III. Major tasks for 2021

 

The year 2021 is of particular importance to China as it pursues the modernization drive. To accomplish the government’s work for the year, we must, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, do the following:

• follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era;

• implement the guiding principles of the Party’s 19th National Congress and the second through fifth plenary sessions of the 19th Party Central Committee in full;

• act on the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability;

• ground our efforts in the new development stage, apply the new development philosophy, and create a new pattern of development;

• pursue high-quality development as the general aim, advance supply-side structural reform as the main task, and harness reform and innovation as the key source of momentum in our endeavor to meet the fundamental goal of satisfying the people’s growing needs for a better life;

• apply systems thinking;

• consolidate and expand the achievements of the Covid-19 response and economic and social development;

• ensure better coordination in pursuing development and upholding security;

• ensure stability on six key fronts and maintain security in six key areas;

• implement macro policies in a systemic and targeted way;

• keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range;

• continue to expand domestic demand;

• strengthen science and technology to provide strategic support for development;

• pursue higher-standard opening up;

• maintain social harmony and stability.

 

These efforts will enable us to get off to a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan period and commemorate the centenary of the CPC with outstanding achievements in development.

 

In 2021, China will continue to face many development risks and challenges, but the economic fundamentals that will sustain long-term growth remain unchanged. We should stay confident, meet challenges head-on, and consolidate the foundation for economic recovery to ensure sustained and healthy economic and social development.

 

The main projected targets for development this year are as follows:

• GDP growth of over 6 percent

• over 11 million new urban jobs

• a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent

• CPI increase of around 3 percent

• steady increases in both the volume and quality of imports and exports

• a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments

• steady growth in personal income

• a further improvement in the environment

• a drop of around 3 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP

• a continued reduction in the discharge of major pollutants

• grain output of over 650 million metric tons

 

As a general target, China’s growth rate has been set at over 6 percent for this year. In setting this target, we have taken into account the recovery of economic activity. A target of over 6 percent will enable all of us to devote full energy to promoting reform, innovation, and high-quality development. The projected targets for growth, employment, and CPI should keep the economy performing within the appropriate range. These targets are also well-aligned with the annual goals of subsequent years in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and they will help sustain healthy economic growth.

 

For the government to deliver this year, we need to carry out Covid-19 prevention and control and pursue economic and social development in a more coordinated way. We will maintain control measures on a continuing basis and be ready to address isolated emergencies. We will maintain constant vigilance in guarding against inbound cases and domestic resurgences, and ensure effective epidemic control in key areas and at key links.

 

We will effectively address all weaknesses in Covid-19 work, and take strict measures to prevent clusters of infection and transmission caused by isolated cases. The development of vaccines will be steadily advanced, free vaccine programs will be conducted at a faster pace, and efforts will be intensified to boost our capacity to control Covid-19 with targeted and science-based measures.

 

This year, we will carry out the following tasks:

 

1. Ensuring the continuity, consistency, and sustainability of macro policies to keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range

 

On the basis of range-based regulation, we will enhance targeted, well-timed, and precision regulation. We will continue to ensure macro policies alleviate the difficulties of market entities and maintain necessary policy support for achieving this goal. We will avoid sharp turns in policy; instead, we should make adjustments and improvements based on new developments to reinforce the fundamentals of the economy.

 

We will enhance the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of our proactive fiscal policy.

 

In view of the effective containment of Covid-19 and gradual economic recovery, we have set the deficit-to-GDP ratio for the year at around 3.2 percent, slightly lower than that of last year. No Covid-19 bonds will be issued. As government revenue rebounds, total government expenditures will be higher this year than last. We will continue to give priority to increasing support for efforts to ensure employment, living standards, and the operations of market entities.

 

Continued cuts will be made in central government expenditures, including considerable reductions to outlays on non-essential and non-obligatory items. General transfer payments to local governments will be increased by 7.8 percent, which is significantly higher than last year. This will include growth of more than 10 percent in both transfer payments for equalizing access to basic public services and rewards and subsidies to ensure basic funding for county-level governments.

 

We will make it a normal practice to directly allocate budgetary funds to prefecture- and county-level governments and place more funds under this mechanism. This year, 2.8 trillion yuan of central government funding, a figure much larger than last year, will be allocated in this way to provide timely and strong fiscal support to these local governments to benefit businesses and people. We at every level of government should practice fiscal frugality in the interests of the people. We should continue to tighten our belts, ensure continued increases in spending to meet basic living needs, and help sustain and energize market entities.

 

We will continue to implement and improve tax reduction policies.

 

We need to do more to help market entities stand firmly on their feet and thrive.

 

We will continue to implement systematic tax cut policies, extend the duration of several temporary policies such as VAT relief for small-scale taxpayers, and adopt new policies on structural tax reductions to offset the impact of some policy adjustments.

The VAT threshold for small-scale taxpayers will be raised from 100,000 yuan to 150,000 yuan in monthly sales. On the basis of preferential policies already in force, we will halve the income tax of micro and small enterprises and self-employed individuals on annual taxable income below one million yuan. All local governments should implement tax reduction policies fully and on a timely basis and see that market entities all enjoy these tax reduction benefits.

 

We will keep our prudent monetary policy flexible and targeted and at a reasonable and appropriate level.

 

We will give even greater priority to serving the real economy, and balance the needs of promoting economic recovery and preventing risks. We will see that increases in money supply and aggregate financing are generally in step with economic growth in nominal terms, maintain a proper and adequate level of liquidity supply, and keep the macro leverage ratio generally stable. We will also keep the RMB exchange rate generally stable at an adaptive, balanced level.

Further steps will be taken to address the financing difficulties of MSMEs. We will continue the policy of allowing micro and small enterprises to defer principal and interest repayments on inclusive-finance loans, and increase support for inclusive finance via re-lending and rediscounting.

 

We will continue the policy of providing rewards and subsidies to reduce financing guaranty fees for micro and small businesses, and improve mechanisms for risk sharing and compensation for loan defaults. We will move faster to promote the sharing of credit information.

 

The assessment and evaluation of the performance of financial institutions will be improved, and we will ensure that those who have fulfilled their duties are not held accountable.

 

Banks will be encouraged to increase credit loans and first-time loans. We will extend the pay-as-you-go lending model, channel more funds into scientific and technological innovation, green development initiatives, micro and small enterprises, self-employed individuals, and new types of agribusiness, and provide targeted support for enterprises and industries enduring a sustained hit from Covid-19. Inclusive loans to micro and small businesses by large commercial banks will increase by over 30 percent this year.

 

New models for providing supply chain financial services will be developed. Appropriate reductions will be made to transaction fees levied on micro and small businesses. We will improve regulation over deposit rates, further lower loan interest rates in real terms, and continue to guide the financial sector in giving more to the real economy. This year, we must see that micro and small businesses have easier access to financing, and that their overall financing costs steadily drop.

 

We will continue to improve the employment-first policy to enhance its performance.

 

We will work to keep the employment situation stable. We will continue to provide adequate fiscal, tax, and financial policy support to businesses that do not cut jobs or only cut a small number of them. We will continue to reduce premiums for unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation, and expand the scope of time-limited policies aimed at helping businesses maintain payrolls, such as the refunding of unemployment insurance premiums. The duration of policies on work-based training organized by companies will be extended.

 

We will broaden channels for creating market-based employment, and leverage the role of business startups in boosting employment. The thresholds for obtaining employment will be lowered, and we will improve the national catalog of professional qualifications on a continuing basis, and relax or lift the years-of-experience requirements for taking qualification examinations for some license based professions.

 

We will support the development of new forms of employment and keep such employment well-regulated, and we will move faster to advance trials of occupational injury insurance. We will continue to subsidize contributions to social insurance made by workers in flexible employment, and allow people to access social security in the locality where they work even if they do not hold local residency.

 

We will work to ensure employment for key groups such as college graduates, ex-service members, and rural migrant workers, improve policies on employment support for people facing difficulties like those with disabilities and members of zero-employment families, and help unemployed people find work.

 

We will expand the scope of use for vocational skills training funds, launch large-scale, multi-level vocational skills training programs, and complete the goals of the three-year initiative on providing vocational skills training and expanding enrollment in vocational colleges. A number of bases for training highly-skilled personnel will be opened. The public employment services system will be improved. An initiative will be carried out to boost the quality of employment services.

 

We will use employment subsidies and other funds to support the development of labor, talent, and casual labor markets, so as to widen the avenues of employment and enable people who are willing and able to work to find more equitable job opportunities.

 

2. Advancing reforms in key areas and further energizing market entities

 

While implementing policies to ease enterprises’ difficulties, we will also intensify reforms to foster more dynamic and innovative market entities.

 

We will further transform the functions of government.

 

We will fully leverage the decisive role of the market in allocating resources and give better play to the role of government, to ensure better alignment between an efficient market and a well-functioning government. We will continue to expand market access, pilot a comprehensive reform on the market-based allocation of production factors, and ensure equal protection for the property rights of various market entities in accordance with the law.

 

We will deepen reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services and, move faster to create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment. We will practice list-based management for all items requiring administrative approval. We will advance the reform for separating operating permits from business licenses, and devote major efforts to reducing the procedures, documents, time, and expenses required for government review of applications by enterprises.

 

The mechanism for market entities to exit the market will be refined, and the system for deregistering MSMEs with simplified procedures will be implemented. We will reform the system of market access for industrial products, and advance reform of the entire management process, from production access to marketing, for several industries such as the automobile, electronic, and electric appliances industries.

 

Effective regulation is necessary for our efforts to streamline administration and delegate power. We will see that all regulatory responsibilities of government are fulfilled. We will strengthen ongoing and ex post oversight of items for which approval has been cancelled or delegated to lower-level authorities. We will refine regulatory policies covering different levels and categories, and improve the system of comprehensive inter-agency regulation. We will also advance the Internet plus regulation model to enhance our capacity for conducting regulation. We will impose stiffer penalties on acts of bad faith, and carry out regulation in an impartial way to ensure that well-performing businesses succeed in market competition and those which are poorly run are eliminated.

 

We will work to build a digital government. We will set up a sound coordination mechanism for sharing government data, expand the application, and promote mutual nationwide recognition, of electronic licenses and certificates, and ensure more government services are accessible online and on cellphone applications with the need for only one application process. This year, high-demand government services should generally be provided on an inter-provincial basis.

 

We will work to reduce enterprises’ production and operating costs through reform.

 

We will advance the reform of basic sectors like energy, transportation and telecommunications to provide more efficient services and reduce charges. All manufacturing enterprises will be allowed to engage in market-based electricity transactions. Further steps will be taken to cut unjustified surcharges on electricity use; electricity rates for general industrial and commercial businesses will be further reduced.

 

Average rates for broadband and dedicated internet access services for small and medium enterprises will be lowered by another 10 percent. We will introduce differentiated pricing for expressway tolls nationwide and take firm measures to rectify irregular height and width limits and checkpoints that affect freight traffic. The port development fee will be abolished. Airlines’ contributions to the civil aviation development fund will be cut by 20 percent.

 

Governments in localities that were hit hard by Covid-19 will be encouraged to lower or waive rentals on state-owned property for micro and small businesses in the service sector and for self-employed individuals.

 

Various intermediary agencies will be urged to make public their terms of service, procedures, timeframes, and charges.

 

Unjustified growth in non-tax government revenue will be strictly checked, tough steps will be taken to end arbitrary charges, fines, and quotas, and no action that seeks to make gains at the expense of our people and businesses will be tolerated.

 

All these efforts will lighten the burden on market entities and enable them to focus on doing business free from undue concern.

 

We will promote the common development of enterprises under diverse forms of ownership.

 

We will continue to practice and improve the basic socialist economic system. We will work unswervingly to both consolidate and develop the public sector and encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector. All market entities, regardless of their type, are participants in China’s modernization endeavors, and each and every one of them must be treated as equals.

 

We will continue to implement the three-year action plan for SOE reform, and work to strengthen, expand, and increase the returns on state capital and enhance the strength, quality, and size of SOEs. We will also push ahead with mixed-ownership reform in SOEs.

 

We will build a cordial and clean relationship between government and business, remove barriers to the development of private businesses, improve the long-term mechanism for preventing and resolving late payments to small and medium businesses, and promote an entrepreneurial spirit.

 

The state supports platform enterprises in pursuing innovative development and enhancing international competitiveness; it will ensure that their business operations are well-regulated in accordance with the law and take steps to refine digital rules. We will step up efforts against business monopolies and guard against unregulated expansion of capital, and ensure fair market competition.

 

We will deepen reforms of the fiscal, taxation, and financial systems.

 

We will strengthen budget constraints and performance management, and promote greater budget transparency. Procedures for accessing preferential tax and fee policies will be streamlined. The reform plan for defining the respective fiscal powers and expenditure responsibilities of central and local governments will be implemented. The local tax systems will be improved.

 

We will continue to replenish capital and strengthen corporate governance of small and medium banks through multiple channels, deepen the reform of rural credit cooperatives, advance the reform on policy banks by carrying out category-based management for specific accounts, and strengthen the role of insurance in protecting against risks and providing services.

 

We will steadily advance the reform to establish a registration-based IPO system, improve delisting as a normal practice, and step up development of the bond market, so as to better exert the role of multi-level capital markets and open up more financing channels for market entities.

 

We will strengthen regulation over financial holding companies and financial technology to ensure that financial innovations are made under prudent regulation. We will improve the mechanism for managing financial risks, see responsibilities are fulfilled by all the stakeholders, and ensure that no systemic risks arise. Financial institutions must serve the real economy as they should do.

 

3. Promoting high-quality development of the real economy through innovation and fostering new growth drivers

 

We will see that scientific and technological innovations are fully applied in the real economy, and we will better leverage the role of innovation in driving development.

 

We will raise our capacity for pursuing scientific and technological innovation.

 

We will improve our strategic scientific and technological strength. The building of national laboratories will continue, and the layout of science and technology programs and innovation centers will be improved. We will ensure the success of projects launched to achieve breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, further plan and implement the Sci-Tech Innovation 2030 Agenda, reform the way that major science and technology programs are implemented, and extend mechanisms, such as the open competition mechanism to select the best candidates to undertake key research projects, to more areas.

 

We support localities with requisite conditions to develop international and regional centers for science and technology innovation, and better leverage the guiding role of institutions such as national innovation demonstration zones. We encourage advances in science and technology that promote people’s wellbeing, such as breakthroughs in the prevention and control of diseases. We also encourage opening up and international cooperation in the science and technology sector, and we are firmly committed to protecting intellectual property. We will heighten awareness of research integrity, promote the spirit of science, and create a favorable ecosystem for innovation.

 

Basic research is the wellspring of scientific and technological innovation. So we will ensure the stable functioning of funding mechanisms for basic research and boost spending in this area by a considerable sum. Central government expenditures on basic research will increase by 10.6 percent. Research institutes will have more say about how funds should be used, and the mechanisms for project applications, assessments, fund management, and personnel evaluations and incentives will be refined. We will work hard to help researchers get rid of undue burdens and enable them to fully devote their time and energy to making scientific explorations and major breakthroughs in key technologies, just as a blacksmith in the past would spend years forging the perfect sword.

 

We will leverage market forces to encourage enterprises to engage in innovation.

 

We will boost the principal role of enterprises in innovation, and encourage leading enterprises to establish innovation consortia. We will expand the channels that bring together enterprises, universities, research institutes and end-users, and refine the equity-based incentive mechanisms for scientific and technological advances.

 

We will improve the regulatory system and development policies for venture capital, and further promote business startups and innovation initiatives. We will continue to implement the policy of granting an extra tax deduction of 75 percent on enterprises’ R&D costs, and we will raise this to 100 percent for manufacturing enterprises. By employing such mechanisms for preferential tax treatment, we can encourage enterprises to increase R&D spending and pursue innovation-driven development.

 

We will ensure the stable operation of industrial and supply chains and improve them.

 

We will continue working on the five priority tasks of cutting overcapacity, reducing excess housing inventory, deleveraging, lowering costs, and strengthening areas of weakness. We will refund all due VAT credits to advanced manufacturing enterprises on a monthly basis, raise the proportion of loans to the manufacturing sector, and increase investment in the equipment upgrades and technology transformations of manufacturing enterprises.

 

We will see that industrial and supply chains are more self-supporting and that their risks are better controlled. We will implement projects for upgrading foundational industrial infrastructure and give full play to large enterprises’ capacity to provide leadership and support, and to the collaborative and supporting role of MSMEs.

 

We will further develop the industrial internet, promote the integration of industrial and innovation chains, and build additional platforms for generic technology R&D to enhance the capacity of MSMEs for making innovations and engaging in specialized production.

 

The development of the 5G networks and 1000M fiber optic networks will be stepped up and their application will be extended to more settings. Cybersecurity, data security, and personal information protection will be strengthened. The layout of emerging industries will be planned in a well-coordinated way. China’s National Quality Infrastructure will be strengthened, intensified efforts will be made to enhance quality, and the system of standards will be improved to ensure standards are aligned throughout the industrial chain. We will champion the pursuit of fine workmanship to boost the quality of Chinese manufacturing.

 

4. Expanding domestic demand as a strategic move and fully tapping the potential of the domestic market

 

With a focus on improving the people’s wellbeing, we will expand demand, and promote better alignment between consumption and investment, so as to attain a more desirable and dynamic equilibrium between supply and demand.

 

We will stabilize and expand consumption.

 

Personal incomes will be increased through multiple channels. Networks for the flow of goods and services in urban and rural areas will be improved, and rural e-commerce and express delivery services will be expanded to spur greater consumption at the county and township levels. We will encourage steady increases in spending on home appliances, automobiles, and other big-ticket items, and abolish excessive restrictions on sales of second-hand vehicles. More car parks and electric vehicle battery charging and swapping facilities will be built, and the system for recycling power batteries will be developed at a faster pace.

 

Consumption of services such as healthcare, culture, tourism, and sports will be promoted. Enterprises are encouraged to develop new products and services, and better market access will be provided for new products. We will ensure that products sold domestically are produced on the same production lines, meet the same standards, and are of the same quality as exported products.

 

We will ensure that convenience stores, shops, and other neighborhood services are well-run. We will use the Internet Plus model to promote integrated development of online and offline businesses in more fields and create new forms and models of business, thus providing more convenient and satisfying services for consumers. We will also encourage platform companies to reduce their service fees as appropriate.

 

By taking these steps, we will steadily improve people’s consumption capacity and the environment for consumption and ensure that our people have the ability and willingness to spend, thus improving their lives and driving economic development.

 

We will expand effective investment.

 

This year, 3.65 trillion yuan of local government special-purpose bonds will be issued and the way funds from bond issues are used will be improved. The scope of use for such bonds will be expanded as appropriate, with priority given to funding for key projects already under construction.

 

The central government will earmark a total of 610 billion yuan for investment in its budget. We will continue to support the construction of major projects that facilitate coordinated development among regions, and launch new infrastructure and new urbanization initiatives as well as major projects. We will also launch a number of major transportation, energy, and water conservancy projects, develop information networks and other new types of infrastructure, and work to modernize the logistics system.

 

Government investment will be weighted toward projects which will help significantly improve the people’s wellbeing. Rebuilding and renovation of 53,000 old urban residential communities will begin, and the public service standards of county towns will be raised.

 

Investment approval procedures will be streamlined, and the business-invested project commitment system will be put into practice. Reform of the system for construction project approval will be furthered. We will improve our policies for encouraging the participation of nongovernmental capital, and do more to remove barriers impeding private investment, so that such investment can enter, develop, and yield good returns in more fields.

 

5. Implementing the rural revitalization strategy across the board and promoting steady development of agriculture and growth in rural incomes

 

We will continue to promote the development of areas that have been lifted out of poverty, bolster agricultural production, and improve working and living conditions in rural areas.

 

We will align efforts to consolidate and expand the achievements in poverty alleviation with efforts to promote rural revitalization.

 

For counties lifted out of poverty, a five-year transition period will apply from the date poverty in their locality was eradicated, during which major assistance policies will remain unchanged for them. Continuous monitoring and assistance mechanisms will be enhanced to prevent populations that have been lifted out of poverty from falling back into it again. Stable employment for these populations should be ensured, and more skills training will be made available to them. We will further develop industries in areas that are no longer in poverty, provide follow-up support for those who have been relocated from inhospitable areas, and enhance regular and tiered assistance of various types to low-income rural residents. These steps will forestall a large-scale reemergence of poverty.

 

A number of counties lifted out of poverty in western China will be designated as key counties for receiving assistance for rural revitalization. The mechanisms for collaboration between the eastern and western regions and for providing paired assistance will remain in place and be improved. Central departments and organizations as well as non-governmental actors will continue to play their roles in providing assistance. All these efforts will help those areas which have been lifted out of poverty enhance their capacity for sustaining self-development.

 

We will enhance our ability to ensure the supply of food and major agricultural products.

 

Seeds and cropland are crucial for safeguarding China’s food security. We will strengthen the protection and use of germplasm resources and the breeding and application of fine crop varieties, and strive to make key technological breakthroughs in agriculture.

 

The standards for maintaining high-quality farmland will be raised, and irrigation facilities will be improved. We will enhance the protection of cropland, and resolutely stop any attempt to use it for purposes other than agriculture and specifically grain production.

 

We will promote mechanization and digitalization of agriculture. Agricultural belts for national food security and demonstration zones for agricultural modernization will be developed. Subsidies for grain growers will be maintained, and minimum purchase prices for rice and wheat will be increased as appropriate. Pilot insurance programs covering total production costs and incomes will be expanded. Grain acreage will be kept stable, per unit crop yield will be increased, and the quality of grains will be raised.

 

We will adopt multiple measures to expand the production of oil-bearing crops, develop livestock, poultry, and aquaculture farming, and promote stable hog production. Prevention and control of animal and plant diseases will be enhanced.

 

We will ensure stability in the supply and prices of agricultural products, and launch food saving initiatives. Ensuring that our people have enough food remains a top priority for our government. We are resolved to ensure food security for our 1.4 billion people, and we know we can achieve this.

 

We will take solid steps in advancing rural reform and development.

 

We will consolidate and improve the system of basic rural operations. We will keep rural land contract relationships unchanged over the long term, steadily promote appropriately scaled agribusiness operations of various types, and speed up the development of specialized and commercial services. Trials for the reform of rural residential land will be advanced in a steady and prudent fashion. New rural collective economies will be developed. Reforms of supply and marketing cooperatives, collective forest tenure, state forestry areas and farms, and state farms will be deepened.

 

More of the revenue from land sales will be spent on agriculture and rural development. We will strengthen basic public services and infrastructure construction in rural areas and promote integrated urban-rural development in counties. A five-year program to improve the rural living environment will be launched, and cultural and ethical standards in rural areas will be raised.

 

We will ensure that rural migrant workers receive their pay on time and in full. We will promote faster development of rural industries, strengthen county economies, and provide more support for migrant workers to start businesses in their hometowns, so as to enable rural people to seek employment through more channels. We will do our utmost to see that rural residents in their hundreds of millions can earn higher incomes and embrace a brighter future.

 

6. Pursuing high-standard opening up and promoting stable and improved performance in foreign trade and investment

 

We will open up more sectors of the economy in a more thorough fashion and participate more fully in international economic cooperation.

 

We will promote steady growth of imports and exports.

 

We will increase credit support to small and medium foreign trade firms, expand the coverage of export credit insurance and streamline the conditions for insurance acceptance and claims settlement. Trials to facilitate foreign exchange settlement for trade firms will be advanced. We will keep the processing trade stable, develop new forms and models of trade such as cross-border e-commerce, and support enterprises in diversifying their markets overseas. We will also develop border trade.

 

New approaches will be explored to develop trade in services. We will improve and adjust import tariff policies and increase imports of quality products and services. Trade promotion services will be improved, and good preparations will be made for holding major trade events such as the China International Import Expo, the China Import and Export Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the first China International Consumer Products Expo. We will work to ensure smooth international logistics services, overhaul and standardize port charges, and further simplify customs clearance.

 

We will use foreign investment more effectively.

 

The negative list for foreign investment will be further cut. We will open the service sector in a well-regulated way, launch more comprehensive trials on its opening, and formulate a negative list for cross-border trade in services. We will further the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, pursue reform, opening up, and innovation in pilot free trade zones, promote coordinated development of special customs regulation zones and pilot free trade zones, and fully leverage the role of economic development zones as platforms for opening up.

 

We will promote fair competition between domestic and foreign companies and protect the lawful rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises. Foreign investors are welcome to expand their investments in China and share in its vast open market and development opportunities.

 

We will promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

 

We are committed to the principle of achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration. We will, with enterprises as the main actors and acting on market principles, set up a sound, diversified investment and financing framework, provide better legal services and safeguards, and work to steadily advance cooperation on major projects and promote infrastructure connectivity.

 

We will work to improve the performance of China’s outbound investment and international cooperation in this area.

 

We will deepen multilateral, bilateral, and regional economic cooperation.

 

We will continue to uphold the multilateral trading regime. We will work for the early entry into force and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and the signing of the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. We will accelerate China’s free trade negotiations with Japan and the Republic of Korea. China will actively consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. We will promote the growth of mutually beneficial China-US business relations on the basis of equality and mutual respect. China stands ready to work with other countries to achieve mutual benefits on the basis of greater mutual opening.

 

7. Enhancing Pollution Prevention and Control and Ecological Conservation and Promoting Continuous Environmental Improvement

 

We will fully implement the sustainable development strategy, consolidate the gains in our endeavors to keep our skies blue, our waters clear, and our lands pollution-free, and transition to eco-friendly production and ways of life.

 

We will continue to intensify efforts to improve the environment.

 

We will strengthen comprehensive measures and joint efforts on air pollution prevention and control, and step up coordination on the control of fine particulate matter and ozone pollution. Clean heating will account for 70 percent of all heating in northern China.

 

We will clean up sewage outfalls into seas and rivers and black, malodorous water bodies in cities. We will enhance our capacity to collect urban household sewage and to treat waste water from industrial parks. We will take stringent measures to prevent soil pollution at the source, and take stronger action to address agricultural pollution from non-point sources.

 

The ban on the importation of solid waste will remain in place. Urban household waste sorting will be promoted in a well-planned way, the use of eco-friendly express delivery packaging will be encouraged, and the collection and treatment of hazardous waste and medical waste will be improved.

 

The formulation of regulations on compensation for environmental conservation will be put on the agenda. We will enforce a ten-year fishing ban in the waters of the Yangtze River, and carry out major biodiversity protection projects. We will systematically promote comprehensive control of desertification, rocky desertification, and soil erosion, continue to launch large-scale land greening programs, protect the marine environment, and protect and restore ecosystems. We hope that our common home will have clearer waters and the skies above it will be bluer.

 

We will take solid steps toward the goals of achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.

 

We will draw up an action plan for carbon emissions to peak by 2030. China’s industrial structure and energy mix will be improved. While promoting the clean and efficient use of coal, we will make a major push to develop new energy sources, and take active and well-ordered steps to develop nuclear energy on the basis of ensuring its safe use.

 

We will expand the catalog of corporate income tax credits for environmental protection and the conservation of water and energy, and promote the development and application of new types of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies, equipment and products, and the cultivation of energy-saving and environmental protection industries to ensure the conservation and efficient use of resources.

 

We will accelerate the development of national markets for trading energy use rights and carbon emissions rights, and improve the system to control both the total amount and intensity of energy consumption. We will introduce special policies on providing financial support for green and low-carbon development, devise instruments for supporting the reduction of carbon emissions, and enhance the carbon absorption capacity of ecosystems.

 

As a member of the global village, China will continue to take concrete action to play its part in the global response to climate change.

 

8. Improving living standards and steadily advancing social development

 

We will, with a focus on resolving the difficulties of our people, respond promptly to public concerns and continue working to improve people’s lives.

 

We will develop more equitable and higher-quality education.

 

We will build an education system that ensures the well-rounded development of students in terms of moral grounding, intellectual and physical ability, aesthetic sensibility, and work skills. We will promote high-quality, well-balanced, and integrated development of compulsory education in both urban and rural areas. We will work quickly to improve the basic conditions of rural schools, refine the long-term mechanism for ensuring salary payments to teachers, and improve the pay packages of teachers in rural schools.

 

We will raise the preschool enrollment ratio, improve the mechanism to support public-interest pre-school education, and support private actors in running kindergartens. We will encourage the diversified development of senior secondary schools and the development of county high schools.

 

We will enhance the adaptability of vocational education, deepen industry-education integration and school-enterprise cooperation, and implement the system of vocational technical grade certificates. We will provide high-quality special needs education and continuing education, and support the development of private schools in a well-regulated way.

 

We will develop first-rate universities and academic disciplines on a categorized basis, move faster to improve the composition of disciplines and majors, and promote the development of foundational disciplines, cutting-edge disciplines, and emerging inter-disciplinary fields. We will support the development of higher education in the central and western regions.

 

Efforts to promote standard spoken and written Chinese will be stepped up. We will give full play to the advantages of online education, improve the lifelong learning system, and encourage public respect for teachers and public support for education. We will further the reform of educational assessment, improve the mechanism of school-family-society cooperation in educating students, and keep off-campus training well-regulated.

 

We will strengthen the professional ethics and competence of teachers, and make major strides in ensuring equitable education. We will endeavor to provide better schooling for children of rural migrant workers in cities, and continue to have universities and colleges enroll more students from the central and western regions and rural areas. We will ensure that students live healthy and happy lives and that every child has the opportunity to fulfill their potential.

 

We will improve the healthcare system.

 

We will, with emphasis on prevention, continue to advance the Healthy China initiative and carry out extensive patriotic health campaigns. We will deepen the reform of the system for disease prevention and control, strengthen community-level public health systems, and develop new mechanisms for enhancing coordination between disease prevention and control agencies and hospitals. We will improve the system for responding to public health emergencies and providing emergency supplies, and put in place a mechanism for ensuring stable funding for public health institutions. We will attach greater importance to mental and psychological health.

 

We will advance the comprehensive reform of public hospitals, expand trials on setting up national medical centers and regional medical centers, strengthen the ranks of general practitioners and rural doctors, and improve the capacity of medical services at the county level. The tiered diagnosis and treatment system will be developed at a faster pace. We will support both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and a major project will be launched to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine. We will support the development of private hospitals, and promote well-regulated growth of Internet Plus Healthcare initiatives. We will tighten regulation and supervision of food, drugs, and vaccines.

 

We will take steps to make medical treatment more accessible, such as simplifying medical appointment procedures, so as to ensure that patients with severe, acute, or hard-to-treat diseases receive treatment as soon as possible. Government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents will increase by an average of 30 yuan per person, and subsides for basic public health services will increase by 5 yuan per person. We will promote provincial-level unified management of basic medical insurance funds and realize inter-provincial on-the-spot settlement of outpatient bills through individual accounts for basic medical insurance.

 

We will also develop a general support mechanism for covering outpatient medical bills, and take gradual steps toward reimbursing outpatient bills through unified accounts. We will improve the mechanism for ensuring provision of medicines in short supply and keeping their prices stable. More medicines for chronic and common illnesses and high-priced medical consumables will be covered by bulk government purchases. These are all steps that will lighten the burden on patients by another considerable margin.

 

We will strive to meet people’s housing needs.

 

Upholding the principle that housing is for living in, not for speculation, we will keep the prices of land and housing as well as market expectations stable. We will address prominent housing issues in large cities. By increasing land supply, earmarking special funds, and carrying out concentrated development schemes, we will increase the supply of government-subsidized rental housing and shared ownership housing. We will ensure well-regulated development of the long-term rental housing market, and cut taxes and fees on rental housing. We will make every effort to address the housing difficulties faced by our people, especially new urban residents and young people.

 

We will do more to meet people’s basic living needs.

 

We will increase the basic pension for retirees and the subsidies and living allowances for entitled groups, and work toward unified national management of basic old-age insurance funds. As the third pillar, private pensions will develop in a well-regulated way. The national social insurance public service platform will be improved.

 

We will increase the benefits for service members and their families, ex-service members, and other entitled groups, while also refining our work systems and support mechanisms for ex-service members. The coverage of unemployment insurance will be further expanded. We will promote the integration of medical care and health care, and steadily advance trials of long-term care insurance. We will develop public-interest elderly care services and mutual-aid elderly care, as well as infant and child care services.

 

We will develop diversified community services, including elderly care, child care, dining services, and cleaning services, build more supporting facilities and barrier-free facilities, and introduce more preferential policies to make life more convenient for community residents. We will improve traditional services, and provide elderly people and other groups with more comprehensive and considerate services. The rollout of smart services should also cater to elderly people and people with disabilities, so that smart devices do not become a barrier in their daily lives.

 

We will refine the social welfare systems for orphans and people with disabilities, strengthen disability prevention, and provide quality rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. We will provide social assistance of different types at different levels and ensure timely help and support for people in difficulty due to Covid-19 or natural disasters. We are fully determined to ensure that the basic living needs of all our people are met.

 

We will better meet the intellectual and cultural needs of our people.

 

We will cultivate and promote the core socialist values, carry forward the great spirit forged in the battle against Covid-19 and in the fight against poverty, and foster civic virtue. China’s press and publishing, radio, film, and television, literature and art, philosophy, social sciences, and archives will continue to flourish. More efforts will be made to ensure the quality of online content through improved management, and to cultivate a positive and healthy online culture.

 

Fine traditional Chinese culture will be preserved and carried forward. China’s cultural and historical artifacts will be placed under effective protection and put to good use, and our intangible cultural heritage will be kept alive. We will build national cultural parks. We will promote integrated development of urban and rural public cultural services and launch new public cultural projects. A love of reading will be fostered among our people.

 

China’s cultural and people-to-people exchanges with other countries will be deepened. The public service system for fitness and physical activity will be improved. We will make meticulous preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing and other major sports events.

 

We will strengthen social governance and develop new ways to conduct it.

 

We will consolidate the foundations of primary-level governance, improve the governance and service systems for urban and rural communities, and advance trials on modernizing municipal social governance. The social credit system will be improved. We will enhance social services, support the development of social organizations, humanitarian assistance, volunteer service, public-interest activities, and charity. We will protect the lawful rights and interests of women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The system for handling public complaints will be further refined and more efforts will be made to resolve social disputes through multiple channels. The provision of legal aid will be strengthened and the eighth five-year plan for increasing public knowledge of the law will be launched.

 

We will strengthen our emergency rescue capacity and disaster prevention, mitigation, response, and relief capabilities. We will make solid efforts to protect against floods, droughts, forest and grassland fires, geological disasters, and earthquakes, and provide quality meteorological services.

 

We will improve and implement the system of accountability for workplace safety, carry out a three-year campaign to promote workplace safety, and take firm measures to prevent serious and major accidents.

 

We will improve the crime prevention and control system, make efforts to combat organized crime and root out local criminal gangs on an ongoing basis, and prevent and punish crimes of all types to effectively safeguard social stability and public safety.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

In the face of new tasks and challenges, our governments at all levels must be keenly aware of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. We should stay confident in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and we should uphold General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership.

 

We will closely follow the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in thinking, stance, and action, practice the people-centered development philosophy, keep enhancing our capacity for political judgment, thinking, and implementation, and enforce full and strict Party self-governance. We will carry out activities to study the history of the CPC. We will boost development of a government based on the rule of law, conduct administration in accordance with the law, and ensure transparency in all government affairs. We will work to ensure that law enforcement is strict, procedure-based, impartial, and civil.

 

We will, in compliance with the law, subject ourselves to the oversight of people’s congresses and their standing committees at the corresponding level, and readily submit to the democratic oversight of the CPPCC, public oversight, and oversight through public opinion, while strengthening auditing-based oversight. We will support trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, women’s federations, and other people’s organizations in better playing their roles.

 

We will work harder to improve Party conduct, ensure clean government, and root out corruption, and continue to implement the central Party leadership’s eight-point decision on conduct. We in government must readily subject ourselves to the oversight of the law, supervisory bodies, and the people. We will intensify efforts to build a clean government and continue to prevent misconduct and corruption.

 

Although remarkable achievements have been made in China’s economic and social development, we still have quite a way to go and a lot of hard work to do before we can achieve modernization in all respects. We must bear in mind the reality that China is still in the primary stage of socialism and run our affairs well.

 

For all of us in government, the people must always be uppermost in our minds. We must take a fact-based approach, and pursue development and improve people’s lives in a realistic and pragmatic way.

 

We must guard against pointless formalities and bureaucratism and one-size-fits-all approaches in our work, so as to truly lighten the burden on all those working on the ground.

 

We need to remain vigilant, be prepared for adversity, face difficulties squarely, and shoulder responsibility bravely to effectively prevent and defuse various risks and potential dangers.

 

We should keep everyone motivated in advancing reform and opening up, and further energize market entities and unlock social creativity. In the course of pursuing development, we will take steps to address imbalances and inadequacies in development. We must take on responsibility, work hard, and continue creating achievements to meet the expectation of our people.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

We will continue to apply and improve the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and fully implement the Party’s policies on ethnic affairs. We will forge a strong sense of community among the Chinese people and encourage all China’s ethnic groups to work in concert for common prosperity and development.

 

We will fully implement the Party’s basic policy on religious affairs, uphold the principle that religions in China must be Chinese in orientation, and work to guide religions in adapting to socialist society. We will fully carry out the Party’s policies on overseas Chinese affairs, safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals residing abroad, returned overseas Chinese, and relatives of overseas Chinese nationals residing in China. By doing so, we will pool the tremendous strengths of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to accomplish remarkable achievements.

 

Last year, major success was attained in the development of national defense and the armed forces. Our people’s forces, with complete competence and fine conduct, safeguarded China’s national security and participated in epidemic control.

 

This year, we will thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s thinking on strengthening the armed forces and the military strategy for the new era, ensure the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces, and strictly implement the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission.

 

We will, bearing in mind the goals set for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army, continue to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, strengthen them through reform, science and technology and the training of capable personnel, and run them in accordance with the law. The integration of mechanized, informatized, and intelligent development of the military will be accelerated.

 

We will boost military training and preparedness across the board, make overall plans for responding to security risks in all areas and for all situations, and enhance the military’s strategic capacity to protect the sovereignty, security, and development interests of our country. We will improve the layout of defense-related science, technology, and industry, enhance the defense mobilization system, and strengthen public awareness about national defense.

 

We in government at all levels should vigorously support the development of national defense and the armed forces, and conduct extensive activities to promote mutual support between the civilians and the military, so as to forge an ever closer bond between the people and the military in the new era.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will improve the relevant systems and mechanisms of the two special administrative regions for enforcing the Constitution and the basic laws; we will ensure the implementation of the laws and enforcement mechanisms for the two regions to safeguard national security. We will resolutely guard against and deter external forces’ interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macao. We will support both regions as they grow their economies and improve people’s lives, so as to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao.

 

We remain committed to the major principles and policies on work related to Taiwan, to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and to promoting the peaceful growth of relations across the Taiwan Strait and China’s reunification. We will remain highly vigilant against and resolutely deter any separatist activity seeking “Taiwan Independence.”

 

We will improve the systems and policies for safeguarding the wellbeing of our Taiwan compatriots and ensuring they enjoy the same treatment on China’s mainland as local residents. We will promote exchanges, cooperation, and integrated development across the Taiwan Strait. Together, we can shape a bright future of rejuvenation for our great nation.

 

China will continue to pursue an independent foreign policy of peace. We will actively work to develop global partnerships and promote the building of a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future. We will continue to pursue the policy of opening up and cooperation and work to make the system of global governance fairer and more equitable. We will continue to deepen international and regional cooperation, and actively participate in international cooperation to prevent and control major infectious diseases.

 

China remains committed to pursuing peaceful coexistence and common development with all other countries in accordance with the principle of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit. China will join hands with them to meet global challenges and work tirelessly to promote world peace and prosperity.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

As we shoulder heavy responsibilities, we must forge ahead with even greater resolve.

 

Let us rally more closely around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, follow the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and push forward in a concerted effort to complete the objectives and tasks for this year and celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China with outstanding achievements.

 

Let each and every of us keep making tireless efforts to build China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful, and fulfill the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.