Full text: Report on China's economic, social development plan
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E-mail Xinhua, March 15, 2014
4. The people's living standards improved.
We increased investment and improved policies and measures to promote coordinated economic and social development.
First, employment remained stable on the whole. An additional 13.1 million urban jobs were created, and the urban registered unemployment rate stood at 4.05% at the end of 2013, exceeding expected targets. The policy for supporting college graduates in finding jobs or starting their own businesses was satisfactorily implemented, the employment assistance system for people having difficulty finding jobs was improved, and public employment service facilities continued to improve.
Second, personal income increased. Urban per capita disposable income rose by 7% in real terms and rural per capita net income increased by 9.3% in real terms. Rural income growth surpassed urban income growth for the fourth consecutive year, the number of rural residents living in poverty decreased by 16.5 million, and the gap between urban and rural incomes continued to narrow.
Third, social security coverage expanded. We accelerated the coordination of basic old-age insurance and basic medical insurance in urban and rural areas in an overall manner, further standardized the subsistence allowance systems for urban and rural residents, and established temporary assistance systems in 26 provincial-level administrative areas. We improved the mechanism that increases social assistance and social security benefits to offset the effects of inflation. By the end of 2013, 346 million urban residents had joined the basic old-age insurance system, and 474 million rural residents had joined the new type of rural old-age insurance system, an increase of 20.83 million and 10.82 million, respectively. Basic old-age pensions for enterprise retirees increased by 10%. Annual government subsidies for basic medical insurance for non-working urban residents and the new rural cooperative medical care system were raised from 240 yuan to 280 yuan per person.
Fourth, education developed steadily. We continued to promote preschool education in rural areas, intensified the standardization of compulsory education schools, and steadily improved the basic conditions of poorly built and run schools providing compulsory education in poor areas. We effectively implemented the policy to grant children who live in urban areas with their rural migrant worker parents the same eligibility to go to secondary school or college as local students after receiving compulsory education. The ratio of rural students admitted to key colleges and universities is on the increase. The retention rate of nine-year compulsory education was 92.3%, up 0.5 percentage points over the previous year; the gross enrollment ratio for senior secondary education reached 86%, up one percentage point; and regular undergraduate and graduate enrollment totaled 6.998 million and 779,000, respectively, including 611,000 full-time graduates.
Fifth, the medical and health care services systems continued to improve. We strengthened the development of the public health services system, the medical services system, the family planning services system, centers for training general practitioners, and programs to make medical and health care services information-based. We increased annual per capita spending on basic public health services from 25 yuan to 30 yuan. Hospitals and health care institutions had 4.55 beds per 1,000 people, up 7.3%. The natural population growth rate was 4.92 per thousand, which met the planned target.
Sixth, the public cultural services system constantly improved. We steadily pressed ahead with cultural projects to benefit the people such as the extension of radio and television coverage to all villages and the enjoying of national cultural information resources together, and continued to implement special projects to develop facilities for preserving national cultural and natural heritage sites. The Tourism Law and the National Tourism and Recreation Program were introduced and revenue from tourism totaled 2.95 trillion yuan for the year, an increase of 14% over the previous year. We increased funding for recreational sports, and built 51,800 sports venues for the year.
Seventh, construction on government-subsidized housing picked up speed. Last year we basically completed work on 5.44 million government-subsidized housing units in urban areas and began construction on an additional 6.66 million units, with both numbers exceeding the planned figure.
In the face of complex situations at home and abroad, we maintained steady economic development and overall social harmony and stability. These hard won achievements can be attributed to the good policymaking and correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the concerted efforts and vigorous implementation of all regions and government departments, and the arduous work and joint efforts of the people of all China's ethnic groups.
As we look at these achievements, we are also keenly aware that we still face a number of conflicts and difficulties in economic and social development. The world economy continues to recover slowly and is still beset with instability and uncertainty. Domestically, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remains a serious problem, and the foundation for steady economic growth is not yet firm.
First, the impetus for economic growth is not strong. There are few new growth areas of consumption, our ability to make new investment is weak, and the export situation remains grim.
Second, the task of improving and upgrading the economic structure is still arduous. The problem of overcapacity is serious in some industries. The transformation of scientific and technological results into productive forces is insufficient. Some enterprises are experiencing difficulties in their production and operations.
Third, problems hindering steady agricultural development are prominent. Resource and environmental constraints have tightened; infrastructure for irrigation and water conservancy is still weak; the existing production management system falls short of the development needs of modern agriculture; and agricultural production is not profitable.
Fourth, the problems of consumption of resources and environmental pollution are prominent. The tasks of conserving energy and reducing emissions are arduous; in particular, smog frequently engulfs large areas of China and seriously affects people's lives and health.
Fifth, hidden fiscal and financial risks cannot be overlooked. The debt burden of some local governments and industries is heavy, some enterprises are too deeply in debt, the nonperforming assets of financial institutions have risen, and liquidity risk management has become more difficult. In addition, the problem of structural unemployment is prominent, housing prices in some large cities are rising too fast, and there are risks and hidden dangers in the real estate market. There are also prominent problems concerning food and drug quality, workplace safety, income distribution, and land expropriation and resettlement.
We must take these problems very seriously and adopt measures to resolve them.
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