Li Rusheng:

Thank you. Just as Mr. Jiang said that since the 18th CPC National Congress, the past decade marks an important period for the construction industry to transform and upgrade. "Built by China" has shown its strong comprehensive strength. I would like to add a few more points.

In the past decade, the scale of the construction industry has constantly increased. In the period, the industry's added value increased from 3.69 trillion yuan to 8.01 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 6.85% of GDP, which consolidated its position as a pillar industry of the economy. In 2021, the industry's total output reached 29.3 trillion yuan, more than twice that of 2012, and the sector created 52.82 million jobs, 10 million more than that of 2012.

In the past decade, the development benefit of the construction industry has sharply increased. Engineering design, construction standard, project quality, the level of S&T innovation, and the skills of workers have all been significantly improved. Labor productivity reached 473,000 yuan per person, an increase of nearly 60% compared with 2012. A number of new products, new business forms, and new models have taken shape, including prefabricated buildings, construction robots, and the internet for the construction industry. In 2021, the area of newly built prefabricated buildings in China reached 740 million square meters, accounting for 24.5% of the total newly built constructions.

In the past decade, the construction industry has supported people's basic living needs. Projects for improving people's wellbeing, such as the construction of urban infrastructure, schools, and hospitals, the rebuilding of run-down urban areas, and the renovation of old residential communities in cities, have significantly changed the landscape of urban and rural areas and facilitated people's work and life. Take the construction of urban rail transport as an example. At the end of 2021, the total length of urban rail transit lines reached 8,571 kilometers, more than four times that of 2012. The annual passenger volume reached 23.6 billion, which greatly facilitated people's travel. A number of landmark projects completed during the past decade, such as the Beijing Daxing International Airport, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and Huoshenshan and Leishenshan hospitals in Wuhan, embody the achievements of the transformation and development of the construction industry, and become the calling card of "Built by China."

In the past decade, the construction industry has expanded its overseas presence at a faster pace. Its international competitiveness has been significantly enhanced, with overseas projects carried out in more than 190 countries and regions. Since 2013, the turnover of contracted overseas projects and the amount of newly signed contracts have maintained steady growth. In 2021, 79 Chinese enterprises were among the world's largest 250 international contractors, as the number of such enterprises and the proportion of business have continued to rank first since 2014.

The influence of the "Built by China" brand has continued to improve. During his 2019 New Year speech, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "Made in China," "Created in China," and "Built by China" should work together to continuously change the face of China. His remark not only recognizes the construction industry, but also shows ardent expectations of its future development.

Next, we will further deepen the reform of the construction industry, strive for innovation-driven and technology-led development, and promote the transformation, the upgrading, and high-quality development of the industry so as to continue building the brand of "Built by China" and make a greater contribution to the sustained and sound development of the economy and society. Thank you.

China News Service:

Safe housing is an important part of the Two Assurances and Three Guarantees in poverty reduction [this refers to assurances of adequate food and clothing and guarantees of access to compulsory education, basic medical services, and safe housing for impoverished rural residents]. What has the MOHURD done to achieve the goal of providing safe housing to the rural poor population? Thank you.

Li Rusheng:

As Mr. Jiang mentioned before, in the battle against poverty, a total of 23.416 million registered poor households nationwide have access to safe housing, which means the issue of safe housing for poor rural population has been solved. We are very pleased to see that they have moved from clay and straw houses in brick ones, which shelter the wind and are larger and brighter. Their sense of contentment, happiness, and security has been greatly improved. The work we have done in this regard is as follows:

First, we carried out precise identification. We laid out applicable standards to identify dilapidated houses in rural areas, which include four levels: level A, which means safe; B, which is basically safe; C, which is partially dangerous; and D, which is dangerous. Houses identified as C and D-level houses are regarded as dilapidated houses for renovation.

Second, we ensured that responsibilities are fulfilled. We take registered poor households as the priority of our work. We adhere to the principle that the government at the provincial level takes the primary responsibility and the government at city, county, and township levels implements the tasks. Identification of safe housing has been carried out for every village and every household. We established a ledger for the renovation of dilapidated houses. Efforts were made to manage projects, funds, and human resources in a coordinated way. The renovation works have been mainly done by farmers themselves and subsidized by the government. For those areas of extreme poverty, we provided preferential policies. We also carried out a working mechanism in which a household would be removed from the list once its dilapidated house was renovated.

Third, we provided professional assistance. We formulated technical standards and guidance that are applicable in works of renovation and completion acceptance. We carried out training for construction workers and managers. We organized efforts to provide tailored technical assistance and help areas of extreme poverty, enhance techniques for renovating dilapidated houses, and improve housing quality. 

Fourth, we conducted careful examinations and checks. We worked with relevant departments to conduct examinations nationwide to ensure registered poor households have access to safe housing. By fully leveraging the institutional strength of "CPC Secretaries at Five Levels Responsible for Poverty Elimination" [the five levels refer to the Party committees of provinces, cities (prefectures), counties, and townships, and the Party branches of villages], we organized local governments to work with Party branches of villages and village committees, village Party chiefs, and resident work teams in poor villages to conduct examinations on housing conditions for every registered poor household, in a bid to make sure that no household and no one is left behind.

Next, the MOHURD will align the efforts of consolidating and expanding poverty alleviation achievements with rural vitalization endeavors, conduct dynamic monitoring, and continue the renovation works of dilapidated houses and seismic retrofitting in rural areas. We will speed up the building of a long-term mechanism that aims to ensure safe housing for low-income groups in rural areas in a bid to better meet the growing needs of rural residents. Thank you.

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