SCIO briefing on 2017 government work report
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 6, 2017
Huang Shouhong:
The State Council Research Office was in main charge of the drafting. Together with the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, it held a meeting with 11 foreign experts to solicit their opinions. The experts came from different countries, including the United States, U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan. They made many useful suggestions from their global perspective.
In China, 731 million people have access to the internet, and 95 percent of them use cell phones to go online. These people play an active and important part in modern society. As the internet has become a major tool for governing the country, collecting public opinion online has become increasingly efficient.
This year, the State Council and 27 media websites launched an online campaign called "Share your thoughts with Premier Li" to collect opinions on the drafting of the work report. By March 3, around 316,400 messages were posted online. The previous year, the number totaled 183,400. More than 1,500 messages were extremely constructive and were passed on to us, as compared to 590 messages the previous year. Some of the reports we received were based on similar suggestions from a large number of people; there were also some suggestions from foreign internet users. Besides, nearly 2 million people shared their thoughts via other platforms, such as new media, microblogs and online forums.
The reports received reflected the opinions of different regions and departments. The central government's decisions and plans have to be carried out by individual local governments and many government departments. Therefore, only when the work report responds to their perceived needs, can they be really enthusiastic about undertaking what is required. We have studied the opinions from all circles, including those online ones. We have done our best to reflect these in the work report. In fact, most of them have been written into the report. In the next few days, we will make further improvements according to the opinions of NPC deputies and CPPCC members.
Third, the report strongly adheres to facts. On March 1, the State Council released a report on how the goals set in last year's government work report were fulfilled. There were more than 30 mandatory goals. Some were fulfilled as planned and some went beyond expectation. It ensured a good beginning for the implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020).
According to estimates, China regained first place among the world's major economies in terms of the overall economic growth rate. However, I think, what is more important is the accelerated improvement and the upgrading of our economic structure, the marked enhancement of economic performance, the development of new engines of growth, and the stronger public sense of benefits, happiness and security.
Now, I'd like to invite you to read through the report. You will find specific measures for all major social concerns, including the treatment of smog, the relief of enterprises' financial burdens, increase of broadband speed, and the reduction of the rates for internet services.
Fourth, the report seeks to place people first. At the end of December, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the 14th meeting of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs. Six major issues concerning people's livelihood were discussed. They included the use of clean energy in winter heating, sorted treatment of waste, housing market reform, old-age care and food safety.
Premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly stressed that the wishes of the people should always determine our way of governance. We have done our utmost to respond to people's wishes in the government work report. In this year's report, it was stated explicitly that an important reason for maintaining stable growth is to ensure employment and improve people's lives. It was also stressed that we should solve prominent problems of public concern. There were specific measures to promote employment, cut the mobile rates for roaming and long-distance calls, increase government subsidies for basic health insurance for rural and nonworking urban residents, build a nationwide information network for basic health insurance so healthcare costs can be settled directly where incurred, and adjust and improve the natural disaster subsidy mechanism. All this shows the Chinese government continues to give top priority to the people in governance. It also shows that China's economic growth is oriented to people, ensuring they can enjoy their life.
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