Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report is divided into two parts. The report reviews the achievements of the past five years since the first session of the 10th National People's Congress in 2003. It also lays out the arrangements for the government's work this year.
Gov′t work report: A retrospective of the past five years
A retrospective of the past five years.
There have been major achievements in reform, opening up and modernization.
China's new economy reached a new high.
Its GDP in 2007 hit over 24 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 60 percent from five years ago.
This means that China has risen from the country with the sixth highest GDP in the world to the fourth.
China has also entered a new stage in developing a more open economy.
Its import and export volume totaled over two trillion US dollars in 2007.
This means the country has gone from the sixth largest trading nation in the world to the third largest.
And the standard of living of China's population has risen markedly.
The per capita annual disposable income of urban residents in 2007 almost doubled the figure for 2002.
And per capita net income of farmers increased over 60 percent compared with 2002.
It has taken a great deal of work to achieve these results.
Wen Jiabao says the Chinese government has focused on the following major areas during the past five years:
Macro-economic regulation was improved.
Major measures include tightening controls on the supplies of land and credit, raising market access requirements, as well as adjusting financial and monetary policies.
These measures have helped China's economy maintain a steady and rapid development...without experiencing major fluctuations.
Measures related to policies and investment were adopted to increase grain production and rural incomes.They were also aimed at safeguarding agriculture as the foundation of the economy.
The Chinese government has completely rescinded the agricultural tax and reduced the burden on farmers by an average of over 130 billion yuan per year.
High priority was given to conserving resources and protecting the environment.
A state plan to address climate change was promulgated. In 2007, there was an over three percent year-on-year drop in energy consumption per unit of GDP.
And for the first time in recent years, there was a reduction in both chemical oxygen demand and the total emission of sulfur dioxide.
Efforts were poured into reform and opening up.
The Chinese government continued to open China wider to the outside world. The government deepened reform of the externally oriented economic system to facilitate trade and investment. It lifted controls over access to foreign trade, greatly lowered tariffs and rescinded non-tariff measures such as import quotas and permits. And it also opened banking, commerce, telecommunications and other service sectors.
The government dedicated itself to strengthening all aspects of social development, ensuring the wellbeing of the people and improving their lives.
Expenditure was increased for education, health care services, employment, culture and sports.
Premier Wen Jiabao says the Chinese government has actively promoted exchanges and cooperation with other countries over the past five years. China-US relations have developed steadily, the China-Russia partnership of strategic coordination reached a new height, China-European cooperation in all areas went from strength to strength and China-Japan relations improved.
Despite the achievements and efforts, Premier Wen says problems still remain.
There are still some prominent issues and deep-rooted problems affecting economic performance. For instance, a lack of balance between investment and consumption, with the investment rate still running too high.
More work needs to be done to resolve problems affecting the vital interests of the people, with the current price hikes and increasing inflationary pressures the biggest concern.
Gov′t work report: Arrangements for the government′s work in 2008
2008 is the first year for comprehensively implementing the guiding principles set out at the Seventeenth CPC National Congress. We face arduous tasks in reform and development, and it is very important for us to successfully carry out the work of the government.
And the GDP should grow by about 8%, and the rise in the CPI should be maintained at around 4.8%.
Wen Jiabao said that we need to concentrate on the following nine tasks in 2008:
Firstly -- improving macroeconomic regulation to maintain fast yet steady economic development.
The deficit for the central government budget this year is set at 180 billion yuan.
The government plans to issue 30 billion yuan of treasury bonds for investment.
One major task for macroeconomic regulation this year is to prevent the overall price level from rising rapidly.
Secondly -- strengthening agriculture as the foundation of the economy, promoting development of agriculture and increasing the income of farmers.
Allocations from this year's central government budget related to agricultural, rural areas and farmers total five hundred and sixty two point five billion yuan. This is a year-on-year increase of one hundred and thirty point seven billion yuan.
Thirdly -- promoting economic adjustment and changing the pattern of development.
The government will continue to boost domestic demand and adjust the balance of investment and consumption. It will also promote the shift from the pattern of economic growth that relies mainly on a balanced combination of consumption, investment and exports.
The government will also encourage independent innovation as the central link in efforts to change the pattern of development.
It will encourage improvement and upgrading of the industrial structure.
And the balanced development among regions.
Fourthly -- the government will increasing efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions. It will protect the environment and ensure product quality and safety.
