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Report on the work of the government |
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2004-05-13 16:09 |
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Fellow Deputies, This
government has now been in office for a year. I now submit a
report on its work on behalf of the State Council for your
examination and approval and also for comments from members
of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference. I.
Review of the Past Year's Work
Last year was a
significant and unusual year in the course of China's
development. It was a year in which we made remarkable
achievements in reform and opening up and in the
modernization drive. In the face of a complex and volatile
international situation, the unexpected outbreak of the
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and frequent
natural disasters, governments at all levels and the people
of all our ethnic groups put into practice the guiding
principles of the Sixteenth National Congress of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) under the leadership of the
CPC and the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the
important thought of Three Represents. We braved
difficulties and hardships in an indomitable and innovative
spirit and made important advances in building a moderately
prosperous society in all respects.
-- We won a great victory in the fight against
SARS. -- The economy grew
rapidly. China's GDP increased by 9.1% overthe previous year
and reached 11.67 trillion yuan. Per capita GDP passed the
important benchmark of US$ 1,000, calculated at the current
exchange rate. -- China's
financial strength grew noticeably. Total government revenue
was 2.17 trillion yuan, 278.7 billion yuan more than the
previous year. -- Foreign trade
expanded significantly. Total import and export volume was
$851.2 billion, 37.1% more than the previous year, raising
China from fifth to fourth place in the world.
-- We created more jobs than planned
-- 8.59 million urban residents
became employed and 4.4 millionl aid-off workers,
reemployed. -- People's incomes
increased. Urban per capita disposable income grew by 9% in
real terms, and rural per capita net income rose by 4.3% in
real terms. -- China's first
manned spaceflight was a complete success. These
achievements indicate that China's overall national strength
has reached new heights. They have boosted the confidence
and courage of all our people to continue forging ahead. The
work we did over the past year was mainly in the following
six areas. 1. Taking resolute
measures against SARS and concentrating our resources on the
campaign against it China
suffered from a disastrous SARS outbreak last spring. The
Party Central Committee and the State Council gave top
priority to protecting people's health and lives and
promptly investigated SARS and took steps to prevent and
treat it. We enforced the Law of the People's Republic of
China on the Prevention and Treatment of Communicable
Diseases, formulated the Regulations on Public Health
Emergency Response, and classified SARS as a communicable
disease. We reported the facts of the SARS situation exactly
as they were and mobilized the general public throughout the
country to control the outbreak. The State Council and local
governments established anti-SARS headquarters to coordinate
human, material and financial resources and to make full use
of primary-level organizations in both urban and rural
areas, so as to ensure that prevention and treatment work
was done quickly and orderly. We organized research on and
made significant progress in diagnosing,treating and
preventing SARS. We took such measures as providing free
treatment for SARS patients among rural workers in urban
areas to prevent the spread of SARS to rural areas. During
the difficult days of our anti-SARS campaign, leading cadres
at all levels took to the frontlines, the people throughout
the country united as one, all sectors of society pulled
together, large numbers of medical workers faced danger
fearlessly, and the Chinese nation withstood a severe
test. 2. Exercising timely and appropriate control to
promote stable and rapid economic development
We adhered to the policy of expanding
domestic demand and continued to implement a proactive
fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. We took
measures to exercise macro-control over new developments as
soon as they arose in the course of economic operation.
When the SARS outbreak hit, we
worked unflaggingly to prevent and control it, while at the
same time unswervingly promoting economic development. We
concentrated on strengthening key areas, stimulating
industrial production and ensuring unimpeded flow of goods
and materials. In addition, we promptly adopted such
supportive policies as reducing or exempting taxes and
administrative charges on industries that were worst hit by
SARS and granting soft loans to them. We also enacted
measures for increasing employment and rural incomes. All
this helped minimize the impact of the SARS outbreak on
economic development. We
provided guidance and control for investment, mainly through
a combination of economic and legal means. We further
rectified and standardized the order of the land market and
screened development zones of all types to stop disorderly
and unauthorized acquisition of farmland. We increased the
deposit-reserve ratio for financial institutions to an
appropriate level to bring the excessively rapid growth of
credit under control. In exercising control, we did an
appropriate amount of fine-tuning and dealt with problems
individually. We expanded
support for agriculture, rural areas and farmers and made
plans in a timely fashion to ensure the continued enthusiasm
of major grain producing areas and grain producers. We
strengthened coordination of economic operation and took
measures to increase supply and rationally guide the growth
of demand, thus alleviating transport difficulties and
shortages of coal, electricity, petroleum and important raw
and processed materials. We
stepped up the strategic restructuring of the economy and
put greater efforts into a number of key projects vital to
economic growth and economic restructuring. In particular,
we spedup the launching and construction of water control,
energy and transport projects. The second phase of the key
water control project at the Three Gorges on the Yangtze
River was completed successfully and work on the third phase
began. The eastern section of the pipeline for transmitting
natural gas from the west to the east was completed. Laying
of track proceeded smoothly on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway
trunk line. Transmission of electricity from the west to the
east was increased. Construction of the eastern and central
routes of the south-to-north water diversion project began.
Large-scale development of the western region continued.
Implementation of the strategy to revitalize northeast China
and other old industrial bases was begun.
3. Accelerating the development of social
undertakings on the basis of an overall consideration of all
issues The spread of SARS
exposed problems arising from disparities between economic
and social development. We promptly made necessary
adjustments to the government's priorities and investment to
stimulate the development of social undertakings. The
central government spent 85.5 billion yuan in 2003 on
education, health, science and technology, culture and
sports, 12.4% more than the previous year. Treasury bonds
worth 16.3 billion yuan were issued to support the
development of social undertakings,an increase of nearly
200%. We improved the national
public health system, focusing on epidemic prevention and
control and on rural areas. The National Plan for Developing
an Information System for Public Health Monitoring and the
National Plan for Developing a System for Medical Rescue and
Treatment in Public Health Emergencies were formulated and
implemented. A system was set up for early warning and
response for public health emergencies. Public health
infrastructure was improved, with the focus on networks
spanning provincial, city (prefecture) and county levels for
disease prevention and control. The central government
worked with local governments to build more rural health and
medical institutions. Pilot projects for a new cooperative
medical care system and medical assistance system were
initiated in rural areas. The
State Council issued the Decision on Further Strengthening
Rural Education. Increased financial support was extended to
rural education from the central budget and treasury bonds.
Priority was given to subsidizing rural teachers' salaries
in the central and western regions, renovating dangerous
primary and secondary school buildings, carrying out pilot
projects in modern distance education and aiding needy
students. Many cities began to make schooling available for
the children of migrant rural workers, and the governments
of those cities took over primary administrative
responsibility. Great progress
was made last year in basic research, strategically
important hi-tech research, and industrial application of
new and high technologies. The State Council began
formulating a national medium- to long-range program for
scientific and technological development. It organized many
experts to participate in feasibility studies and a number
of important research results have already been obtained.
Reform of the cultural system
and the development of cultural undertakings were vigorously
promoted. Efforts were intensified torectify the cultural
products and services market. Fresh achievements were made
in amateur and competitive sports.
Population and family planning work was further
strengthened. Fresh progress was made in the areas of land
and resources administration, environmental protection,
forestry development andecological improvement. 4.
Caring for people's well-being, creating more jobs and
administering social security work well
We consider it highly important to protect the
vital interests of the people and help them, especially the
needy, in solving problems in their work and daily lives.
Governments at all levels conscientiously implemented a
series of measures drawn up by the Party Central Committee
and the State Council for increasing employment and
reemployment and increased their efforts, capital spending
and policy support in this regard. The central
governmentallocated an additional 4.7 billion yuan of
subsidies for job creation. We increased our employment
guidance and services for last year's college graduates, who
were the first to be enrolled under the college expansion
plan of 1999. By the end of last year,83% of last year's
graduates from regular institutions of higher learning had
found jobs, 600,000 more than the previous year.
To continue ensuring the "two
guarantees" (guaranteeing that the living allowances
for workers laid off from state-owned enterprises and that
the pensions of retirees are paid on time and in full) and
the "three-stage guarantee" for laid-off workers,
the central government spent 70 billion yuan in 2003, 19.9%
more than the previous year; of this sum, subsidies for
subsistence allowances for the urban poor increased from 4.6
billion yuan in 2002 to 9.2 billion yuan in 2003. This
allowed 22.35 million urban residents throughout the country
to receive such benefits. In 2003,the central government
began making annual allocations of special funds to help
local governments assist ex-service men who are working in
enterprises to solve their financial difficulties. Benefits
were again raised for disabled revolutionary servicemen and
other people who are entitled to special care by the
government. We further
intensified efforts to alleviate rural poverty through
development and we invested more to improve working and
living conditions in underdeveloped areas. We made all-out
efforts to fight disasters and ensure adequate disaster
relief. Central budget funds totaling 8.03 billion yuan were
spent on relief for people affected by floods, droughts,
earthquakes or other disasters, up 63.9% over the previous
year, and 2.79 billion yuan was invested in post-disaster
reconstruction. As a result, proper living arrangements were
made for people in disaster-afflicted areas, production
resumed and reconstruction proceeded in an orderly way.
Governments at all levels took the problem of wage arrears
for migrant rural workers very seriously, worked harder to
resolve it and achieved initial results.
5. Pressing forward with institutional innovation
and making significant progress in reform and opening up
Institutional restructuring of the State Council was
accomplished smoothly on the basis of the plan approved at
the First Session of the Tenth National People's Congress
and the adjusted and newly set up bodies are now operating
normally. Significant progress was made in establishing a
macro-control mechanism, restructuring the management of
state assets and establishing a mechanism for oversight and
management of the banking sector. We unified the mechanisms
for administering domestic and foreign trade and improved
monitoring systems for food and workplace safety.
Institutional restructuring of provincial governments has
been basically completed. The reform of the administrative
examination and approval system was deepened. Fresh
progress was made in transforming state-owned enterprises
into stock companies. Reforms of the electricity,
telecommunications and civil aviation industries were
accelerated. The economic returns of state-owned industrial
enterprises and enterprises whose controlling stake was
owned by the state increased substantially; they generated a
total of 378.4 billion yuan in profits, 45.2% more than the
previous year. The reforms ofthe banking, securities and
insurance industries progressed steadily. We formulated and
implemented a pilot plan to transform state-owned commercial
banks into stock entities. The system for examining and
verifying the issuance of securities was reformed.
Remarkable progress was made in transforming state-owned
insurance companies into stock companies. After several
years of deliberation, we began a pilot project for
reforming rural credit cooperatives in eight provinces and
municipalities directly under the central government. The
experimental reform of rural taxes and administrative
charges was extended to cover the whole country. Policies
and measures for promoting the development of the non-public
sectors of the economy were further implemented. We deepened
the rectification and standardization of the market orderand
cracked down on manufacturing and marketing of counterfeit
and substandard goods, smuggling and other illegal and
criminal activities. This improved the market climate and
helped protect the legitimate rights and interests of both
consumers and producers. We
worked conscientiously to fulfill the commitments we made
for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). We
continued to lower tariff rates and opened the service
sector wider to the outside world. We further relaxed
control over who could engage inforeign trade. We formulated
and put into effect a plan for reforming the mechanism for
export tax rebates; this will gradually bring about a
rational settlement of the longstanding problem of overdue
export tax rebates. We intensified our work dealing with
anti-dumping investigations made against China and settling
trade disputes. The import and export mix was further
improved. China utilized $53.5 billion in foreign direct
investment in 2003. State foreign exchange reserves reached
$403.3billion at the end of the year, $116.8 billion more
than at the beginning. The exchange rate for the Renminbi
remained stable. Last year, we signed the Closer Economic
Partnership Arrangement with both Hong Kong and Macao,
thereby strengthening economic ties between the mainland and
the two regions. 6. Improving the legal system and
maintaining social stability We
put great effort into improving government legislation. The
State Council submitted five bills in 2003, including a
draft law on oversight and management of the banking sector
and a draft amendment to the Foreign Trade Law, and enacted
28 administrative regulations, including the Provisional
Regulations Concerning the Oversight and Management of
State-owned Assets in Enterprises. To solve problems in our
handling of indigent migrants, we formulated and implemented
the Measures for Assisting Vagrants and Beggars with No
Means of Support in Cities together with supporting
measures. The implementation of the Legal Assistance
Regulations helped solve the difficulties people in
financial straits faced infiling lawsuits.
We increased our efforts to maintain
law and order by taking comprehensive measures, focusing on
high-crime areas. We further improved public order by
cracking down more severely on violent and other serious
crimes. We steadfastly enforced laws in the interests of the
people and maintained strict police discipline, and we
concentrated on the problems of detention beyond the legally
prescribed time limits and illegal use of coercive measures
to protect the lawful rights and interests of citizens. We
improved the overall quality of procurators and judicial and
public security officers and made full use of the important
role of public security organs and armed police units in
safeguarding social stability.
In accordance with the Party Central Committee's
instructions,governments at all levels last year encouraged
a groundswell of study and practice of the important thought
of Three Represents and the guiding principles of the
Sixteenth National Congress of the CPC. Socialist political
civilization and spiritual civilization were strengthened.
New achievements were made in building a clean government
and fighting corruption and in our work concerning ethnic,
religious and overseas Chinese affairs. New steps were taken
to modernize national defense and the armed forces. Our
diplomatic work entered a new phase.
None of these notable achievements of the past
year came easily.We attribute them to the Party Central
Committee's broad vision and correct leadership and to the
concerted efforts of the people of all ethnic groups. On
behalf of the State Council, I would like to express our
sincere gratitude to all our workers, farmers, intellectuals
and cadres; to all those who work for the cause of
socialism; and to the members of the People's Liberation
Army, the armed police and the public security police. I
would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the people of
all ethnic groups, to all democratic parties and mass
organizations and to people from all walks of life for their
trust in and support for the work of the government. I would
also like to express our sincere thanks to all our
compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region,the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan as
well as overseas Chinese who care about and support the
development and reunification of our motherland, and to all
our friends in other countries who care about and support
China's modernization drive. In
reviewing our work of the past year, we are clearly aware
that many difficulties and problems remain on our way ahead,
that there are still quite a few shortcomings in the
government's work,that there remain areas our people are not
satisfied with, and that it will take a long time to
fundamentally eradicate longstanding and deep-seated
problems. Rural incomes have grown too slowly; the task of
increasing employment and improving social security is
arduous; development in different regions of the country is
not balanced; the income gap is too wide among some members
of society; and pressure on resources and the environment is
mounting. As economic growth has accelerated, a number of
new problems have emerged. These include, among others, the
excessively broad scale of investment, the serious problem
of haphazard investment and low-level, redundant
construction in some industries and regions, the strain
between supply and demand in energy, transport and some raw
and processed materials, the marked decrease in grain
production, and the widespread illegal appropriation of
farmland. The development of social undertakings lags
behind, and people have strong complaints about the cost and
availability of schooling and medical treatment. Many
low-income residents in both town and country lead
relatively difficult lives.Serious crimes have occurred in
some places. Frequent serious accidents that inflict heavy
loss of life and property have taught us a sobering lesson.
We are also clearly aware that some government officials
have a subjective, formalistic and bureaucratic style of
work, and they are wasteful, extravagant and fraudulent, and
sometimes even corrupt. It will be an arduous task for the
government to rectify itself and fight corruption.
We must not evade these difficulties
and problems but instead face them squarely; we must work
hard to resolve them and not let them grow. The government
will shoulder heavy responsibilities for years to come. We
must remain sober-minded, become more aware of potential
problems and enhance our sense of historical responsibility.
We must make up our minds to forge ahead in spite of
difficulties and to work in a pioneering and creative spirit
and in a down-to-earth manner. We must take on new tests
with a fresh mental outlook and a new style of work, and we
absolutely must not fail to live up to the expectations of
the people. II. Principal
Domestic Tasks for 2004
The year 2004 is a crucial year for
China's reform and development. The main ideas and principal
tasks for the work of the government are: to take Deng
Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three
Represents as our guide; to comprehensively put into
practice the guidelines of the Party's Sixteenth National
Congress and the Third Plenary Session of its Sixteenth
Central Committee; to make the most of the present important
strategic opportunities while they last; to make development
our top priority and adhere to the scientific viewpoint of
development; to pay more attention to exercising
macro-control, balancing the interests of all parties,
putting people first, and promoting reform and innovation in
accordance with the "five balanced aspects"
(balancing urban and rural development, balancing
development among regions, balancing economic and social
development, balancing development of man and nature, and
balancing domestic development and opening wider to the
outside world); to concentrate on resolving prominent
conflicts in economic and social development and acute
problems concerning the vital interests of the people and
properly balancing reform, development and stability; to
promote all-round, balanced and sustainable development of
the economy and society; and to coordinate the progress of
socialist material, political and spiritual civilizations.
1.
Strengthening and improving macro-control and maintaining
stable and rapid economic growth The
basic focus of this year's economic work is to safeguard,
guide and utilize the enthusiasm of all sides for
accelerating development in order to achieve stable and
rapid economic growth without drastic fluctuations. In
setting a target for this year's economic growth of around
7%, the central government has taken into consideration both
the need for continuity in macro-control and the
relationship between the pace of economic growth and the
conditions for its attainment, including supply and demand
in energy, important raw and processed materials, and
transport capacity, also taking into account the need to
alleviate the pressure on resources and the environment.
This target also encourages all sides to focus on deepening
reform, adjusting the economic structure and improving the
quality and efficiency of economic growth and to devote more
financial and material resources to promoting social
development and strengthening weak links.
To ensure effective macro-control, we need to
maintain consistency and stability in our macroeconomic
policies while adjusting the intensity and focus of policy
implementation at the proper time and to an appropriate
degree in response to developments and changes in the
economic situation. By "at the proper time," we
mean seizing the opportune moment for introducing control
measures by observing small clues that may indicate what is
coming in order to forestall any possible trouble.By
"to an appropriate degree," we mean that
macro-control should neither be too loose nor too tight and
that we must not apply the brakes too hard or apply control
measures too rigidly. We must adhere to the policy of
expanding domestic demand and continue to implement a
proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. The
issuance of construction treasury bonds is an interim policy
adopted during a period of insufficient demand. Their scale
should be reduced gradually as the increase in
nongovernmental investment accelerates. We plan to issue 110
billion yuan in construction treasury bonds this year, 30
billion yuan less than last year. As the issuance of
treasury bonds is to be reduced year by year, it will be
necessary to appropriately increase the investment from the
central budget for regular construction annually in order to
develop a regular government investment mechanism and
stabilize the sources of funding. To begin with, we plan an
increase of 5 billion yuan this year. The general idea is to
appropriately increase investment from the central budget
for regular construction each year for several years while
systematically decreasing the issuance of treasury bonds,
and at the same time ensuring that the size of the deficit
remains at the current level. We will adjust the way funds
from construction treasury bonds are used, concentrating
them on promoting economic restructuring and ensuring
all-round social development. This year, funds from the sale
of treasury bonds willbe directed toward rural areas, social
undertakings, the western region, northeast China and other
old industrial bases, ecological improvement, environmental
protection, and ongoing bond-financed projects. We need to
manage and use treasury bonds well and ensure the quality of
the projects they finance and the efficient use of
investment capital. We must continue to do our fiscal and
taxation work well by working hard to increase revenue and
reduce expenditure, collecting taxes in strict accordance
with the law and guaranteeing funding for key items. We
should make full use ofthe role of monetary policy,
appropriately control the size of credit and optimize the
credit structure to support economic growth while fending
off inflation and financial risks. We will work to basically
balance international payments and keep the exchange rate
for the Renminbi basically stable at a proper and balanced
level. One important task for
macro-control this year is to appropriately control the
scale of investment in fixed assets and firmly halt
haphazard investment and low-level, redundant construction
in some industries and regions. Guided by market forces, we
will use a comprehensive range of measures, mainly economic
and legal means supplemented by any necessary administrative
measures, to strengthen guidance and control.
First,industrial policies and planning should be improved
and the information release system for industries should be
improved to correctly guide nongovernmental investment.
Second, we must quickly formulate and revise standards for
admittance into industries and enforce market admittance
strictly. Projects that do not meet standards for
environmental protection, safety, energy consumption, level
of technology or quality and have not yet been started
should be blocked and those already under construction
should resolve such problems, while those already completed
should be upgraded within a specified time. Third, land-use
management must be improved in accordance with the law. No
land should be approved for projects that fail to meet the
requirements of the state's industrial policies and
standards for admittance into industries. We should continue
clearing up problems relating to development zones and
rectifying and standardizing the land market.Fourth,
auditing and oversight of credit transactions must be
strengthened. Financial institutions should not make any
loans to new projects or rebuilding and expansion projects
that do not meet the requirements for market access. Fifth,
the taxation system must be tightened and the practice of
introducing unauthorized tax privileges must be stopped and
rectified. On the basis of these measures we will strive to
optimize the investment structure, keepthe overall
investment volume at a reasonable level and improve returns
on investment. In order to take a new road to
industrialization, we must base the national economy and
society on IT and upgrade the industrial structure. We will
energetically promote the development of new and high
technology industries capable of spurring economic growth
and with proprietary intellectual property rights. We will
accelerate the revival of the equipment manufacturing
industry. We will energetically develop modern distribution,
tourism, intermediary services and other aspects of tertiary
industry, and gradually raise their proportion in the
national economy. To ensure stable and rapid economic
development, we must alleviate the current disparities
between supply and demand in energy, important raw and
processed materials and transport capacity. On the one hand,
we must increase the production of coal,electricity and
processed oil while at the same time strengthen the
regulation of economic activity to balance supply and demand
in coal, electricity, oil, transport capacity and important
raw and processed materials while meeting the needs of the
people, important industries and key enterprises. We must
speed up the development of large coal mines, important
power generating facilities and power grids, the exploration
and exploitation of petroleum and other important resources,
and the construction of major transport trunk lines and
hubs. On the other hand, we must increase production and
practice economy, with the emphasis on economizing. This is
not only urgently needed to alleviate the current
disparities between supply and demand, but is also a
long-term strategy to alleviate the pressure on resources
and the environment. The way the economy grows must change,
and all industries must eliminate waste, reduce consumption
of energy and raw and processed materials, and use resources
more efficiently, to develop production and consumption
patterns that conserve resources and build a
conservation-minded society.
Balancing investment and consumption is an
important aspect of this year's work for macro-control.
Consumption occupies too small a proportion of China's GDP.
This is not conducive to ensuring a stable increase in
domestic demand, sustaining rapid economic growth and
establishing a beneficial economic cycle. We must work hard
to increase the incomes of both urban and rural residents
andraise their purchasing power. Regulation of income
distribution will be intensified to enable low- and
middle-income people to consume more. Consumption on credit
must be expanded, consumption policies must be optimized and
the consumption climate must be improved. To adapt to
changes in consumption patterns, we need to expand the
consumption of services and improve the production and
supply structure. The reform measures we take should enhance
consumer confidence, so as to create positive consumer
expectations and increase immediate consumption. We should
gradually reduce the rate of investment in relation to the
rate of consumption.
2. Consolidating and strengthening the
position of agriculture as the foundation of the national
economy and increasing rural incomes and agricultural
production Solving problems
facing agriculture, rural areas and farmers isa top priority
in all our work. Once again, China's agriculture is in a
crucial period of its development. This year we must take
more direct and effective policies and measures to
strengthen, support and protect agriculture and increase
rural incomes in line with the need to balance urban and
rural development. First, the
overall grain production capability must be maintained and
increased. The strictest possible system for protecting
farmland will be implemented and control over the use of
farmland will be strengthened in accordance with the law. We
will resolutely put an end to illegal acquisition and use of
farmland and rectify unauthorized changes in the use of
primary farmland. Reform of the system for land
expropriation and requisition will be accelerated, and the
expropriation and requisition procedures and mechanisms for
compensation will be improved to ensure that the
compensation for expropriated or requisitioned land is
appropriate. The acreage sown in grain cropswill be
expanded, and the yield per unit area increased. Support
will be focused on increasing production in major grain
producing areas. Projects to industrialize production of
high-quality grainswill be undertaken. We will make primary
farmland capable of producing stable, high yields.
Second, we will promote strategic restructuring of
agriculture and the rural economy. Great efforts will be
made to develop high-quality, high-yield, cost-effective,
eco-friendly and safe agriculture, to improve the quality of
agricultural products and enhance their competitiveness. We
will carry forward the development of industrial belts for
producing competitive agricultural products and promote the
industrialization of agriculture. We will energetically
develop animal husbandry and prevent and control the spread
of the highly pathogenic bird flu and other animal
epidemics. We will encourage the development of industries
that process agricultural products and other
non-agricultural industries in rural areas and expand
intra-county economies. We will steadily carry out the
process of urbanization.We will improve the employment
environment for rural workers in cities, provide them with
more and better training and create morejobs for them in
various ways. Third, we will
press ahead with the reform of rural taxes and
administrative charges. All taxes on special agricultural
products will be repealed except for tobacco, thus reducing
the financial burden on farmers by 4.8 billion yuan
annually. Beginning this year, the agricultural tax rate
will be reduced by more than 1 percentage point per year on
average, and agricultural taxes will be rescinded in five
years. The agricultural tax burden on farmerswill be reduced
by 7 billion yuan this year. The central government will
appropriate 39.6 billion yuan this year from its budget for
transfer payments to support the reform of rural taxes and
administrative charges. We will accelerate reforms of county
and township government institutions.
Fourth, we will deepen the reform of the grain
distribution system. All controls over grain purchase and
sales markets will be lifted. The reform of state-owned
grain enterprises will be accelerated. Control and
regulation of grain markets will be strengthened, and
subsidies will be given directly to grain producers. The
state will appropriate 10 billion yuan this year from its
grain risk fund to directly subsidize these producers in
order to stimulate their enthusiasm for grain production.
The prices of the means of agricultural production will be
better monitored and controlled to protect farmers'
interests. Fifth, we will
increase investment in agriculture and rural areas.
Governments at all levels must invest more in agriculture,
rural areas and farmers. This year, the central government
will appropriate over 30 billion yuan for this purpose, at
least 20% more than last year. Treasury bond funds should be
invested mainly in the construction of six categories of
small projects for rural areas (water-efficient irrigation,
potable water supplies, roads, methane production
facilities, hydroelectric plants and pasture enclosure) and
in construction of water control projects, in order to
improve the living and production conditions of farmers. We
will continue to aid the rural poor through development by
increasing funding for poverty alleviation in various ways
and giving people work in place of relief subsidies. Rural
financial services will be improved. To assist rural
residents expand production, rural credit cooperatives will
extend more micro-credit loans to individual families and
groups in rural areas. Sixth,
progress in agro-science will be accelerated. We will tackle
agro-science problems with greater intensity and increase
our ability to make advances in agro-science and hold them
in reserve and find applications for them. We will
strengthen the system for spreading the application of
science and technology in rural areas. We will energetically
promote wider application of advanced applied technology
that can help increase production and improve productivity.
We will expand both the size and scope of subsidies for
developing seeds of high-quality crop varieties. 3.
Coordinating economic development in different regions and
promoting the development of the western region and the
revitalization of northeast China and other old industrial
bases Promoting the coordinated
development of all regions is of strategic importance to
China's modernization drive. We need to steadfastly push
forward with the development of the western region,
revitalize northeast China and other old industrial
bases,promote the development of the central region and
encourage faster development in the eastern region so that
the eastern, central andwestern regions can better interact,
complement and support each other, and develop together.
We will continue to implement
the strategy of developing the western region. On the basis
of a conscientious review of our experience, we will improve
our policies and carry out relevant measures to ensure
positive and orderly progress. We will work in a
down-to-earth manner to ensure successful implementation of
such key ecological conservation projects as returning
farmland to forests and animal breeding grounds to pastures,
protecting natural forests, bringing sources of sandstorms
under effective control and preventing karst areas from
becoming stony deserts. We will strengthen infrastructure
development efforts, emphasizing major projects of key
importance to the overall economy to increase the potential
for economic development. At the same time,we will continue
to pay adequate attention to the construction of smaller
projects that will improve the living and production
conditions of farmers and herdsmen. Social undertakings will
be promoted, with priority given to compulsory education,
public health and primary-level cultural undertakings. We
will encourage the development of economies with local
characteristics and competitive industries and promote the
development of key regions.
We will
conscientiously implement the strategy for revitalizing
northeast China and other old industrial bases, working to
get off to a good start this year. We must carry out all the
policies and measures of the central authorities,
emphasizing innovation in institutions and mechanisms and
opening wider both domestically and internationally. We need
to accelerate economic restructuring and technological
progress, especially for key industries and enterprises,
transform the resource-based economies of certain cities,
and solve the problem of sinking land and cave-ins above
exhausted mines in coalmining areas. We must uphold the
principlesof self-reliance and hard work and let cadres and
the general public give full expression to their initiative
and creativeness. Accelerating
the development of the central region is an important aspect
of our endeavor to ensure well-balanced development of
regional economies. The state is encouraging the central
region to exploit its geographical and economic advantages
to quicken the pace of its reform, opening up and
development, modernize its agriculture, and build key areas
for commercial grain production, strengthen its
infrastructure development, expand its competitive
manufacturing and new and high technology industries, and
raise its levels of industrialization and urbanization.
Accelerating development of the
eastern region will strengthen the country financially,
materially, scientifically and technologically, thereby
providing more support for the development of the central
and western regions. The eastern regionshould continue
making the most of its advantages, speed up efforts to
upgrade its industrial structure and make its economy more
oriented to the global market; areas where conditions are
most favorable should take the lead in becoming basically
modern. The eastern, central and western regions should
increase cooperation in various ways and gradually achieve
common prosperity through balanced development. The
government will continue to take measures to help old
revolutionary base areas develop more quickly. 4.
Continuing to implement the strategy of invigorating China
through science and education and staying on the road of
sustainable development In the
course of development, we will steadfastly give priority to
education and devote more energy and financial resources to
accelerating its development. We will adopt a fresh round of
measures to implement the Action Plan for Reinvigorating
Education,with the focus on compulsory education,
particularly in rural areas. This year we will begin to
implement the plan to make nine-year compulsory education
basically available throughout the western region and
basically eliminate illiteracy among the adults there by
2007. The central government will spend 10 billion yuan on
this work. The system for managing compulsory education in
rural areas must be improved by shifting the main
responsibility to county governments and increasing transfer
payments from central, provincial and city (prefectural)
governments for compulsory education in poverty-stricken
counties. The central government will contribute 6 billion
yuan to carrying out the second phase of the plan for
renovating dangerous primary and secondary school buildings
in rural areas. Both central and local governments will
increase their investment to develop modern distance
education in rural primary and secondary schools. We
willwork to optimize the education structure, take energetic
and steady steps to develop higher education, and put more
effort into developing vocational education and continuing
education. Schools of all kinds and at all levels should
fully implement the Party's education policy, emphasize
competence-oriented education, deepen the reform of
education and improve its quality. We will standardize and
develop non-government funded education. Unauthorized
collection of fees by educational institutions must be
resolutely stopped to reduce the financial burden on
students' families. This year,
we will continue to concentrate on formulating a medium- and
long-range state plan for developing science and technology
in order to define the strategy, objectives, tasks and
policies in this field for the coming 15 years.
Institutional reform and innovation in the field of science
and technology should be continued. We will accelerate the
establishment of a national innovation system and
construction of the science and technology infrastructure,
and effectively strengthen basic research. We will carry out
a number of projects of major importance for overall
economic and social development, promote the integration of
science and technology with industry and encourage the
application of new and high technologies in industrial
production. We consider social and natural sciences equally
important and will make full use of the important role of
philosophy and social sciences in economic and social
development. We should
conscientiously implement the strategy of reinvigorating
China through human resource development.
Training,recruiting and properly using talented people in
all fields shouldprovide substantial personnel and
intellectual support for the modernization drive.
We will vigorously implement the
strategy of sustainable development and successfully carry
out all work related to population, natural resources and
the environment in line with theneed to balance development
of man and nature. We will keep the birthrate low and
improve the health of newborns. We will improve the
infrastructure and service system for family planning at the
primary level and strengthen the management of family
planning among the floating population. Work related to
senior citizens should be carefully conducted. We will
implement the national plans for ecological and
environmental protection and conservationconscientiously and
implement a strategy for developing forestry focused on
ecological conservation. We will intensify law enforcement
to strengthen ecological and environmental control
andmonitoring. We will strictly control the discharge of
major pollutants and work hard to eliminate environmental
pollution that seriously threatens people's health and
safety. We will energetically promote the recycling industry
and clean production. We will protect our land and resources
in accordance with the law and utilize them rationally. We
will pay close attention to the development and protection
of marine resources. We will better conserve our water
resources and use them more economically. We will do a good
job of disaster prevention and reduction. 5.
Accelerating the development of health, culture and sports
and promoting spiritual civilization
We have three priorities in the area of health
this year. The first is to strengthen the public health
system. We will try to establish within three years a fully
functioning system for disease prevention and control and
for emergency medical aid that covers both urban and rural
areas in order to increase our ability to deal with serious
epidemic diseases and other public health emergencies. We
need to maintain a high degree of vigilance and take firm
and effective measures to control SARS, AIDS,
schistosomiasis and other serious communicable diseases. The
second priority is to improve medical and sanitation
conditions inrural areas and carry out pilot projects on a
new type of rural cooperative medical care system. We need
to focus our medical and health efforts on rural areas,
upgrade the medical and sanitation infrastructure and train
more medical and sanitation personnel there to gradually
alleviate the shortage of medical services and medicines
there. We will press ahead steadily with the pilot projects
for a new type of system for rural cooperative medical care
and health services based on the actual conditions in
different regions. Our objective is to establish a rural
medical care system organized and guided by the government,
based on mutual assistance of the participants, and with
voluntary participation of local people and diverse sources
of funding from individuals, collectives and the government,
one which takes treatment of serious diseases as its main
responsibility and ensures that the rural population
benefits from it. The third priority is to vigorously
promote the trial reform of the urban medical care and
health service system. We will continue to reform the basic
medical insurance system for urban working people, the
medical care and health service system and the
pharmaceutical production and distribution system. Medical
institutions should bemanaged according to their type in
order to ensure rational distribution and efficient
utilization of the available health care resources.
Community-based health care should be developed and medical
and health services should be improved. At the same time, an
extensive patriotic sanitation campaign should be carriedout
in both urban and rural areas.
The people's intellectual and cultural needs are
constantly increasing along with the economic development
and social progress in China, so we must attach greater
importance to cultural development. It is necessary to
energetically develop an advanced socialist culture. We will
vigorously promote national spirit centered on patriotism
and intensify the ideological and moral education of young
people in particular. We must encourage the general public
to participate in activities designed to promote spiritual
civilization. We will strengthen basic-level cultural
development in rural areas, urban communities and
enterprises. We will spread scientific knowledge and promote
a scientific spirit, a scientific and healthy lifestyle and
good manners. We must further develop literature, art, the
press, publishing, radio, film and television. We will
follow a strategy of product excellence to provide more
healthful, inspiring cultural works that people can enjoy.
We will press ahead with formulating an overall plan f or
cultural restructuring and a program for cultural
development. We should promote the reform of the system and
innovation of the mechanisms of the cultural industry, give
more support to non-profit cultural undertakings and improve
our policy for the cultural industry to give a greater role
to the market and ensure the simultaneous development of
cultural undertakings and the cultural industry. We should
do more to protect our cultural relics and archives as well
as our natural and cultural heritage. We will continue to
strengthen the development and management of the market for
cultural products and the Internet, fight unremittingly
against pornographic and illegal publications and actively
conduct cultural exchanges with other countries. We will
carry out extensive mass fitness programs and strive to
raise the standards of our competitive sports. We will
continue to work hard to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games
in Beijing and the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai.
6. Seizing the opportune moment and deepening
economic restructuring We will
systematically carry forward reforms this year, focusing on
certain areas in accordance with the decision adopted at the
Third Plenary Session of the Sixteenth CPC Central Committee
and strive to make fresh progress in some important areas.
We will deepen the reforms of
the state asset management systemand state-owned
enterprises. We need to promptly improve legislation
pertaining to oversight and management of state assets and
methods for its implementation, conduct research to
establish a budgetary system for state capital management
and a performance evaluation mechanism for enterprises, and
make sure that the responsibilities for state asset
management are truly met. We should energetically work to
transform state-owned enterprises into standard stock
companies, optimize the structure of property ownership,
improve corporate governance and encourage enterprises to
change how they operate. We will vigorously develop a mixed
ownership economy and gradually make the shareholding system
the principal form of public ownership. We will press ahead
with the reform and reorganization of the
telecommunications, electricity and civil aviation
industries, make steady progress in the reform of the postal
service and railway transport, and encourage the
commercialization of urban public utilities. A number of
large, competitive companies or conglomerates that own
proprietary intellectual property rights and name brands
should emerge through reform and development. We will
continue to reform collectively owned enterprises and
develop diverse forms of the collective economy.
We will vigorously promote the
development of the non-public sector of the economy and
actively guide it. Governments at all levels must promptly
eliminate or revise regulations and policies that restrict
the development of this sector and implement measures that
relax market access. We will conduct further studiesand
formulate specific methods to encourage non-public
enterprisesto participate in the reorganization of
state-owned enterprises and expand into infrastructure
development, public utilities and other industries and
domains. We will take measures to ensure that non-public
enterprises receive the same treatment as other enterprises
in investment, financing, taxation, land use and foreign
trade. We will protect their legitimate rights and interests
and improve government service to and oversight over them,
so as to support and encourage qualified non-public
enterprises in their efforts to grow stronger and larger. We
will speed up the establishment of a modern system of
ownership. We will carry
forward the reform of the financial system. We need to
accelerate the reform of the wholly state-owned commercial
banks, focusing on a pilot project to transform the Bank of
China and China Construction Bank into stock enterprises.
Other commercial and policy banks must also deepen their
reform. We will press ahead with the trial reform of rural
credit cooperatives and,on the basis of a review of that
experience, gradually expand the reform to a wider area. We
will continue to reform and open up the capital market and
develop it steadily. We will allow the amount of bonds
issued by enterprises to increase and the proportion of
direct financing by enterprises to rise gradually. We will
continue reforming the insurance industry and expand the
insurance market. We need to improve the regulatory systems
for banking, securities and insurance, coordinate these
systems better, and tighten financial control to ensure
sound operation of the financial sector.
We will carry forward the reform of the fiscal and
taxation systems. We will focus on gradually shifting from a
"production VAT" to a "consumption VAT"
by reclassifying equipment investment as VAT-deductible to
facilitate the technological upgrading of enterprises and
enhance their capability for self-development. These reform
measures will be tried out first in some industries in
northeast China this year. Supporting measures must be
formulated quickly so that we can carry out the plan for
reforming the export tax rebate system in earnest. We
will carry forward the reform of the investment system. Our
main objectives are to reform the system of government
oversight of enterprise investment and allow enterprises
greater independence in making investment decisions in line
with the principle that "the investor makes the
investment decisions, reaps the profits and bears the
risks." Another objective is to rationally define the
government's investment functions, improve the management of
government investment and establish an accountability
mechanism for government investment. Finally, we want to
establish a macro-control mechanism for investment and
improve control methods and measures. These efforts will
result ina new investment system under which investment is
guided by the market, enterprises make their own investment
decisions, banks examine credit worthiness independently,
various forms of financing coexist, intermediary services
are standardized and macro-control is efficient.
We need to quickly establish a system
to ensure credibility in society. We need to make intensive
efforts to put in place a system for collecting information
on the credibility of enterprises and individuals, a system
for overseeing the credit market, and a mechanism for
penalizing those who lose their credibility. We should
intensify our efforts to rectify and standardize the market
order, giving priority to cleaning up markets that have a
direct bearing on people's health and lives such as those
for food and medicine. Producing and marketing counterfeit
and shoddy goods, pyramid schemes and commercial fraudmust
be severely punished. Intellectual property rights must be
protected more effectively and piracy and patent
infringement mustbe punished in accordance with the law. We
must severely crack down on tax evasion, tax fraud, money
laundering, smuggling and other illegal and criminal
activities.
7. Adapting to the new situation and opening still
wider to the outside world We
must coordinate domestic development with opening up, fully
exploit domestic and foreign markets and resources, and
expand development into new areas. We will do all our work
pertaining to opening up energetically and improve our
ability to participate ininternational cooperation and
competition. We will strive to
keep foreign trade growing at an appropriate rate. We should
continue to follow the strategy of market diversification,
emphasize the export of technology , compete on quality,
optimize our export mix, and promote the transformation and
upgrading of the processing trade. We should improve
coordination among foreign trade entities, strive to
overcome trade barriers and minimize trade friction to
create a fair trade environment for our enterprises. The
foreign-related economic system must be further reformed. We
will carry out the policy of allowing enterprises under all
types of ownership to independently engage in importing and
exporting. We should import more badly needed raw and
processed materials, key technologies and important
equipment and diversify our sources of important imports.
More rational and appropriate use of foreign capital is
necessary to raise the performance of foreign investment. We
will continue to enforce policies and measures that
encourage foreign investment and further improve our
investment environment. We should speed upthe implementation
of the strategy of "going global" and better
coordinate and guide Chinese investment abroad. Enterprises
under all forms of ownership are encouraged to invest in
overseas operations in various forms and expand their
international market shares. We should energetically carry
out bilateral, multilateral and regional economic
cooperation. We will continue to conscientiously fulfill all
our commitments for China's accession to the WTO. 8.
Intensifying job creation and social security work to
further improve people's lives
Doing everything possible to create more jobs is
one of the major responsibilities of the government. Our
targets for 2004 areto create 9 million jobs for urban
residents and get 5 million laid-off workers reemployed. We
will continue to follow an energetic employment policy,
focusing on effectively implementing the policies of fiscal
and credit support and tax cuts and exemptions. The central
government will allocate 8.3 billion yuan in this year's
budget to subsidize reemployment, 3.6 billion yuanmore than
last year. We will expand the avenues for employment and
emphasize the development of labor-intensive industries,
small and medium-sized enterprises and the non-public sector
of the economy,promote flexible and diverse types of
employment and encourage people to find jobs on their own or
become self-employed. We need to develop a fully functioning
reemployment assistance mechanism, giving people with
difficulties in finding jobs on their own hiring preference
in non-profit undertakings funded by the government. We will
support efforts of large and medium-sized state-owned
enterprises to separate their secondary lines of business
from their core business, turn their secondary lines into
independent companies, and reassign their redundant
personnel to these new companies. We will focus our support
on reemployment of laid-off workers in old industrial bases,
cities and industrial and mining areas whose locally
available natural resources have been exhausted, and the
defense industry and the coal and logging industries. We
will improve our system of employment services to provide
better job training and guidance and assist people to find
job opportunities. This year is another peak year for
college graduates entering the job market and ex-servicemen
being transferred to civilian jobs, so we need to work hard
to provide them with effective employment guidance and
services. We need to build a
social security network suited to China's conditions and the
level of our economic development. This is an important yet
demanding task. We will continue to ensure the "two
guarantees" and better integrate the "three-stage
guarantee." We will steadily integrate the subsistence
allowances for these workers into the unemployment insurance
system. The existing system of basic old-age pensions for
workers will be improved by combining contributions from
enterprises and institutions with personal accounts. We will
expand the coverage of social security in accordance with
the law. We will intensify efforts to collect social
security contributions from all types of participating
enterprises. Governments at all levels must put greater
effort into law enforcement and inspection in this regard.
We will do a better job in providing subsistence allowances
for needy urban residents and establish standards and
criteria for eligibility. We will continue to raise social
security funds through a variety of channels and manage them
properly. On the basis of a review of our efforts to improve
the urban social security system in Liaoning Province, we
will extend them to Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces.The
central government will allocate 77.9 billion yuan this year
in subsidies for the "two guarantees" and
subsistence allowances for needy urban residents, up 11.3%
over last year. Local governments will also spend more in
this area. We will take better
care of urban and rural residents with special difficulties.
We will continue to improve the system of social relief and
assistance and help those families that cannot afford
medical treatment, tuition for their children, housing or
heating in winter. We will improve the "five
guarantee" relief program for childless and infirm
people in rural areas and ensure funding for it. We will
reduce and exempt taxes in disaster-afflicted rural areas
and provide relief to the affected people who have
difficulties in their production and daily lives. We will
show our concern for the disabled and support programs that
benefit them. We must promptly solve problems arising
from the demolition of urban residential buildings and the
expropriation of farmland. When demolishing urban buildings
and relocating their occupants, we must ensure that overall
urban development plans and short-term construction plans
are strictly followed, that the area to be demolished is
defined reasonably, and that the examination and approval
procedures are properly applied. Furthermore, we must
improve the policy for compensating and relocating displaced
inhabitants, and intensify oversight and inspection. When
expropriating farmland, we must strictly limit the area
expropriated and follow the plan and proper procedures in
accordance with the law. We must promptly give affected
farmers reasonable compensation to ensure that their
legitimate rights andinterests are protected.
Measures must be taken to ensure that
rural workers in cities are paid on time and in full. We
must pay very close attention to solving the problem of
their wages being docked or not paid on time. The State
Council has decided to basically solve the problems of
default on construction costs and wage arrears for migrant
rural workers in the construction industry within three
years. Clearing up such back payments should begin with
government-invested projects, but different types of
enterprises should also be urged to pay off their arrears as
soon as possible. Enterprises and managers that refuse to
pay back wages to migrant rural workers must be held
accountable in accordance with the law. We need to develop a
mechanism to ensure the timely payment of migrant rural
workers' wages, thereby eliminating the root cause of wage
arrears. All enterprises must pay wages on time and strictly
obey the minimum wage regulations. We must ensure that all
state organs and institutions pay salaries and retirees'
pensions on time and in full. New arrears will not be
allowed anywhere. Accounts for paying salaries must be
placed under stringent oversight, and budgetary funds should
be used to pay wages and salaries first.
9.
Strengthening democracy and the legal system and
safeguarding national security and social stability
Concrete and prudent efforts will be
made to promote political restructuring, develop socialist
democracy and improve the socialist legal system. We will
further expand democracy at the lowest levels of government,
improve self-governance by villagers and urban residents,
and respect the democratic rights of the government
authorities and people at the lowest levels of government.
We will uphold and improve the system of workers'
conferences and other systems of democratic management
practiced in government institutions and enterprises and
protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers.
We will continue to carefully
carry out work related to ethnic minorities, religious
groups and overseas Chinese. We must fully implement the
Party's ethnic policy and consolidate and develop socialist
ethnic relations based on equality, solidarity and mutual
assistance. In order to promote common prosperity and
progress for all our ethnic groups, we will increase support
for economic and social development in ethnic minority areas
and intensify training of ethnic minorities in all fields of
work. We will fully implement the Party's policy on freedom
of religious belief, handle religious affairs in accordance
with the law, help religious organizations adhere to the
principle of independence and self-governance, and actively
guide religions to adapt to socialist society. We will
improve our work concerning overseas Chinese, their
relatives in China and returned overseas Chinese, and fully
utilize their unique role in promoting the reunification of
the motherland and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The legislative work of the
government will be strengthened. We will place greater
emphasis on legislation concerning social management and
public service. Priority should be given to legislation for
dealing with emergencies, protecting farmers' rights and
interests, safeguarding employment and social security and
developing social undertakings. We will work hard to improve
the quality of government legislation. We must solicit
opinions from all sectors of society when drafting important
laws and administrative regulations that affect the vital
interests of the people. We will work to improve legal and
notary services and carefully carry out legal assistance
work. The legitimate rights and interests of women, minors
and the handicapped shall be protected as prescribed by law.
We will increase publicity and education concerning the law
in order to create a good social environment in which the
people study the law, understand the legal system and abide
by the law. The government is duty-bound to ensure
peace and security for the people. We will further implement
all measures to improve all facets of public security and
press ahead with efforts to build a crime prevention and
control system. We will severely crack down on crimes
committed by Mafia-like gangs, violent crimes, frequent
property-related crimes, and drug-related crimes. We will
increase our efforts to deal with serious crimes and areas
with serious security problems. The funding mechanism for
procuratorial, judicial and public security organs will be
improved in order to ensure their smooth operation. We take
terrorism seriously and will intensify our battle against
it. We will expand and deepen our battle against cults. To
ensure public order and social stability, it is imperative
that we correctly handle internal contradictions among the
people as they crop up under changing circumstances, improve
the mechanism for forestalling and resolving conflicts and
disputes, and properly handle letters and complaints from
the people. Our strong sense of
responsibility for the state and the people compels us to
effectively improve our work with regard to safety. We must
strengthen oversight and administration to ensure production
safety, carry out more special programs to address safety
problems, implement preventive safety measures, and improve
the system of responsibility for production safety. We will
tenaciously investigate all kinds of accidents and prosecute
those responsible for them in accordance with the law to
uphold the sanctity of the law and disciplinary regulations.
Stepping up efforts to
modernize our national defense and armed forces is an
important guarantee for safeguarding national security and
building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. We
will strengthen the building of our armed forces in keeping
with the general requirements of "being qualified
politically and competent militarily and having an excellent
style of work, strict discipline and adequate logistic
support." We will energetically carry forward military
reforms with Chinese characteristics and work hard to take
efforts to modernize our national defense and armed forces
to a higher stage of development.As part of our strategy of
using science and technology to build strong armed forces,
we will focus on developing new and high technology weaponry
and equipment, foster a new type of highly competent
military personnel, and promote modernization of our armed
forces with IT application as the main content and
mechanization as the basis in order to enhance our overall
defense capability under hi-tech conditions. We will adhere
to the principle of running the army in accordance with the
law and increase its standardization. We will continue to
balance efforts to strengthen national defense and economic
development and raise the overall effectiveness of efforts
to strengthen defense. We will adhere to the principle of
combining civilian and military production and letting
military production reside in civilian production and
vigorously promote the reform, adjustment and development of
defense-related science, technology and industry to enhance
our capability for independent innovation. We will work
painstakingly to adjust and realign our military strength to
ensure that the armed forces are reduced by 200,000 troops
and that related tasks are completed by 2005. We will
intensify our efforts to build and reform our military
logistics apparatus and enhance our logistic support
capability. We will make the People's Armed Police more
proficient and more capable of responding to emergencies.
Education in national defense among the people will be
intensified to raise their awareness of its importance. We
willvigorously support the strengthening of national defense
and the armed forces and we will build up the reserve forces
and the militia to develop a fully functioning national
defense mobilization system that is highly effective and can
respond rapidly. We will intensify activities to promote
mutual support between the military and civilian sectors and
their cultural and ethical programs to forge solidarity
between the military and the government and between the
military and civilians. III. Government
Self-improvement
The government bears heavy and
demanding responsibilities in the effort to build a
moderately prosperous society in all respects. Governments
and leading cadres at all levels need to adapt to new
situations and tasks and continually raise their
administrative and management ability. In conformity with
the principle of government for the people and in order to
build a law-based government, we placed special emphasis
over the past year onthe three basic principles of
scientific and democratic policy-making, law-based
administration and better administrative oversight. These
principles were implemented conscientiously. Thisyear, we
will focus on the following aspects of our work.
First, we will further transform
government functions. Governments at all levels must fulfill
all of their responsibilities. While working to better
regulate the economy andoversee the market, the government
must pay more attention to social administration and public
service work. In particular, we need to speed up the
establishment of emergency response mechanisms and improve
the government's ability to deal with public crises. We must
accelerate the separation of government functions from
enterprise operations, turn over responsibility formore
activities the government should not be engaged in to
enterprises, nongovernmental organizations and intermediary
agencies, and give greater scope to the basic role of the
market in resource allocation. At the same time, we need to
strengthen regulation and oversight of intermediary
agencies. The government must perform all its functions
well, and adapt methods and style of management to changing
circumstances to improve the results of its administration
and work. Second, we will
adhere to scientific and democratic policy-making. We need
to improve the policy-making process by integrating public
participation, expert evaluation and government
decision-making to ensure that our policies are scientific
and correct. We need to speed up the formation and
improvement of systems for making collective decisions on
major issues, for soliciting opinions from experts, for
keeping the public informed and holding public hearings, and
for accountability in policy-making. All major policies must
be decided collectively on the basis of in-depth research,
widely solicited opinions, and full evaluation by experts.
These procedures must be closely followed as one of the
long-term basic systems for government work.
Third, we will perform all our duties
in accordance with the law. Governments at all levels must
exercise their power and perform their duties within the
scope of their authority defined by law and in accordance
with legal procedures. All government employees must learn
to deal with economic and social issues by legal means. The
system of administrative law enforcement needs tobe reformed
so that the administrative right to grant licenses and
impose penalties will be relatively concentrated.
Experiments should be conducted on integrated law
enforcement to solve problems of duplicate law enforcement
and arbitrary imposition of fines. We need to increase
oversight of administrative law enforcement to make it
stricter, fairer and more courteous. We should institute an
accountability system for law enforcement and a mechanism
for investigating and prosecuting law enforcement
improprieties, and improve and strictly implement a system
of administrative compensation that holds those who exercise
power accountable, places them under supervision and
compensates those whose rights have been compromised. The
Administrative Permission Law of the People's Republic of
China will come into force officially on July 1, 2004. This
is an important law for regulating government acts, and
governments at all levels must strictly abide by it.
Fourth, we will consciously accept the oversight of
the generalpublic. All power of the government is bestowed
by the people, so the government must be accountable to the
people, act in their interests and accept their oversight.
Only the people's oversight can prevent the government from
being lax in its duties. Governments at all levels should
consciously accept the oversight of the people's congresses
and their standing committees at the corresponding levels
and the democratic oversight of the committees of the
People's Political Consultative Conference, and
conscientiously listen to the opinions of the democratic
parties, federations of industry and commerce, persons
without party affiliations and mass organizations. At the
same time, they should accept the oversight of the mass
media and the general public. They must take seriously the
people's oversight of government organs and employees
through reconsideration of administrative decisions,
administrative lawsuits and other legal channels. We should
strengthen internal supervision by supporting supervision
departments and audit offices in the conduct of their
independent oversight in accordance with the law. To keep
the people informed so they can oversee government work, we
will introduce a system ofpublic information concerning
government work and increase the transparency of government
work. Fifth, we will improve
the government's style of work and improve the overall
quality of public servants. An important aspect of efforts
to improve the government's style of work is for government
employees to adopt a realistic and pragmatic approach, a
scientific outlook on development and a correct attitude
toward their own performance. Governments at all levels need
to bear in mind China's current national conditions when
acting and making decisions. We must always be realistic and
act in accordance with objective laws. We need to work in an
enterprising manner while working within our capabilities
and stop the practice of blindly competing to outdo each
other. We must persist in doing down-to-earth work, seek
practical results, conserve manpower and refrain from
building "vanity projects" that waste both money
and manpower.We must determine the true state of affairs and
tell the truth; we should not falsify reports or exaggerate
achievements. We must make overall plans that balance the
interest s of different sectors and stay rooted in the
present while having a long-term perspective, instead of
blindly seeking quick success and instant benefits. We must
continue to improve our work style, reduce the number of
meetings and documents, and put more time and energy into
going down to the primary level to do investigations and
research. Everything we do must stand the tests of actual
practice,people's acceptance and history.
The quality of public servants determines how well
the government is managed and how efficient it is. It is
imperative tobuild a contingent of public servants who are
politically reliable,professionally competent and clean and
honest and have a good workstyle. They should emancipate
their minds, seek truth from facts and keep pace with the
times. They should bear in mind that public servants work
for the interests of the people, maintain close tieswith the
people, and serve them wholeheartedly. They should abide by
the Constitution and the law and have the ability to
administerthe government in accordance with the law. They
should be dedicated, hard working and eager to learn. They
should observe disciplinary regulations and professional
ethics. They should be honest, clean, upright, impartial and
devoted. Governments at all levels should be strict in
enforcing disciplinary regulations and be fair in meting out
rewards and punishments. Training public servants and
evaluating their work is very important, and we must
intensify our work in this area.
We will work harder to build a clean government
and fight more vigorously against corruption. We will
develop a mechanism that combines education, institutional
measures and oversight to prevent and punish corruption. We
will resolutely deal with all breaches of the law or
disciplinary regulations and punish those guilty of
corruption. We are determined to rectify unhealthy conduct
that affects the interests of the people. All government
employees, particularly leading officials at all levels,
must remain modest and prudent, guard against an arrogant
and rash workstyle, and continue to live plainly and work
hard. Fellow Deputies, It
is our unshakable goal to maintain the long-term stability
and prosperity of Hong Kong and Macao. We will continue to
uphold the principle of "one country, two
systems," according to which "Hong Kong people
administer Hong Kong" and "Macao people administer
Macao" with a high degree of autonomy, and we will act
in strict accordance with the basic laws of the Hong Kong
and Macao special administrative regions. We will give our
full support to the chief executives and governments of the
two regionsin their administration in accordance with the
law. We will unite as broadly as possible people from all
walks of life in Hong Kong and Macao and effectively
implement the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement
between the mainland and Hong Kong and the mainland and
Macao. We have full confidence in the future of Hong Kong
and Macao. We will adhere to
the basic principle of "peaceful reunification and one
country, two systems" and, during this current stage,
to the eight-point proposal for developing relations across
the Taiwan Straits and promoting the peaceful reunification
of the motherland. We will vigorously expand visits of
individuals across the Straits and economic and cultural
exchanges and energetically promote establishment of the
"three direct links" between the two sides. We
will protect the legitimate rights and interests of our
Taiwan compatriots on the mainland in accordance with the
law and continue to pursue the resumption of dialogue and
negotiations between the two sides on the basis of the
one-China principle. With the utmost sincerity, we will do
everything possible to bring about the peaceful
reunification of the motherland. We stand firmly opposed to
any form of separatist activities aimed at "Taiwan
independence" and will never allow anyone to split
Taiwan from China by any means. We are convinced that with
the unremitting efforts of all the sons and daughters of the
Chinese nation, including our Taiwan compatriots, we will
realize our common aspiration, the complete reunification of
the motherland, as soon as possible.
Fellow Deputies, The
international situation is continuing to undergo complex and
profound changes. Peace and development remain the themes of
our times. World multipolarization and economic
globalization are making tortuous progress. Seeking peace
and development and promoting cooperation and progress have
become an irreversible historical trend. However, the
tendency toward unilateralism is reemerging, local conflicts
continue, international terrorist activity is rampant, the
North-South gap is widening, and traditional and
non-traditional security issues are intertwined. All these
problems pose serious challenges to the people of all
nations. During this past year
we followed an independent foreign policy of peace. We
seized opportunities, responded to challenges, took the
initiative, and made noticeable achievements in foreign
affairs. We have won more understanding, trust, respect and
support from the international community, and we enjoy
higher status and greater influence in the international
arena than ever before. This
year we will continue to hold high the banner of peace,
development and cooperation, unswervingly pursue an
independent foreign policy of peace, adhere to the Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, increase friendly
exchanges and cooperation with other countries, and strive
to further improve international and neighboring
environments. We will continue to promote world
multipolarization, advocate democracy in international
relations and diversity in development models, and encourage
the progress of economic globalization in a direction that
benefits the common prosperity of all nations. We will
adhere to a new concept of security based on mutual trust,
mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, and we will oppose
hegemonism, power politics, and terrorism in all its
manifestations. We will continue to work for a new
international political and economic order that is fair and
equitable. We will deepen our
friendly cooperation with developing countries, explore new
avenues and forms of cooperation, and support the efforts of
developing countries to become stronger through unity.
We will continue our policy of
friendship and partnership with our neighboring countries,
deepen good-neighborly and friendly cooperation with all our
neighbors and safeguard regional peace and stability. We
will constantly strengthen our relations with developed
countries, strive to seek out and expand areas of
commoninterest, gradually settle existing differences
through dialogue and consultation on an equal footing, and
facilitate the steady development of our relations with
developed countries. We will
actively engage in multilateral diplomacy and play a
constructive role in the United Nations and other
international and regional organizations.
The Chinese government and people will, as always,
support the cause of justice for the whole human race and
work tirelessly with the people of all other nations to
safeguard world peace and promote common development.
Fellow Deputies,
The government is faced with arduous
tasks this year, and we are keenly aware of the heavy yet
lofty responsibilities we bear. The trust and support that
the whole nation gives to the government is for us an
inexhaustible source of strength and confidence. We firmly
believe that, under the leadership of the Party Central
Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, by
holding high the great banners of Deng Xiaoping Theory and
the important thought of Three Represents, and by relying
closely on the people of all our ethnic groups, we will
surely overcome all difficulties and obstacles and make
continuous progress in reform and opening up and in the
socialist modernization drive!
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