for
Pollution-Free Food. We will promote the adjustment and
transformation of township and village enterprises, selectively
develop small towns, and strengthen intra-county economies.
Vocational training will be offered to rural laborers, and
better information will be provided to guide the movement of
surplus rural labor in an orderly way. The problem of withholding
or delaying payment of the wages of migrant rural workers in cities
must be solved, and a mechanism to ensure the timely payment of
such wages will be established and improved. Pay for farmers will
be included in the budgets for government-financed rural
construction projects to ensure they are properly paid.
We will deepen the reform of rural taxes and administrative
charges, reduce the rates for agricultural taxes and eliminate
taxes on all special agricultural products except tobacco to
effectively lighten the burden on farmers. We will give more people
work in place of relief subsidies as part of the effort to improve
the mechanism for alleviating rural poverty through development.
Emergency disaster relief work must be done well, and proper
arrangements will be made for the work and daily lives of needy
rural households.
We will strengthen our grain production capability and improve
the country's food security. The acreage sown to grain must be
expanded. We will work hard to increase the yield per unit area and
ensure that grain output totals 455 billion kilograms this year. We
will practice the most stringent possible system for protecting
farmland. We will reform the way land is expropriated and
requisitioned and the mechanism of compensating for its
expropriation and requisition. The transformation of farmland to
non-agricultural purposes will be planned and managed strictly.
We will launch a project to industrialize production of
high-quality grains, and establish a group of state production
centers concentrated in major grain producing areas to produce
high- quality and special grain crops. Investment will be increased
to develop improved crop strains, promote wider application of
advanced agricultural techniques, prevent and control plant
diseases and pests, improve irrigated areas, develop dry farming
and water-saving irrigation, turn hillsides into terraced fields
and build silt trappers. Improvement of low- and medium-yield
farmland will be accelerated. Major grain consumption areas will
also be obligated to protect their primary farmland to maintain
necessary grain production capacity and ensure adequate local grain
reserves.
2. Adjusting the orientation of investment using treasury bonds
to make full use of their role in promoting restructuring and
balancing development. We will ensure the continuity and stability
of our macroeconomic policies, adhere to the principle of
stimulating domestic demand, and continue to implement a proactive
fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy.
At the same time, we will make timely and appropriate
adjustments to the emphasis and intensity of these policies in
response to changes in the economy. Premier Wen Jiabao pointed out
in his Report on the Work of the Government yesterday that we would
issue 110 billion yuan worth of long-term construction treasury
bonds this year. We must manage and use them well in line with the
resolutions of this session. This year the focus of these funds
will be shifted from the previous emphasis on expanding domestic
demand and stimulating economic growth to promoting restructuring
and balancing economic and social development.
They will be mainly used for the following: first, to increase
support for developing agriculture and rural areas by building more
small and medium-sized infrastructure projects such as
water-efficient irrigation facilities, potable water supplies,
roads, methane production facilities, hydroelectric plants and
pasture enclosure projects, so as to promote balanced urban and
rural development; second, to place greater emphasis on developing
social undertakings by investing more in infrastructure projects
for public health and medical care, elementary education,
primary-level governments, people's courts and public security,
procuratorial and judicial organs, so as to promote balanced
economic and social development; third, to support development of
the western region and adjustment and transformation of northeast
China and other old industrial bases, so as to promote balanced
regional development; fourth, to continue to improve ecological
conservation and environmental protection, so as to promote
balanced development between man and nature; and fifth, to build
more key infrastructure projects, so as to create the conditions
necessary for long-term, stable economic and social
development.
We will speed up construction on key bond-financed projects. The
preparatory work for laying the track on the Qinghai-Tibet railway
line will be basically completed in 2004, and the cumulative length
of laid track will reach 647 kilometers. We will accelerate the
preliminary work on the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and
meet the schedule and quality standards for the construction under
way. The entire West-to-East Natural Gas Piping Project will be put
into commercial operation. An additional power-generating capacity
of 8.2 million KW will go on line in the West-to-East Electricity
Transmission Project. Construction will begin this year on the
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the second phase
of the National Library of China project and the China Digital
Library project. We will strengthen inspection, supervision and
management of bond- financed projects to ensure more efficient use
of the funds and the quality of these projects.
3. Adjusting and optimizing the industrial structure and keeping
economic growth stable. In line with the needs of the new road of
industrialization we are taking, we will promote technological
innovation and speed up industrial restructuring, emphasizing
rejuvenation of equipment manufacturing industries. We will
accelerate the industrial application of advances in new and high
technology. We will continue working on hi-tech projects to develop
live broadcast satellite systems, the next generation Internet,
biology and new medicines. We will work to put the national economy
and society on an IT basis. We will put greater effort into
upgrading centers for modern equipment manufacturing industries and
developing a group of new industries. We will improve our
capability for independent development and for producing complete
sets of key equipment. We will successfully carry out specific
projects to domestically produce urban mass transit equipment,
environmental protection equipment, heavy-duty industrial gas
turbines, large-capacity hydroelectric power generating facilities,
coal mining combines and other major equipment.
At present, exercising appropriate control over the scale of
fixed assets investment and rigorously curbing haphazard investment
and low-level, redundant construction in some industries and
regions constitute both an important task for industrial
restructuring and a pressing need to keep economic growth stable
and rapid and free from drastic fluctuations. We will strengthen
and improve macro-control, and guided by the market, we will use
mainly economic and legal means supplemented by administrative
means to guide and promote sound development of the iron and steel,
electrolytic aluminum and cement industries. We will vigorously
encourage mergers and regrouping in these industries, support
enterprises that can benefit from economies of scale to expand
rapidly, and allow market forces to determine their success or
failure. We will put into practice all regulatory measures set
forth in the Report on the Work of the Government for providing
guidance through state policy and planning and industrial
information, tightening market access and strengthening management
of land use and credit.
We must work hard to alleviate bottlenecks in economic
development. We will accelerate development of large coal mines and
the coal transport system, so as to increase the coal supply
without compromising production safety. We will continue developing
power generating facilities and power grids in accordance with the
principle of giving priority to building power generating capacity
and ensuring its rational distribution.
In 2004, construction will be started on power plants with a
combined capacity of 40 million KW, new power generating capacity
of 37 million KW will come on line, and desulphurization equipment
will be built simultaneously as required. We will improve
management of power grids and the demand for power to ensure a safe
power supply. We will properly organize the production and import
of crude and processed oil and speed up the building of a national
strategic oil reserve. We will better regulate economic operations
in accordance with the laws of the market to balance supply and
demand in coal, electricity, oil, transport capacity and important
raw and processed materials. We will develop more trunk lines and
transportation hubs.
The basic way to alleviate the disparity between supply and
demand in coal, electricity, oil, transport capacity and important
raw and processed materials is to increase the supply as much as
possible and at the same time to effectively change the pattern of
economic growth, restructure the economy, and restrict haphazard
development of industries and enterprises that waste energy and
resources and cause serious pollution and to encourage all
industries to save energy and eliminate waste.
4. Implementing a proactive employment policy and continuing to
expand consumer spending and improve people's lives. We will
further implement existing measures such as fiscal and credit
support and tax and fee cuts and exemptions and do everything
possible to create more jobs. We will give full play to the role of
labor-intensive industries, small and medium-sized enterprises and
non-public sectors of the economy in expanding employment.
We will vigorously develop the tertiary industry and expand
avenues for employment in traditional service industries such as
business, food and beverage service and transportation. We will
create more jobs in the areas of public health, urban environmental
protection, medical care, as well as community and domestic
services. We will expand employment in tourism, education,
training, culture, sports and information services. We will promote
diverse types of employment and encourage people to be flexible in
taking a job or become self-employed. We will improve the
employment service system, strengthen the reemployment assistance
system and provide better job training, job introduction and
employment guidance services to laid-off workers and the
unemployed. We will work harder at job placement for college
graduates and ex-servicemen.
We will improve the consumer environment, expand consumer
spending and gradually increase the proportion of consumption in
our GDP. While doing everything possible to increase rural incomes,
we will improve commodity distribution facilities and commercial
outlets in rural areas and develop infrastructure facilities there
such as those for water, power and roads, thus creating conditions
for rural residents to expand their consumption.
We will continue to implement the "three-stage guarantee" and
ensure that the living allowances for workers laid off from
state-owned enterprises and the pensions of retirees are paid on
time and in full. We will improve the social assistance system,
provide subsistence allowances to the urban poor and help needy
urban families solve their practical problems. We will increase the
supply of low- and moderate-price commercial housing, stimulate the
secondary housing market and expand consumer spending on housing.
We will vigorously develop urban public transport services.
We will steadily increase consumer spending on private cars and
communications. We will encourage people to spend more on travel,
sports, fitness and culture. We will accelerate the development of
the credit system and develop consumer credit. We must combine
efforts to expand consumption with those to strengthen regulation
of income distribution. We will raise the minimum wage
appropriately to increase the incomes of urban residents,
especially low- and middle-income people. We need to strengthen
supervision over income distribution in monopoly industries and
intensify collection and management of individual income tax to
regulate excessively high incomes.
5. Increasing revenue, reducing expenditures and ensuring steady
and sound financial operations. We will improve tax collection and
management and crack down on tax evasion and tax fraud to ensure
steady revenue growth. We will adjust the pattern of budgetary
expenditures and tighten control over them. We will focus on
increasing funding to solve the problems facing agriculture, rural
areas and farmers and to support employment work, social security,
education, science, culture and health. We must ensure that
government employees' salaries and government retirees' pensions
are paid on time and in full, and that state organs receive the
funding necessary for their normal operations. We will continue to
have zero growth in our general expenditures. Total national
revenue in the budget for 2004 is 2.357 trillion yuan and total
expenditures are 2.6768 trillion yuan. This keeps the central
government budget deficit within 319.8 billion yuan.
We will control the scale of credit reasonably by using a
variety of monetary policy instruments. We will focus on adjusting
the pattern of credit and encourage and guide commercial banks to
provide more credit support to promote restructuring, expand
consumption and create more jobs. We will accelerate development
and improvement of the financial market, tighten financial
regulation, and guard against and defuse financial risks. We will
constantly improve the mechanism for determining the exchange rate
for the Renminbi and keep it stable at a rational and balanced
level. The broad money supply (M2) and the narrow money supply (M1)
will both increase by about 17 percent in 2004.
6. Balancing the development of regional economies so that the
eastern, central and western regions can complement each other and
develop together. We will improve and implement all the policies
and measures for developing the western region. We will do a good
job on major projects having a bearing on the long-term development
of the western region and small and medium-sized projects vital to
the immediate interests of the people there.
We will provide more funding for upgrading roads connecting
county seats and building roads to villages, and continue to solve
the problem of a potable water supply for people and livestock.
Construction will be started on the Jiudianxia Water Control Hub
and other key projects. We will speed up the building of airports
on feeder air routes in the western region. We will build on our
achievements in returning cultivated land to forests, and
effectively help those farmers and herdsmen whose land has been
returned to forests solve their problems of food, firewood and low
incomes. We will develop distinctive economic undertakings and
industries that have a competitive edge. The number of skilled
personnel working in the western region will be increased, and laws
and regulations concerning the region will be improved.
In implementing the strategy for revitalizing northeast China
and other old industrial bases, we will focus on making innovations
in systems and mechanisms. We will promote the strategic regrouping
of enterprises in such key manufacturing industries as iron and
steel, automobiles, petrochemicals, and heavy equipment. We will
ensure full implementation of the fiscal, taxation, social security
and financial service policies that support the restructuring and
transformation of the old industrial bases. We will press ahead
with helping cities that rely mainly on natural resource
exploitation to change their economic model.
We will help the central region to exploit its overall
advantages in location, resources, trained personnel, and
education, strengthen its industrialized agricultural production
and manufacturing centers, promote the optimization and upgrading
of its economic structure, foster new areas of economic growth and
become more industrialized and urbanized. The eastern region will
be encouraged to seize the opportunities to upgrade its industries
and technologies and become more competitive internationally, and
areas where conditions permit should take the lead in realizing
modernization. Economic exchanges and cooperation will be increased
among the eastern, central and western regions to create economic
zones and belts with distinctive features.
7. Promoting steady growth of foreign trade and utilizing
foreign funds better. We will increase export volume and profits by
following the strategy of revitalizing foreign trade through
science and technology, winning customers through quality and
diversifying our markets. We will improve the export tax rebate
mechanism. Good arrangements will be made to import important
commodities and advanced equipment that are in short supply in
China. We will introduce the foreign trade agent system, register
foreign trade entities in accordance with the law and ensure that
enterprises have independent decision-making power over their
export and import activities, regardless of their form of
ownership. We will accelerate establishment of technological
standards and improve the early-warning system for industrial
losses.
We will coordinate domestic development with opening up and
continue to implement policies and measures for expanding opening
up and encouraging foreign investment. We will place greater
emphasis on acquiring advanced technologies and managerial
expertise from abroad and recruiting high-caliber foreign
personnel. We will improve our macro guidance for overseas
investment and improve fiscal, taxation and financial policies to
encourage capable enterprises to "go global," regardless of their
form of ownership. We will strengthen economic cooperation with our
neighboring countries and regions and gradually improve and fully
implement closer economic partnership arrangements between the
mainland on the one hand and Hong Kong and Macao on the other.
8. Continuing to implement the strategy of sustainable
development and balancing social and economic development with
population growth, resource exploitation and ecological protection.
We will continue our good work on key ecological projects,
including projects to protect natural forests, key shelterbelt
projects and projects to control the source of sandstorms affecting
Beijing and Tianjin. We will improve our overall ability to manage
and protect nature reserves, functional ecological zones, scenic
spots and historical sites.
Measures will be intensified to control pollution in the
drainage basins of the Huaihe, Haihe and Liaohe rivers, Taihu,
Chaohu and Dianchi lakes, and the Three Gorges Reservoir and in
areas along the routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion
Project, and to control discharge of sewage from large industrial
projects and pollution caused by acid rain and sulfur dioxide. We
will continue to prevent and control pollution in key industries
and cities and increase the proportion of urban sewage and garbage
treated. We will promote clean production and develop
environment-friendly industries.
We will raise people's awareness of endangered natural resources
and the need to conserve them, vigorously develop recycling
industries and establish a conservation-minded society. We will
improve plans, standards, policies, laws and regulations for energy
and water conservation. We will rapidly develop and apply advanced
applied technologies for conserving and replacing resources. We
will concentrate on technological upgrading of the metallurgical,
nonferrous metals, power, petrochemical, building materials and
paper industries to help save energy, water and materials and more
fully utilize resources. We will protect land and resources in
accordance with the law, develop them rationally, and pay attention
to the exploitation and conservation of marine resources.
We will adhere to the basic state policy of family planning,
keep the birthrate low, and improve the health of newborns. The
natural population growth rate will be confined to 7 in 2004.
9. Continuing to promote development of science, technology and
education and developing all social undertakings. Development of
the state innovation system and the scientific and technological
infrastructure will be accelerated. We will strengthen basic and
hi-tech research, promote the application of scientific and
technological advances in production, and improve the ability of
enterprises to make technological innovation.
We will begin work on large national science laboratories and
installations such as the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
We will make good progress in constructing the National Nanoscience
Center. National engineering research centers will be set up in the
fields of biology, informatics, new materials and pharmaceuticals,
and a number of national key laboratories will be upgraded. We will
support key enterprises to build their state-level technology
centers. We will energetically promote the development of
philosophy and social sciences.
We will implement the strategy of relying on talented personnel
to strengthen the country. We will energetically train, recruit and
properly use all kinds of talented personnel. The top priority for
our work in education will continue to be rural education. We will
lose no time in improving the mechanism for ensuring adequate
funding for rural education to make it more regular and
institutionalized. We will intensify our efforts to make nine-year
compulsory education basically universal and to basically eliminate
illiteracy among young and middle-aged people in the western
region.
We will continue the project to renovate dangerous primary and
secondary school buildings in rural areas and the national program
to make compulsory education universally available in
poverty-stricken areas. We need to successfully carry out our pilot
projects for modern distance education in rural primary and
secondary schools. We will improve the system of government and
non-government subsidies for students from indigent families.
We will work harder to develop high-quality universities and key
disciplines and improve the quality of higher education. We will
increase the number of key senior secondary schools and vigorously
develop vocational education and continuing education. Training of
high-level technicians will be stepped up. Plans call for enrolling
of 4 million undergraduate students and 330,000 graduate students
in regular institutions of higher learning in 2004.
We will actively develop culture, health, sports, radio, film,
TV, the press, publishing and other undertakings. Primary-level
public cultural facilities will be improved. We will better protect
our natural and cultural heritages. We will expedite development of
our disease prevention and control system, public health emergency
response system, major epidemic disease information network and
system for supervising enforcement of health-related laws and
regulations. We will strengthen the medical and public health
infrastructure and the environmental sanitation infrastructure in
rural areas.
Application of digital and computer network technologies in
radio, film and TV will be accelerated. We will promote the sound
development of the sports industry. We will make good progress in
constructing Olympic venues and related facilities. III. Promoting
Economic Restructuring Vigorously but Prudently
In accordance with the decision made at the Third Plenary
Session of the Sixteenth CPC Central Committee, we must seize the
favorable opportunities presented by the rapid economic growth, the
relatively desirable financial situation and the fairly relaxed
environment to push forward reforms in key areas in a selective,
planned way and eliminate structural obstacles to developing the
productive forces. This is of great significance for solving
current outstanding economic problems, attaining this year's
targets and continuing to develop for years to come.
Improving the fundamental economic system whereby public
ownership is dominant and diverse forms of ownership develop
together. We will adjust the distribution pattern and structure of
the state sector of the economy more quickly and improve the
mechanism for redirecting investment of state capital so that it
can move more rationally. The system for managing and supervising
state assets will be improved.
A budgetary system for state capital management and a
performance evaluation mechanism for enterprises will be
established. The transformation of state-owned enterprises into
standard stock companies will be vigorously promoted. We will
strongly encourage state, collective and non- public enterprises to
invest in each other in order to promote a mixed ownership economy.
We will foster the formation of large internationally competitive
companies and enterprise groups and further reduce government
control over small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises so as
to reinvigorate them.
Measures to support reforms in the power, telecommunications and
civil aviation industries will be improved. We will organize reform
of the postal system well. We will promptly work out plans for
reforming the railway system. Commercialization of water and gas
supplies and other urban public utilities will be accelerated.
Diverse forms of collective economy will be developed. Development
of non-public sectors of the economy will be encouraged, supported
and guided. We will fully implement all policies that give non-
public enterprises the same treatment as other types of enterprises
in market access, investment, financing, taxation, land use and
foreign trade. We will speed up the process of commercializing
services and improve services and oversight for non-public
enterprises.
Promoting the reform of the fiscal, taxation and financial
systems. Fiscal systems at and below the provincial level will be
improved and standardized, and the financial resources at the
disposal of governments at county and township levels will be
increased. We will gradually shift from a "production VAT" to a "
consumption VAT;" we will do this first in some industries in
northeast China in 2004 on a trial basis. All measures for
reforming the export tax rebate system will be fully
implemented.
We will introduce a shareholding system in the Bank of China and
the China Construction Bank and continue carrying out pilot
projects for reforming rural credit cooperatives. Interest rates
will be steadily deregulated. Capital markets will be vigorously
developed, and the proportion of direct financing by enterprises
will be raised. Management of enterprise bonds will be improved,
and the amount and types of the bonds they issue will be increased.
Regulatory systems for the banking, securities and insurance
industries and mechanisms for coordinating them will be
improved.
Making arrangements for the reform of the investment system. We
will promptly formulate and improve measures to support reform of
the investment system. Enterprises will be able to make investment
decisions independently in line with the principle that "the
investor makes the investment decisions, reaps the profits and
bears the risks." Scientific and democratic decision-making
mechanisms for government-funded projects will be improved, and
examination and approval procedures will be simplified and
standardized. The contractor system for construction will be
vigorously promoted.
We will establish an accountability system for investment. While
expanding enterprises' decision-making powers over investment, we
will strengthen the system of macro- controls over investment. We
will rely mainly on economic and legal measures supplemented by
administrative measures when necessary to curb haphazard investment
and low-level redundant construction in some industries and
maintain a rational scale of investment. A system for supervising
and managing investment will be established and improved.
Improving pricing mechanisms. We will promote the use of
different electricity prices for periods of high and low demand and
high and low supply to properly deal with serious pricing problems
as they arise. We will reform the mechanism for modulating air
passenger and freight rates. Drug price management will be improved
and drug prices will be further reduced. Great efforts will be made
to reform the water pricing system to promote water conservation.
The system of charges for urban sewage and garbage treatment and
disposal of dangerous waste will be fully implemented. We will
continue the system of public notice of prices and charges. We will
take into full consideration the ability of all sectors of society
to tolerate price changes, and we will control the timing and
magnitude of price adjustments to keep market prices basically
stable.
Deepening the reform of the grain distribution system. We will
improve the grain distribution system in line with the idea of
lifting controls on grain purchasing, directly subsidizing grain
producers, changing the way grain enterprises and strengthening
macro-control. The system of direct subsidies for grain producers
will be gradually improved. Reform of state-owned grain enterprises
will be accelerated. The cotton distribution system will be
improved. Macro-control and market oversight of grain and cotton
distribution will be strengthened and improved.
Improving the social security system. Based on a review of the
experience gained from pilot projects in Liaoning Province, we will
extend the application of approaches that have worked out to pilot
projects in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces. We will improve the
basic old-age insurance system by continuing to combine
contributions from enterprises and institutions with personal
accounts. We will speed up the development of the systems of
workman's compensation insurance and maternity insurance. We will
explore ways to reform the social security system for state organs
and institutions and to set up a system of subsistence allowances
for rural residents where conditions permit.
Improving the market supervision system. We will speed up the
development of a social credit system. We will improve the
mechanism for product quality oversight and control. We will
continue to rectify and standardize the order of the market
economy. We will crack down on illegal activities such as
manufacturing and marketing fake or shoddy goods, commercial fraud,
smuggling and selling smuggled goods. We will launch campaigns to
clean up markets that have a direct bearing on people's health and
lives such as those for food and medicine. We will continue to
clear up problems concerning administrative charges. We will launch
special investigations of prices and charges, including education
charges and power rates, which affect rural residents. We will
strengthen oversight of production safety.
Deepening reforms of the systems of science, technology,
education, culture and health. We will reform the management system
of science and technology, improve the modern enterprise system in
institutes engaged in technological development and promote the
reform of institutes engaged in public welfare research. We will
consolidate and improve the system of rural compulsory education
that is managed by governments at multiple levels, with county
governments playing the principal role, as well as the system of
higher education that is managed by the central and provincial
governments, with the latter playing the main role.
We will establish and improve the system of vocational education
that is managed by governments at multiple levels, with local
governments playing the principal role and with both overall
government planning and non-government participation. We will
continue the pilot reform of the cultural system. We will deepen
the reforms of the medical insurance system, the medical and health
systems, and the medicine distribution system. We will successfully
introduce a new type of system for rural cooperative medical care
and health services on a trial basis in selected regions. Fellow
Deputies,
Successfully carrying out the work of economic and social
development this year will be an arduous but important task.
Willingly subjecting ourselves to the oversight and guidance of the
NPC, heeding the comments and suggestions from the CPPCC, and
performing our official duties in accordance with the law
constitute an important guarantee for our success in this work. We
must follow the leadership of the Party Central Committee with
Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary and the guidance of Deng
Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents and
earnestly implement the guidelines set at the Sixteenth National
Congress of the Party and the Third Plenary Session of its
Sixteenth Central Committee. We must keep pace with the times, work
hard with a pioneering and innovative spirit, be realistic and
pragmatic, and strive to complete all the tasks for national
economic and social development in 2004.
(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2004)