Fellow Deputies,

 

On behalf of the People’s Government of Fujian Province, I will now report to you on its work and ask for your deliberation and approval. I also ask members of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and other guests for their comments.

 

I. Review of the Work in 2022 and in the Past Five Years

 

The year 2022 was an extremely important year in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and of our country as it witnessed the convocation of the 20th CPC National Congress and the solid progress in the new journey to develop China into a modern socialist country in all respects. The year saw the whole country rejoice and the Fujian people stay full of vigor and vitality, brimming with energy.

 

Over the past year, we fully implemented the guiding principles from the 19th National Congress the CPC held in 2017 and from the successive plenary sessions the CPC Central Committee held thereafter. We earnestly gained an understanding of, promoted and carried out the guiding principles from the 20th CPC National Congress. We resolutely put into practice the guiding principles from the major speeches, instructions, and comments by General Secretary Xi Jinping and the decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee. We worked to meet the Four Requirements.[1] Under the leadership of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, we upheld the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability and strove to prevent and control COVID-19, keep the economy stable, and maintain development security. We worked to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and benefits. We made great efforts to overcome the impact of factors that were beyond our expectations. All this resulted in the following new achievements in economic and social development according to preliminary statistics in 2022.

 

●    The gross regional product (GRP) hit 5.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.7% over the previous year;

 

●    Revenue in the general public budget was 538.23 billion yuan, up 1.9% over that of 2021;

 

●    Revenue in the local general public budget amounted to 333.9 billion yuan, an increase of 5.5%;

 

●    Fixed asset investment increased by 7.5%;

 

●    Total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 3.3%;

 

●    Exports grew by 12.3%;

 

●    The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased by 5.2%, and that of rural residents, 7.6%;

 

●    The surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.1%; and

 

●    Consumer prices rose by 1.9%.

 

We made concerted efforts to combat COVID-19, providing strong protection of people’s life and health. We suppressed major local outbreaks in Quanzhou, Ningde and Fuzhou, restoring normal production and life in the shortest time possible. We built a provincial integrated service platform for epidemic prevention and control, addressed public and business complaints, and achieved positive results in routine epidemic prevention and control. We improved and adjusted the epidemic prevention and control measures as necessary, and ensured that infections peaked in a smooth and orderly manner. Over the past three years of COVID prevention and control, we resolutely implemented the guiding principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s major instructions on epidemic prevention and control, always putting the people and their lives above all else. Taking fast, accurate, strict, practical and detailed measures, we effectively responded to several major outbreaks. Our mechanism of integrating epidemic control efforts from the public health, public security, industry and information technology, and big data sectors made its way to the rest of China. Our officials and the general public, especially medical personnel and community workers, overcame unprecedented difficulties and challenges with great courage and fraternity to fight against COVID, bearing the overall picture in mind, reaching out to help those in distress and bringing forth the great spirit of fighting COVID.

 

We made concerted efforts to stabilize growth and effectively kept major economic indicators within an appropriate range. In fully implementing national economic stabilization policies, we introduced a package of 48 new policies and 21 follow-up policies. In 2022, we refunded, reduced, mitigated and deferred 114.6 billion yuan in taxes and fees; added 40 billion yuan of special loans for relief; and set up a special fund of 5 billion yuan to support micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing industry and another of the same amount to support the textile, footwear and apparel industries, benefiting 18,300 enterprises. To give full play to the key role of investment, we put policy-backed and development-oriented financial instruments to the fullest possible use, issuing 183.1 billion yuan of special local government bonds. The Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway was completed, and the Xingguo-Quanzhou Railway and Nanjing-Yongding Expressway were opened to traffic. Fuzhou Metro Lines 5 and 6 were opened for operation, and the Nanping-Fuzhou section of the Minjiang River was made navigable again. The main part of the Huokou Reservoir was completed, and the Zhouning and Yongtai pumped storage power stations were put into use. To comprehensively enhance the basic role of consumption, we carried out the Fujian Spending Initiative by holding the first Fujian Consumer Products Expo and issuing 400 million yuan of consumption vouchers, which leveraged the recovery of the sales of automobiles, household appliances and other commodities, with new energy car sales increasing by 78.7%. We strengthened operation analysis and scheduling across the board. We put in place a provincial platform for the monitoring and performance management of economic and social operations and high-quality development and an online supply and demand platform for the provincial industrial enterprises. We created a new mechanism for daily monitoring, ten-day scheduling and monthly analysis. We were off to a good start in the first quarter of the year, achieved good results in the second, maintained stability in the third, and kept a good momentum in the fourth. Our province’s main economic indicators were among the highest in the country.

 

We made concerted efforts to strengthen development drivers and continued to promote industrial transformation and upgrading. The Five Actions[2] were implemented in depth. R&D spending in our province increased by 15%, 10 key national laboratories, 6 provincial innovation laboratories operated in an orderly manner, and 8 enterprise technology centers were approved as national centers. Five of our cities with districts were included in China’s first list of national pilot demonstration cities for boosting competitiveness in intellectual property. Jinjiang and Fuqing were accepted as two of China’s first national innovative counties or cities. We set up China’s first award for the commercialization of science and technology advances. Our nasal spray vaccine, the first of its kind in the world, was approved for emergency use in China. Solid progress was made in the Six Projects.[3] Pillar industries were continuously upgraded. Construction started on the Sino-Saudi Gulei Ethylene Complex Project with a total investment of 42 billion yuan, and Tianma’s AMOLED project in Xiamen was proudly put into operation. The digital and intelligent transformation of traditional industries was accelerated, with 1,442 key provincial technological transformation projects being implemented with an investment of 458.4 billion yuan. Emerging strategic industries grew and expanded, and the added value of high-tech industries grew by 17.1%. Ningde’s power battery cluster was made one of China’s national advanced manufacturing clusters. The 16-megawatt offshore wind turbine with the world’s largest ever single-unit capacity rolled off the production line in our province. Specialized and sophisticated enterprises that produce new and unique products cropped up. The number of national high-tech enterprises exceeded 10,000. National little giant enterprises[4] increased by 132. We also had 10 more single manufacturing champions. Five of our industrial clusters were included in China’s first list of special small and medium-sized enterprise clusters. We moved faster to nurture the digital economy, marine economy, green economy, and culture and tourism-based economy. The Fifth Digital China Summit was successfully held in our province. A total of 21,000 new 5G base stations were added, and the added value of the digital economy reached 2.6 trillion yuan. A pilot program was carried out to introduce market-oriented investment projects for one million-kilowatt offshore wind power. Mintou No. 1, the first set of fishery-tourism integration deep-sea aquaculture equipment, was put into operation. The Three-Year Action Plan (2020–2022) on Further Accelerating the Promotion of New Energy Vehicles and High-Quality Industrial Development was successfully completed. Fujian was the first in China to carry out a pilot project to develop green and intelligent inland vessels. China’s first BESS super charging station for electric vehicles started operation in our province. Sanming, Longyan and Nanping were selected as three of China’s first national pilot cities for forestry carbon sinks. We introduced the action plan for high-quality development of the culture and tourism economy, made every effort to make Fu culture our golden brand, and registered solid progress in making our province an integrated eco-friendly tourist destination.

 

We made concerted efforts to increase vitality and moved faster with reform and opening-up. We kept reform going and deepened the reform to delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services. The Regulations of Fujian Province on Improving the Business Environment officially went into force. We carried out government services reform to ensure 8,125 items concerning people’s lives and enterprises are completed in just one go and cut review procedures by 67.6%, which was affirmed by the State Council. Reform was accelerated to make factor allocation market-oriented, state-owned industrial land was made transferable, and the public data collection and sharing platform at the provincial and municipal levels was fully completed. The effectiveness of our province’s overall reform of public hospitals has been among the highest in the country for seven consecutive years, and the reform of the medical insurance payment method extended to all of Fujian’s nine major cities—Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Sanming, Putian, Nanping, Longyan, and Ningde and its Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone. The Eight Projects[5] in forestry continued to make progress, and our province led the country in the Forest Chief Plus. The reform to develop inclusive finance was effective, with inclusive finance lending by banks to micro and small businesses increasing by 27%, and Longyan, Ningde, Jinjiang and Xiamen being selected as demonstration areas for the development of inclusive finance with financial support from the central government. The three-year action (2020–2022) to reform state-owned enterprises was successfully completed, and Fujian Big Data Group Co., Ltd. and Fujian Financial Investment Co., Ltd. went into operation. The Jinjiang Model of the private sector was carried forward and measures for the innovation-driven development of the private sector were implemented. The International Conference of Businessmen of Fujian Origin (ICBFO) and the Fujian Conference on the High-Quality Development of the Private Sector were successfully held, and the added value of the private sector grew by 5%. We kept moving forward with opening up. The 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade, the 2022 BRICS Forum on Partnership on New Industrial Revolution and other major events were held successfully. We adopted a 32-point guideline for implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and issued 25,700 certificates of origin worth 10.37 billion yuan. Steady progress was made in the development of the Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District. The China-Europe freight trains made 113 trips. The Silk Road Maritime Alliance had more than 270 members, and our trade with partner countries and regions of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increased by 13.8%. Nanping and Ningde were approved as comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce, and Jinjiang was approved as a national import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone. Our province deepened its cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, effectively exploited its advantages as home to many overseas Chinese, and made fresh progress in cooperation with its sister cities in other countries.

 

We made concerted efforts to explore new paths to promote the integrated development of Fujian and Taiwan. Our connectivity with Taiwan promotes such integration and saw an increase in our exports to Taiwan by 22.9%. The number of newly established Taiwan-funded enterprises we had and the actual amount of capital from Taiwan we utilized ranked first in the country. Phase 1 of the Gulei refining complex, the largest cross-Strait petrochemical cooperation project, was officially put into commercial operation. We launched 25 pilot projects to integrate cross-Strait policies, norms and standards. We offered benefits to promote integration with Taiwan. We established the country’s first integrated service center for professional qualifications of our Taiwan compatriots. Fujian Insurance, China’s first provincial-level customized medical insurance products for our Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao compatriots, was rolled out. Taiwan compatriots medical insurance service centers were established all over our province. We created the new digital RMB tax payment service for our Taiwan compatriots. All this made it more convenient for them to find jobs, create business startups and live in our province. We promoted integration with Taiwan through people-to-people bonds, and carried out more than 200 special exchange activities. The 14th Straits Forum, the 10th Straits Youth Day, the event marking the 360th anniversary of Zheng Chenggong’s recovery of Taiwan, and the annual conference of the Cross-Strait CEO Summit were successfully held. Sanming was approved as a pilot area for cross-Strait integrated rural development.

 

We made concerted efforts to steadily improve the quality of life for our people. We improved the employment policy and pressed ahead with the program of vocational upskilling. Employment of key groups remained stable, 519,700 new urban jobs were created, and 131,900 unemployed urban residents were reemployed. We continued to ensure social security. We increased basic pension payments for retirees by 4%, and raised minimum basic pension benefits for rural and urban non-working residents to 140 yuan per month. We brought per capita government subsidies for medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents to 610 yuan per year, and increased the average annual urban and rural subsistence allowances to 9,999 yuan. We effectively assisted people with urgent or special needs, completing all the 25 projects of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and our provincial government to meet public needs, building 86 new rural regional senior service centers and 488 community canteens to free seniors from the burden of daily cooking, adding more than 20,000 new inclusive care places and starting construction on 186,000 units of government-subsidized housing. Progress was made in all social programs. Greater achievements were made in education: 67,000 new public preschool education places and 130,000 compulsory education places were added, and the gross enrollment rate in higher education hit 61%. Fresh progress was registered in health care: public hospital performance appraisal ranked among the top in the country, four hospitals were included in the National Top 100 list and ranked significantly higher, 6,000 medical beds were added in the province, the support mechanism for covering outpatient medical bills through workers’ medical insurance was implemented across the board, medical examination and test results were mutually recognized by all public hospitals at and above Grade B, and 280,000 women of the appropriate age group were given free HPV vaccination. New breakthroughs were made in cultural programs: six tea production techniques were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 10 works won the 16th Cultural-Ethical Progress Awards for Dramas, Movies, Books, Literary Works and Television Plays, more than any other provincial-level administrative areas of China, our local opera “Walking on the Umbrella Line” won the 17th Wenhua Performance Award, and 236 public cultural venues staggered start times and implemented flexible working hours. Sports made new gains: the 17th Games of Fujian Province and the 11th Fujian Provincial Elderly Sports and Fitness Event were successfully held, and extensive fitness-for-all activities were carried out. Fresh progress was registered in the programs for trade unions, Communist Youth League organizations, women, children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and charity. New steps were taken in the work of think tanks, archivists, local history workers, government counselors, and researchers on cultural and historical materials. National unity and religious harmony were consolidated.

 

We made concerted efforts to improve the urban and rural environment. Living by the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, we coordinated efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, expand green development, and pursue economic growth. We strengthened ecological protection and restoration. We scientifically defined territorial space for agricultural, ecological, and urban purposes and then designated permanent basic cropland, drew the red line for protecting ecosystems, and delineated the boundary for urban development, with 27.5% of our province’s land being designated as areas where the red line for protecting ecosystems should not be crossed. We treated Sporobolus alterniflorus in 9,000 hectares of land. Remarkable results were achieved in protecting and restoring the Minjiang River estuary and other wetlands. We strengthened pollution prevention and control with a focus on addressing environmental issues at our people’s doorsteps. The number of days for the nine cities with districts enjoying good or excellent air quality in the year remained stable and their PM2.5 level fell to 19 micrograms per cubic meter. The proportion of good water quality in major watersheds was 98.7%, and that in near-shore waters was 85.8%. We intensified efforts to improve the living quality of both urban and rural areas. More than 80 million square meters of green building area was added. A total of 870 kilometers of urban roads, 1,136 hectares of park green space, and 577 pocket parks were built, renovated or upgraded. The greening coverage rate of urban built-up areas reached 40.8%. The city and county domestic sewage treatment rate was 97.9%. Our province’s domestic waste classification and incineration treatment capacity ratio was among the highest in the country. A total of 73 large rural water plants were added, and the penetration rate of tap water reached 89.1%. The pilot demonstration project in 100 distinctive towns and townships and 1,000 villages progressed successfully, unfinished and undecorated facades of 153,000 rural houses were completed, and more than 80% of administrative villages became green villages.

 

We made concerted efforts to ensure security and made every effort to maintain social stability. We were committed to identifying problems early and correcting them while they are nascent; resolving longstanding problems and conflicts, preventing risks and eliminating hidden dangers, thus creating a safe and stable political and social environment for the 20th CPC National Congress. We fully implemented the 15 measures to ensure workplace safety, and intensified efforts to rectify problems concerning hazardous chemicals, gas, self-build housing, fire, road traffic and other key areas. The number of our province’s workplace safety accidents fell 37%, and that of fatalities, 31%. We comprehensively strengthened the foundations of food and energy security, achieving a total grain output of 5.087 million metric tons, starting construction on all the seven provincial grain reserve banks, and increasing the grain storage capacity by 650,000 metric tons. The Fujian-Guangdong Electric Power Interconnection Project was put into operation, the main power grid consisting of the inland ring power structure and the two coastal power supply lines were basically formed, and the coal, oil and gas supplies were stable and orderly. We prevented and defused risks in all key areas, ensured that responsibilities were assumed for housing delivery, people’s wellbeing, and social stability, and tailored solutions to problematic apartment buildings. We worked to defuse risks in the financial sector and were among the best provinces in preventing and controlling illegal fundraising. Our government debt remained controllable overall. We intensified efforts to maintain law and order across the board. We made it routine to fight against criminal gangs and organized crime and effectively curbed illegal and criminal activities such as telecommunications network fraud, cross-border gambling, and pension fraud. These efforts brought a sense of security to over 99% of our people.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

The term of the current government will soon expire. Over the past five years, in the face of the complexity resulting from the world experiencing a pandemic and a scale of change unseen in a century, we have adhered to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and resolutely implemented the guiding principles from the major speeches, instructions and comments by General Secretary Xi Jinping, bearing his words in mind and progressing with gratitude. Under the leadership of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and with a focus on the ambitious blueprint for building a new Fujian featuring dynamic mechanisms, upgraded industries, a prosperous people and a beautiful environment, we have worked to meet the Four Requirements across the board, promoted high-quality development on all fronts and taken solid steps in shaping a new outlook for Fujian in the new development stage.

 

Over the past five years, our province has seen a significant improvement in its composite strength and leapfrog in economic and social development. Pursuing development as our top priority in government, we have moved faster for high-quality development. Our GRP has crossed the four and five trillion yuan mark successively, with an average annual growth rate of 6.4%, the highest in eastern China. Our per capita GRP has risen by 40,000 yuan and now topped 120,000 yuan, jumping to the fourth place in the country. We are China’s only provincial-level area in which all cities with districts have a GRP higher than the country’s average. Our fixed asset investment and total retail sales of consumer goods have both exceeded two trillion yuan, and total exports have topped one trillion yuan. The infrastructure has been steadily improved: the Two Vertical and Three Horizontal Transport Lines[6] have been completed, bringing the total mileage of the comprehensive transport network to 117,000 kilometers. Construction of the southeast coastal modern port cluster has been basically completed, increasing our number of 100-million tonnage ports to three. Major breakthroughs have been achieved in airport, water conservancy, and energy construction, and positive results have been made in the development of 5G, data centers, industrial internet platforms and other new types of infrastructure. We have completed the historic task of poverty eradication ahead of schedule and realized a moderately prosperous society in all respects. All the 452,000 people registered as living below the current poverty line have been lifted out of poverty, so have all the 2,201 villages registered for living in poverty and the 23 key counties for provincial poverty alleviation and development work. With greater economic strength and strong support for development, Fujian today stands at a new and higher historic starting point.

 

Over the past five years, our innovation momentum has been accelerated, and our modern industrial system has registered faster growth. We have thoroughly implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, moved faster to build up our scientific and technological strength, basically formed an innovation system, and taken solid steps to make Fujian a province of innovators. R&D spending has doubled in our province and the valid invention patents have increased by 1.38 times. Emerging strategic industries have developed rapidly, and we now have 349 national little giant enterprises, 45 single manufacturing champions, and 33 national service-oriented manufacturing demonstration enterprises, ranking third in China. We are in the world’s leading position in auto glass and power battery technology. We have broken foreign monopoly in white feather broiler breeding, and are leading large yellow croaker breeding technology domestically. We have organized science and technology commissioners to provide technical services for all townships and all industries. The composite strength of the manufacturing industry has significantly improved, and the total industrial added value has jumped to the sixth place in the country. We have 58 industrial enterprises, each with an annual revenue of more than 10 billion yuan, and 21 industrial clusters, each with an annual revenue of 100 billion yuan. Our province is the first in China to reach the trillion-yuan milestone in annual output of the modern textile and garment industry. We have moved faster to enhance the composite strength of the semiconductor integrated circuit industry and produce more advanced screen displays. Advanced equipment manufacturing has become more intelligent and high-end oriented. The Gulei Petrochemical Base in Zhangzhou, the Meizhou Bay Petrochemical Base, and the Jiangyin New Chemical Materials Zone in Fuqing have clustered and developed. The digital economy, marine economy, green economy, culture and tourism-based economy have become new growth areas. The development of the modern service industry has been accelerated and become more efficient, and the proportion of the added value of the service industry in GDP has reached 47%. The Eight Financial Projects[7] have been fully implemented, the balances of deposits and loans have both exceeded 7 trillion yuan, and the number of domestically listed companies of our province has reached 170, ranking seventh in the country. The number of our national Class A logistics enterprises ranks fifth in the country, and Xiamen, Fuzhou and Quanzhou are included in the national list of logistics hubs to be developed. In Fujian today, development momentum is stronger than ever before, and great enthusiasm has been generated to make innovations and creations, and start new businesses.

 

Over the past five years, urban and rural integration has accelerated, so has regional integration. We have been committed to a balanced approach, striving to crack the problem of unbalanced development. Urban renewal action has been carried out on a rolling basis. Old residential quarters have been rebuilt for 812,000 households, more than 30,000 kilometers of various types of pipes have been laid or upgraded, and 5,560 kilometers of green walkways have been built or upgraded. Black, malodorous bodies of water in cities with districts have been basically cleaned up once and for all. Digital city construction has been accelerated. Permanent urban residents have taken up 70.1% of our province’s total population, and the cities have become more pleasant to live in, smarter and more resilient. We have intensified efforts to implement the rural revitalization strategy and fully completed the rural domestic waste transfer system. The total output value of the whole industrial chain of the Ten Distinctively Rural Industries[8] has reached 2.3 trillion yuan, and industries that bring economic benefits to the people such as Fujian tea products and Shaxian delicacies have expanded presence nationwide. Revitalization of old revolutionary base areas and former CPC Soviet areas has been accelerated: construction has started on the High-Quality Development Demonstration Zone in the Western Fujian Old Revolutionary Base Area; the growth rate of residents’ income in these areas has remained higher than the provincial average; and Shanghang is the only former CPC central Soviet county to be included in China’s 100 most prosperous counties list. Progress has been made in both the Northeast Fujian and Southwest Fujian coordinated development areas, and Fuzhou and Quanzhou have both become members of the trillion-yuan GRP club. Our province has further deepened its collaboration with and assistance for western China. The Fujian-Ningxia model has become a national model of collaboration between eastern and western China. Our work in aiding Tibet and Xinjiang has been evaluated as an advanced national model. Fujian today has a new look in both urban and rural areas, and has written a new chapter of collaboration between different parts of the province.

 

Over the past five years, we have deepened reform and opening-up and expanded development potential and space. Upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, we have pressed ahead with reform and opening-up. We have prioritized 76 major reform programs, with breakthroughs in the reform to delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services and in the reform of the fiscal, tax, and financial systems, state-owned capital and enterprises management, and the rural collective property rights system. Sanming’s medical reform experience has been promoted nationwide and our reform of collective forestry rights system has become a national benchmark. The policies of multiple zones were better leveraged. The China (Fujian) Pilot Free-Trade Zone has launched 146 initiatives that have not been tried elsewhere in China. The influence of landmark projects such as Silk Road Maritime has been expanding. Our economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges with BRI countries and regions have become closer, and the number of foreign sister cities has increased by 23. The quantity and quality of our foreign trade and investment have improved. The total import and export volume has increased by 11% annually, the export of 66 of our commodities ranks first in the country, more than 10,000 new overseas-funded enterprises have been established, and foreign investment in high-tech industries has increased by 12% annually. The First Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Investment (Fujian) Conference was successfully held, and overseas Chinese have played an important role in promoting positive interplay between domestic and international economic flows. Fujian, bursting with development vitality, is opening its doors even wider to the world.

 

Over the past five years, Fujian-Taiwan integration has been deepened and strengthened, and fresh progress has been achieved in making Fujian our Taiwan compatriots’ first home on the mainland. Guided by the conviction that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family, we have extended equal treatment to our Taiwan compatriots in Fujian, and deepened economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan. We have increased economic and trade cooperation with Taiwan, 62 of Taiwan’s top 100 companies have made direct investments in Fujian, and six national-level Taiwan farmers’ parks have won the first six places in national comprehensive evaluations for five consecutive years. The path of Fujian-Taiwan integration has become smoother. We have enacted 62 mutually accepted cross-Strait standards. Pingtan is the first in the mainland to establish direct shipping links with all of Taiwan’s major ports. Putian has become an important transit base for iron ore and other bulk commodities. The Kinmen water supply project has made the vision of sharing water with Taiwan a reality. More initiatives have been adopted to benefit people from Taiwan. We have improved policies, systems, working mechanisms and service platforms to protect the legal rights and interests of the compatriots and enterprises from Taiwan. We have provided direct recognition of 11 professional, technical and vocational qualifications and 34 vocational skills qualifications of Taiwan. More than 40,000 young people of Taiwan have come to Fujian to do internships, find jobs or set up business startups. Fujian-Taiwan exchanges have become increasingly closer. The four bonds—sharing the same ancestors, towns, and folk beliefs and being related in marriage—have contributed to building a closer bond between Fujian and Taiwan. We have continued to promote the Fujian-Taiwan kinship relations, and the influence of the Straits Forum, the Straits Youth Day and the World Mazu Cultural Forum has expanded. Fujian today is home to many companies and compatriots from Taiwan, especially young people who are here pursuing, building and fulfilling their dreams and who have developed closer bonds and greater affinity with the mainland.

 

Over the past five years, we have continued our work for the people’s wellbeing and seen their quality of life improved significantly. Staying committed to the people-centered approach, we have directed more than 70% of our financial expenditure to social programs for improving people’s lives. The income of the residents has been rising, and per capita disposable income has exceeded 40,000 yuan, growing at an average annual rate of 6.2%. A total of 2.82 million jobs have been added in cities and towns, and 1.04 million jobless people have been reemployed. The social security system has become more complete, the rate of participation for basic medical insurance has stood at around 95%, and access to medical insurance services has been available in all townships and 12,000 village health clinics. More than 32 million people are now covered by basic old-age insurance schemes. The number of home beds per 1,000 elderly persons has increased from 30 to 39. Home-based community care centers for the elderly have been established from scratch for all sub-districts and townships of central urban areas. Living allowances for the disabled in difficulty and special allowances for the severely disabled have been raised. A total of 1.6 million people have solved their housing difficulties through government-subsidized housing and the rebuilding of rundown urban areas. The strategy of prioritizing educational development has been fully implemented, and the investment in education has reached 668.5 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 7.9%. Fujian leads the country in extending coverage of compulsory education basically to all counties. Medical and health services have been improved across the board and solid progress has been made in disease control reform. Seven of our hospitals have been designated as China’s regional medical centers. Life expectancy has increased to 78.85 years in our province, and the main health indicators of our residents have remained among the highest in the country. Fast progress has been registered in developing our culture, and public cultural facilities have been improved. We successfully hosted the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee. “Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” has been inscribed on the World Heritage List, and Fujian Youxi Lianhe Terraces and the Anxi Tieguanyin Tea Culture System have been included in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. The Golden Rooster Awards have long been based in Xiamen. A number of Fujian-based film and television products such as “Minning Town,” “The Bugle from Gutian” and “That Mountain That Sea” have gained national fame. The strength of our competitive sports has increased significantly, and the number of gold medals and the total number of medals our athletes won at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo and the 14th National Games of China have reached record highs. In Fujian today, the people are living an increasingly prosperous life, and their dream of happiness is coming true day by day.

 

Over the past five years, we have made both quantitative and qualitative progress in implementing the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, delivering good results in making Fujian an eco-friendly province. We have worked to gain a full understanding of and implement Xi Jinping’s thinking on eco-civilization and achieve modernization featuring harmony between humanity and nature. We have successfully completed the key reform tasks of the national ecological conservation pilot area. A total of 39 of our reform initiatives and practices arising from the harnessing of the Mulan River, the provision of recompense for environmental protection, etc. have been promoted nationwide. The system of river, lake and forest chiefs has been in place and Fujian ranks first in China’s ecological conservation index. We have continued working to keep our skies blue, our waters clear, our seas clean, and our lands pollution-free. We have vigorously and effectively rectified the problems identified by the central environmental protection inspection team, and our pollution prevention and control efforts have been graded as excellent by reviewers. We have intensified efforts to protect or restore the ecosystems of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts. The Changting Model has become a leading example of ecological restoration in the world. The Wuyi Mountains are one of China’s first national parks, and 358 reserves of various kinds have been established. These efforts have contributed to increased biodiversity. All of our nine cities and one zone have all been rated as national forest cities. Our forest coverage is 65.12%, which has remained the highest in the country for 44 consecutive years. We have issued the Guidelines on Reaching Peak Carbon Emissions and Achieving Carbon Neutrality and the Plan for Reaching Peak Carbon Emissions. Energy consumption per unit of GDP has dropped by 10.3%, and the emission intensity of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides has been only half of that of the whole country. With about 3% of the country’s population, 1.3% of its land and 2.9% of its energy consumption, Fujian has created 4.4% of the country’s GDP. In Fujian today, the skies are bluer, the mountains are greener, and the waters are more lucid, making a Refreshing Fujian even more beautiful.

 

Over the past five years, good progress has been registered in social governance and public security has improved significantly. We have coordinated development and security, and accelerated the establishment of a social governance model based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits.

 

Solid progress has been made in modernizing municipal social governance. The “close neighbor” model for Party building has been comprehensively promoted. Social work service stations have been established in all townships and subdistricts, and continued progress has been made in handling public complaints. Notable achievements have been made in the fight against organized crime, and the public’s sense of security has increased year by year. Fujian is among the best in China in the evaluations of law and order. The reform and development of emergency management have continued to deepen, and the three-year campaign (2020–2022) to promote workplace safety has been successfully completed. We have made fast responses to typhoons, heavy rainfalls and other natural disasters. Food security and food and drug safety have been better ensured. A total of 440,000 hectares of high-standard farmland has been built. Fujian has become the largest producer of hybrid rice seeds in China. We have continued to prevent food contamination and improve food safety. For three consecutive years, we have been awarded Grade A in the national food safety evaluation. Great efforts have been made to prevent and defuse risks with good results. We have been China’s only province to be free of high-risk financial institutions for four consecutive years. We have provided strong support for national defense and military development. Fresh progress has been registered in encouraging civilian sectors and the military to support each other and jointly promote cultural-ethical progress and in improving the work related to veteran affairs. We are the only province in China where all cities with districts have been awarded as model cities (counties) in five consecutive evaluations for progress in the mutual support between civilian sectors and the military. The people in Fujian today enjoy social stability and lead a peaceful and comfortable life.

 

Over the past five years, government capacity has been strengthened, and government service improved. We have adhered to and strengthened overall CPC leadership and striven to build a service-oriented government that the people are satisfied with. We have strengthened political organs. Solid progress has been made in raising awareness of the need to stay true to the Party’s founding mission and in studying the CPC’s history. We resolutely follow the CPC decision to establish Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and to affirm Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guiding principle[9]. We firmly uphold Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership[10].

 

Efforts have been intensified to promote law-based government. We have issued the Plan of Fujian Province for Strengthening Law-Based Government. We have moved faster to form a governance system for the government with clearly defined duties and obligations and administrating in line with the law. We have submitted a total of 67 local regulations for review and enacted, revised or repealed 35 government regulations. We have conscientiously implemented the decisions and resolutions of the People’s Congress of Fujian Province and its Standing Committee and reported our work to them. We have kept the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPPCC abreast of events and given full support for it in carrying out thematic consultations. We have handled 7,942 suggestions of deputies to the provincial people’s congress and proposals of the provincial CPPCC committee, achieving a completion rate of 100%. We have ensured that audit-based and statistics-based oversight plays its due role. Efforts have been intensified to make our government agencies more efficient, and our digital government service system has become more convenient. Our provincial government portal website has won the first place in national performance evaluations. The government service hotline “12345” has been fully integrated and improved, processing 99.9% of the inquiries satisfactorily. We have been working tirelessly to improve Party conduct, ensure clean government, and combat corruption. We have strictly implemented the central Party leadership’s eight-point decision on improving conduct along with the detailed rules for its implementation. Form over substance and red tape have been effectively curbed, and a political atmosphere of integrity has been fostered. In Fujian today, our officials conscientiously put themselves at the disposal of the people and work to deliver outcomes, serving businesses and the public more actively and conscientiously.

 

Fujian has undergone great changes, and we must remember those who fought to make them happen. At this moment, we feel more deeply that every bit of progress of Fujian’s work and every change that has occurred is attributed to the support and guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping. He has placed high importance on the development of Fujian and the wellbeing of its people, personally sizing up the situation and guiding the way for Fujian at every critical juncture. At the deliberation session of the Fujian delegation to the Second Session of the 13th National People’s Congress in 2019, the General Secretary emphasized the need for our province to achieve further success in creating a favorable development environment and setting a good example in promoting cross-Strait integrated development. He gave important instructions in 2020, asking us to promote high-quality development on all fronts and outdo ourselves in every respect. In 2021, he visited Fujian and articulated the Four Requirements and four key tasks. He wrote several replies and congratulatory letters, giving major instructions concerning the following:

 

●    Ensuring that the Xiamen Special Economic Zone takes the lead in achieving socialist modernization;

 

●    Successfully organizing the China International Fair for Investment & Trade, the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee and the 4th Digital China Summit;

 

●    Promoting high-quality development of Xiamen University, Jimei University and Minjiang University;

 

●    Achieving rural revitalization with the characteristics of east Fujian;

 

●    Promoting cross-Strait youth exchanges; and

 

●    Learning from Gu Wenchang and Liao Junbo.

 

These important instructions and missions have pointed out the direction for us to forge ahead and systematically constitute a general program for the high-quality development of Fujian.

 

Fellow Deputies,

 

We are driven by this deep sense of indebtedness to move on, knowing that success will only come through hard work. The remarkable achievements and profound changes in Fujian lie in the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. They are attributable to the efforts of all the people in Fujian working in unity and with tenacity. On behalf of the People’s Government of Fujian Province, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the people of our province; to deputies to the People’s Congress of Fujian Province and members of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPPCC; to members of other political parties in China and the Federation of Industry and Commerce of Fujian Province, personages without party affiliations, members of people’s organizations and people from all walks of life; to members of Fujian-based central Party and government bodies, People’s Liberation Army units, and the armed police force, public security police and fire rescuers; and to our fellow countrymen and women in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, overseas Chinese from Fujian and international friends who have taken an active interest in and supported the development of Fujian.

 

We are fully aware that to improve the work of the government, we must do the following:

 

●    Take it as our highest political principle to faithfully support the Two Affirmations and strengthen our commitment to the Two Upholds;

 

●    Maintain unity through Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era;

 

●    Implement the guiding principles from the major speeches, instructions, and comments of General Secretary Xi;

 

●    Carry forward the important ideas and major practices General Secretary Xi created during his work in Fujian;

 

●    Closely follow the CPC Central Committee with General Secretary Xi at its core in thinking, stance, and action;

 

●    Promote high-quality development in all respects as the most urgent task;

 

●    Acquire a deep understanding that the new development philosophy and high-quality development are inherently unified, high-quality development reflects the new development philosophy, and the more the economy is in a period of adjustment, the more opportunity there is to adjust and improve the structure, the more we must work hard, seize the opportunity to promote changes in the quality, efficiency, and drivers of economic development, and strive to achieve higher quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable and safer development;

 

●    Make working for the wellbeing of the people our most important task, stand with the people, understand their wishes, respect their creativity, pool their wisdom, protect and improve their lives through development, and make solid progress in promoting common prosperity so that modernization offers greater benefits to all the people of our province in a fair way;

 

●    Make having the courage and capacity to meet challenges our most distinctive character, carry forward the fighting spirit, become better able to meet challenges, revitalize ourselves through reform, become more efficient through the reform to delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services, actively seize opportunities, press ahead in spite of all difficulties, and proactively respond to risks to remove all obstacles on our way forward; and

 

●    Support our work with full and rigorous Party self-governance, adhere to and strengthen CPC leadership in all respects, promote the great new project of Party building, strengthen the Party to improve our conduct and deliver better performance in our work, so that high-quality Party building will ensure high-quality economic and social development.

 

We are soberly aware that at present, our province still faces many difficulties and challenges in its efforts to coordinate COVID-19 prevention and control and economic and social development, and ensure both development and security. These include:

 

●    Our international economic environment has become more complex and grave, and the lack of external demand will have a greater impact on our province;

 

●    The foundation of economic recovery is not yet solid, and the downward inertia is still there;

 

●    Pressure is mounting to stabilize growth, employment and prices, and the industrial and supply chains have yet to be unblocked;

 

●    A high-quality development dynamic has not been fully formed, science and technology innovation needs to be strengthened, the industrial structure needs to be improved, the development competitiveness needs to be enhanced, and the gap between urban and rural areas needs to be narrowed;

 

●    Land, environment, carbon emissions, energy consumption and other constraints tend to tighten, and risk prevention needs to be strengthened in some areas; and

 

●    There is a shortage of high-caliber personnel, and a small number of officials cannot meet the requirements of modernization because of poor conduct and competence.

 

In response, we have taken targeted measures, and we must intensify efforts to seek early solution to these problems.

 

 

[1] During his visit to Fujian Province in March 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping set four requirements for the province to make greater progress in accelerating the modernization of its economic system; better serve and integrate into the new development pattern; make greater strides in exploring new ways to promote integrated development with Taiwan; and achieve greater breakthroughs in creating a high-quality life.

 

[2] They are the actions of improving R&D spending, creating new platforms, incubating new market entities, establishing new institutions and mechanisms, and innovating human resources training.

 

[3] They are projects to upgrade pillar industries, transform traditionally competitive industries, develop strategic emerging industries, improve the industry layout, cultivate and support leading enterprises, and integrate quality, standards and brands.

 

[4] They are small enterprises with good performance, high development potential and cultivation value, and in the early stage of growth, which grow rapidly and healthily into "little giants" in their respectively industries or regions.

 

[5] Launched for forestry reform and development under the leadership of Xi Jinping when he was the Fujian leader, these projects build coastal protection forests; create eco-friendly river basin forests; protect biodiversity; make urban and rural areas green and build green channels; develop commercial timber forests; promote bamboo and flower industries and special and competitive cash forests; develop the forestry industry; and promote the forest tourism industry.

 

[6] The Two Vertical Transport Lines are the coastal lines that include the Wenzhou-Fuzhou-Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway and the Shenyang-Haikou Expressway and the Nanping-Sanming-Longyan line that includes the Nanping-Sanming-Longyan Railway and the Changchun-Shenzhen Expressway. The Three Horizontal Transport Lines are the Fuzhou-Nanping line that includes the Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway, the Beijing-Taipei Expressway, the Meizhou Bay (Putian and Quanzhou)-Sanming line that includes the Xiangtang-Putian Railway and the Quanzhou-Nanning Expressway, and the Xiamen-Longyan line that includes the Lonngyan-Xiamen Railway and the Xiamen-Chengdu Expressway.

 

[7] They are designed to provide strategic support, serve private businesses, uplift capital markets, gather financial resources, innovate financial services, promote Fujian-Taiwan financial integration, prevent financial risks, and regulate local financial sectors.

 

[8] They are the tea, vegetables, fruits, livestock and poultry, aquaculture, flowers and seedlings, forestry and bamboo, edible fungi, rural tourism, and rural logistics industries.

 

[9] This can be abbreviated into “the Two Affirmations”.

 

[10] This can be abbreviated into “the Two Upholds”.