Review of Work During 2023

  

●   The province’s gross regional product (GRP) hit 5.4 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.5%.

●   General public budget revenue was 590.7 billion yuan, up by 9.8%.

●   Revenue in the local general public budget amounted to 359.1 billion yuan, an increase of 7.6%.

●   Fixed asset investment increased by 2.5%.

●   Total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 5%.

●   Imports and exports dropped by 0.2%.

●   Per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 4.3% and 6.9% respectively.

●   Surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 4.8%.

●   Consumer prices were similar to that of the previous year.

 

Major work and achievements in 2023

  

I. We actively developed new drivers of growth and strengthened the foundation of the real economy.

 

Industrial upgrading made swift and steady progress.

●   The proportion of enterprises that have fully digitalized their core business processes was the 3rd highest nationwide.

●   Output of emerging strategic industries accounted for 28.3% of industrial enterprises above designated size, up 3.4

     percentage points.

●   Value-added of manufacturing sector represented 32% of GRP.

●   High-quality development of bamboo and ceramic industry was accelerated.

●   The added value generated from the digital economy reached 2.9 trillion yuan.

●   Marine economy hit 1.2 trillion yuan.

●   Installed capacity of clean energy comprised 63% of the total.

●   Tourism revenue stood at 698.1 billion yuan.

 

The potential of domestic demand was unleashed at a faster pace.

●   Fuzhou-Xiamen High-speed Railway went into operation.

●   A water diversion project, the largest in Fujian since 1949, brought to an end the era of water scarcity for the people in

     Pingtan.

●   Online and offline sales of Fujian tea, wine, and cultural and creative products were booming.

 

Urban-rural and regional development was more coordinated.

●   We led the way in handling transfer of household registration on an inter-provincial basis and granted permanent urban

     residency to 377,000 people moving from rural areas.

●   We renovated 382,000 old housing units in urban residential compounds.

●   We built 8,740 kilometers of green walkways in cumulative terms.

●   Grain acreage was about 841,130 hectares and grain output reached 5.11 million tons.

●   82% of onshore townships were within 30-minute drive from expressway.

 

The quality and performance of the private sector was improved.

●   We provided over 20,000 enterprises with 30 billion yuan loans for improving quality, performance and output.

●   2,280 manufacturing projects from the private sector were introduced to Fujian, with private investment in manufacturing

     rising by 8.1%.

●   In total, the private sector contributed to nearly 70% of GRP, 70.6% of tax revenues, over 70% of technological innovation,

     employed over 80% of urban workforce, and comprised 94% of all enterprises.

 

II. We moved faster to make Fujian a province of innovators and boosted the momentum of development.

 

The quality of education was improved steadily.

●   94.6% of preschool kids were enrolled in public-benefit kindergartens.

●   90% of students were enrolled in quality high schools.

●   We added 107,000 public compulsory education places.

●   We launched industry-education alliances for six industries.

●   Fujian University of Technology was unveiled after renaming.

 

Sci-tech innovation picked up speed and force.

●   Two laboratories were designated as State Key Laboratories after reorganization.

●   We added four national-level high-tech business incubators and 42 “little giant” enterprises.

●   The number of national new- and high-tech enterprises exceeded 12,000, an increase of 35%.

●   Total R&D spending surpassed 100 billion yuan.

 

A strong workforce was developed.

●   Five individuals were elected academicians of the Chinese Academy of Science and the Chinese Academy of Engineering,

     and two were awarded the title of National Outstanding Engineers.

●   Another 2,414 individuals were certified as provincial-level high-caliber talent.

 

III. We kept deepening reform and opening-up, and expanded the scope for development.

 

New progress was made in integrated development of Fujian and Taiwan.

●   We supplied over 30 million tons of water to Kinmen in cumulative terms.

●   We attracted the largest amount of new businesses and paid-in investment from Taiwan, with two-way trade exceeding 1.5

     trillion yuan.

●   The number of cross-Strait exchange bases increased to 26, the highest on the mainland.

●   We successfully held nearly 280 events including the 15th Straits Forum, and received 573,000 Taiwan visitors.

 

Reform was deepened and expanded.

●   We came out on top in appraisal of comprehensive reform of public hospitals for the eighth year running.

●   Seven reform practices were promoted by the Office of the Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform.

●   Integrated government service capacity ranked among the top for the second consecutive year.

●   We received the best ratings in appraisal of reform of the construction project approval system.

 

Opening-up was pursued at a higher level.

●   We received approval for the establishment of China-Indonesia and Chinese-Philippine Joint Demonstration Zones for

     Economic Innovative Development.

●   China-BRICS Science and Innovation Incubation Park for the New Era was up and running.

●   Exports of the “New Three”, namely electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, increased by 49.8%.

●   The number of foreign-invested companies grew by 36.2%.

 

We successfully held the Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-US People-to-people Friendship Forum and the 10th China-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, and established 125 pairs of international friendship cities.

 

IV. We strived to improve the people’s wellbeing and raised their quality of life.

 

Overall employment remained stable.

●   530,000 urban jobs were created and employment for key groups like college graduates remained stable.

●   Altogether 37,000 people with difficulty getting employed found jobs, and over 150,000 unemployed people were

     reemployed.

●   A total of 58,000 highly-skilled personnel were trained.

 

Social security was strengthened and upgraded.

●   We added 300 canteens for senior citizens, 50 integrated elderly care service institutions, and 12,800 affordable nursery slots.

●   We raised minimum basic pension benefits for rural and urban non-working residents to 150 yuan per month, and brought per

     capita government subsidies for medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents to no less than 640 yuan per

     year.

●   We increased the average annual subsistence allowances and extreme poverty aid to 10,112 yuan and 25,380 yuan

     respectively.

 

Public services were expanded and improved.

●   9,100 medical beds were added and our Grade III public hospitals ranked among the top in the country in performance

     appraisal for the fourth consecutive year.

●   We started construction of 84,000 units of government-subsidized rental housing and rebuilt 59,000 housing units in run-down

     urban areas.

●   100% of the drinking water sources in urban areas were up to standard, and the penetration rate of tap water in rural areas

     rose to 93.5%.

●   1,140 sports parks were built.

 

Cultural programs flourished.

●   All counties, townships and villages built centers for promoting cultural and ethical advancement in the new era.

●   Putian was inscribed on China’s list of national historic cities, the Ancient City of Quanzhou was selected as a national

     demonstration zone for the protection and use of cultural relics, and the National Archeological Park for Chengcun Site of

     Han Dynasty Town was inaugurated.

●   We successfully hosted the 32nd China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and the 5th Maritime Silk Road

     International Arts Festival.

●   Two artists won the Plum Blossom Awards for Chinese Theatre, continuing Fujian’s streak of winning the award for 11

     consecutive sessions.

●   Another 101 public cultural venues piloted staggered and extended working hours.

 

V. We developed eco-friendly Fujian across the board and achieved substantial progress in green development.

 

Fresh headway was made in pollution prevention and control.

●   Our cities with districts enjoyed good or excellent air quality on 98.4% of days in the year and the PM2.5 level stood at 20

     micrograms per cubic meter.

●   The proportion of good water quality in major watersheds was 99%, and that in nearshore waters was 88.7%.

●   Our pollution prevention and control efforts were rated excellent for the fourth consecutive year and we took the lead in

     domestic waste classification in the country.

 

Greater achievements were made in green and low-carbon development.

●   A total of 70 factories and 5 industrial parks were included in China’s list of green manufacturing.

●   We started construction of China’s first national offshore wind power research and test base.

●   Another 204,000 new energy vehicles were put on the roads, bringing the development of an Electric Fujian into a fast track.

 

Further progress was registered in ecological conservation.

●   Our ecological quality index (EQI) ranked among the top in China.

●   We treated Sporobolus alterniflorus in over 9,100 hectares of land.

●   We were selected among China’s first pilot provinces for the development of water networks.

●   Minjiang River Estuary Wetlands were included on the list of Wetlands of International Importance, and five districts and

     counties were added to China’s demonstration zones for ecological conservation.

 

VI. We strived to build a safe Fujian and ensured greater social stability.

 

The foundations for development security were effectively consolidated.

●   We launched a campaign to identify and address hazards of major accidents and recorded zero major accidents

     throughout the year.

●   We took robust and effective measures against Typhoon Doksuri and Haikui and extreme heavy rainfalls.

●   We maintained a pass rate of above 99% for the sampling inspection of main agricultural, aquatic and processed products.

 

Risks in key areas were effectively prevented.

●   We kept the non-performing loan ratio at a relatively low level, maintaining a favorable environment with no high-risk

     financial institutions.

●   We ensured housing delivery, people’s wellbeing, and social stability in a well-regulated and orderly way.

●   We further improved the energy production, supply, storage, and marketing system.

 

The social governance capacity was effectively improved.

●   The “close neighbor” model for Party building was promoted across the province.

●   We continued to fight against criminal gangs and organized crime and effectively curbed illegal and criminal activities such

     as telecommunications network fraud.

●   We were among the best in China in safety and security, with over 99% of the population feeling safe.

 

In 2023, Governments at all levels maintained political loyalty, put people front and center, exercised law-based administration, worked pragmatically and diligently, and upheld the principle of integrity.

 

Work Hard to Promote High-quality Development in 2024

 

The main projected targets are as follows:

●   GRP growth of around 5.5%;

●   Around 5% increase in fixed asset investment;

●   Around 6.5% increase in total retail sales of consumer goods;

●   Export growth of around 5.5%;

●   A surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%;

●   CPI increase of around 3%;

●   Growth in per capita disposable income that is generally in step with economic growth; and

●   Grain output of more than 5.07 million metric tons.

 

Putting high-quality development top on our agenda, we will pursue innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development in a pioneering spirit and stay focused on our goal on our way forward.

 

First, we will modernize the industrial system in all respects.

 

Promote new industrialization

●   Accelerate the development of key industrial chains in counties

     ► Encourage each county to focus on one or two key industrial chains

●   Speed up the intelligent and digital transformation of traditional industries

     ► Roll out more than 1,000 key provincial technical transformation projects

●   Strengthen new quality productivity

     ► Grow strategic emerging industries such as new-generation IT and nurture future-oriented industries such as AI

●   Foster high-quality enterprises

     ► Cultivate world first-class enterprises, leading manufacturing enterprises and specialized SMEs

     ► Increase the number of little giant enterprises by 50

 

Strengthen modern service industry

●   Develop the financial sector

     ► Coordinate the development of fintech, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance

●   Develop modern logistics

     ► Build national logistics hub cities and a key national cold chain logistics base

●   Develop industrial design

     ► Advance service-oriented manufacturing such as tailored and shared manufacturing

●   Develop new business forms and models such as immersive experience, sharing service and intelligent service

 

Develop high-quality agriculture in an efficient manner

●   Strengthen farmland protection and food security

     ► Make sure that the grain area is kept above 835,300 hectares

●   Revitalize the seed industry

     ► Develop more new and prime varieties of crops

●   Move ahead with Project 3212 at a faster pace

     ► Grow such distinctive industries as tea, fruits, flowers and bamboo

●   Deepen integration of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in rural areas

     ► Develop intensive processing, cold-chain logistics, leisure agriculture, and rural tourism

 

Second, we will boost our capacity to support technological innovation.

 

Give full play to the principal role of enterprises

●   Raise total R&D spending by over 18%, and increase the number of national high-tech enterprises to 13,000

●   Weight funding toward R&D in enterprises

     ► Provide segmented subsidies for R&D expenditures

●   Get enterprises involved in tackling technological bottlenecks

     ► Support enterprises in spearheading major national and provincial innovation tasks and projects

●   Facilitate the commercialization of research findings

     ► Pair up enterprises with universities, institutions and provincial innovation laboratories

 

Strengthen institutional safeguards

●   Improve the mechanisms for major sci-tech breakthroughs

     ► Promote open and fair competition to select the best candidates for key research projects

     ► Carry out more than 10 major technological innovation projects

●   Facilitate reform of ownership of on-the-job research results

     ► Allow universities and institutions to have on-the-job research results under separate management

●   Improve investment and financing mechanisms for technological innovation

     ► Establish cross-departmental coordination mechanisms that support the financing of hi-tech enterprises

 

Leverage the role of platforms

●   Build platforms

     ► Facilitate transfer and commercialization of research deliverables

●   Enhance efficiency

     ► Reorganize and upgrade provincial sci-tech innovation platforms

●   Improve services

     ► Foster public service platforms for R&D in seed industry innovation, biological medicine, textile and footwear

●   Strengthen empowerment

     ► Build a stronger digital economy, a more efficient e-government, and a convenient digital society that benefits all

 

Develop a strong workforce

●   Nurture talents

     ► Introduce sponsorship programs for high-caliber talent and young elite scientists

●   Bring in talents in need

     ► Build platforms for talent recruit

●   Tap the full potential of talents

     ► Give free rein to employers in bringing out the best of talents

 

Third, we will accelerate the establishment of a demonstration area for cross-Strait integrated development.

 

Promote social cohesion through joint contribution and shared benefits

●   Build a society that involves participation of Taiwan compatriots

     ► Encourage more Taiwan compatriots to engage in environmental protection, rural revitalization, social welfare and justice

          services

●   Build a society catering to academic pursuit of Taiwan compatriots

     ► Streamline procedures for admission to public kindergartens, primary and  secondary schools for Taiwan compatriots’

          children

     ► Expand enrollment of Taiwan students in universities

●   Build a society where Taiwan compatriots enjoy living and working in

     ► Expand direct recognition of vocational qualifications from Taiwan

●   Build a society prime for Taiwan-related judicial services

     ► Improve the Taiwan-related services of the Maritime Silk Road Central Legal District and Cross-Strait Arbitration Center

 

Strengthen economic integration for mutual benefits

●   Expand connection with Taiwan

     ► Facilitate the traffic between Fujian and Taiwan on the one side and the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-

          Macao Greater Bay Area, and central and western China on the other

●   Improve Taiwan-related business environment

     ► Ease market access for Taiwan-funded enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations

●   Deepen industrial integration between Fujian and Taiwan

     ► Build high-quality Taiwan-related industrial parks

 

Strengthen affinity through closer exchanges

●   Boost people-to-people exchanges

     ► Host the 16th Straits Forum

     ► Consolidate and expand exchanges of villages of the same clan between Fujian and Taiwan

●   Promote youth exchanges

     ► Host the 12th Straits Youth Day

     ► Promote pairing and exchanges of youth groups and primary and secondary  schools between Fujian and Taiwan

●   Deepen cultural exchanges

     ► Carry out more researches on historical and cultural bonds between Fujian and Taiwan and on the Austronesian people

          and their culture

     ► Conduct exchanges on folk arts, traditional operas, sports and arts between Fujian and Taiwan

 

Promote regional integration by pilot reform policies

●   Improve integration between Xiamen and Kinmen

     ► Build a joint living circle

●   Promote integration between Fuzhou and Matsu

     ► Build a joint living circle

●   Speed up the opening-up and development of Pingtan

     ► Explore the building of a pilot area for the cross-Strait common market

 

Fourth, we will actively serve and integrate into the new development pattern.

 

Stimulate investment vitality

●   Attract more investment

     ► Introduce 50 new projects each with an investment of more than one billion yuan for the year

●   Plan more projects

     ► Come up with 1,600 provincial key projects with an annual investment projected to be over 670 billion yuan

●   Offer greater support

     ► Ensure the provision of land, forest, seas and the carrying capacity of the environment

 

Exploit consumption potential

●   Develop new consumption

     ► Promote consumption in digital, green and health products

●   Expand traditional consumption

     ► Boost consumption in new energy vehicles, electronic products and other commodities

●   Grow cultural and tourism consumption

     ► Build world-renowned tourist destinations, with the number of tourists and tourism revenue up by 11% and 16% respectively

 

Strengthen impetus for reform

●   Promote reform in key areas

     ► Keep resource allocation market-oriented

     ► Ensure basic fiscal capacity at the county level

     ► Deepen the reform of state-owned enterprises

●   Promote reform with Fujian characteristics

     ► Upgrade and spread the experience of Sanming’s medical reform

     ► Deepen the reform of the collective forest rights system

●   Promote reform in crucial links

     ► Encourage local governments to further explore innovative and differentiated reform

 

Pursue higher-standard opening-up

●   Upgrade the opening-up platforms

     ► Facilitate the integrated development of harbor, shipping and trade on the Silk Road Maritime

●   Stabilize the scale of foreign trade and improve its mix

     ► Enhance trade in goods, services and digital trade, and expand the export of the “New Three”, namely EVs, lithium

          batteries and solar cells

●   Use foreign investment effectively

     ► Launch “Invest Fujian” promotion events to attract more inbound investment

●   Increase overseas exchanges

     ► Expand exchanges with our international sister cities, deepen cooperation with Hong Kong and Macao, and host the

          second Overseas Chinese Talents Conference for Development

●   Develop a stronger marine economy

     ► Foster such industries as marine information, offshore equipment, marine bio-medicine, port-centered petrochemical and

          deep-sea aquaculture

 

Bolster private economy

●   Overhaul or rescind regulations that hinder private enterprises from participating in fair competition

●   Improve the system of Party and government leadership as service contacts for designated enterprises

●   Protect the property rights of private enterprises and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs

●   Improve services related to private enterprises

 

Fifth, we will coordinate urban-rural and regional development.

 

Promote new urbanization

●   Take people-centered approaches

     ► Move faster to grant permanent urban residency to the agricultural migrant population

●   Address weak links

     ► Speed up the construction of affordable housing and public infrastructure for both normal and emergency use and the

          renovation of shanty towns in cities

●   Upgrade the quality of infrastructure

     ► Implement micro urban renewal projects including “pocket parks”, wind-and-rain corridors and elevators for old residential

          buildings

●   Increase regional cooperation

     ► Leverage the role of Fuzhou and Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou metropolitan areas in supporting surrounding regions

 

Advance rural revitalization

●   Intensify follow-up and assistance mechanism

     ► Make sure that people do not fall back into poverty in large numbers and over 150,000 people who have shaken off

          poverty are employed

●   Improve living environment

     ► Upgrade rural construction quality

●   Enhance professional training

     ► Improve professional skills of farmers

●   Strengthen rural governance

     ► Encourage local governments to explore innovative, pragmatic and viable governance patterns

 

Increase pair-up cooperation in the new era

●   Promote deeper industrial synergy

     ► Improve policies on industrial transfer and joint construction of industrial parks, and innovate the “enclave economy”

          model

●   Facilitate public resources sharing

     ► Extend quality education, medical care and childcare resources to remote mountainous areas

●   Revitalize old revolutionary base areas

     ► Deepen cooperation between Shanghai and Sanming and between Guangzhou and Longyan

●   Strengthen inter-provincial coordination

     ► Enhance coordination with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta Economic

          Zone

     ► Improve collaboration with Ningxia and assistance to Tibet and Xinjiang

 

Sixth, we will work harder to make our people live a better life.

 

Adopt concrete measures to enhance employment and increase income

●   Focus on key groups

     ► Ensure the employment of young people like college graduates, demobilized military personnel and migrant workers

●   Tackle structural contradictions

     ► Facilitate the capacity building of primary-level institutions that provide public services for employment

●   Expand income growth channels

     ► Increase the income of urban workers, farmers, groups in difficulty, and high-end personnel

     ► Improve tertiary distribution

 

Take multiple steps to strengthen education in our province

●   Underpin basic education

     ► Promote renovation and expansion of 150 public kindergartens

     ► Add 40,000 public compulsory education places

●   Upgrade vocational education

     ► Advance the “through train” project that connects junior and senior vocational school education with undergraduate

          vocational education

●   Strengthen higher education

     ► Support qualified universities to develop into first-class universities with first-class disciplines

●   Develop life-long learning

     ► Promote community education and education for the aged in the primary-level and rural areas

 

Commit to protecting people’s health

 

●   Increase quality medical resources and make their distribution more balanced

     ► Ensure that serious diseases can be treated in the province, common and frequently encountered diseases in cities and

          counties, and minor diseases in villages

●   Develop traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

     ► Establish two TCM-based clinical departments and one promotion center for TCM appropriate techniques at the county-

          level TCM hospitals

     ► Build sharing TCM pharmacies

●   Upgrade public health services

     ► Improve monitoring and early warning system for infectious diseases

 

Make concerted efforts to ensure social security

●   Ensure the social safety net covers all people

     ► Improve the system of enterprise annuity and occupational annuity

     ► Explore new occupational injury insurance system

●   Develop elderly care programs and services

     ► Add 400 canteens for senior citizens and 50 integrated elderly care service institutions

●   Improve reproductive support policies

     ► Build a fertility-friendly society and children-friendly cities (communities)

●   Promote welfare and charitable causes

     ► Improve tiered and classified social assistance

 

Boost the development of culture and sports

●   Build a province strong in culture

     ► Increase public awareness of the core socialist values

     ► Preserve and carry forward the Party’s heritage

     ► Revitalize and promote fine Fujian culture

●   Build a province strong in social sciences

     ► Develop philosophy and social sciences

●   Build a province strong in sports

     ► Promote fitness-for-all activities

     ► Host badminton, basketball, marathon, cycling and other famed sports competitions

 

Seventh, we will strive to make Fujian a pilot demonstration province in the Beautiful China initiative.

 

Continue the critical battle against pollution

●   Keep our skies blue

     ► Control pollution in the cement, glass, building ceramics and boiler industries

●   Keep our waters clear

     ► Restore the Minjiang River and Jiulong River basins

●   Keep our seas clean

     ► Improve the environment in key bays

●   Keep our lands pollution-free

     ► Develop “waste-free cities” across the province

 

Strengthen ecological conservation and restoration

●   Improve comprehensive governance

     ► Foster the conservation and development belt peripheral to the Wuyishan National Park

     ► Promote ecological restoration and rectification of the lower reaches of the Mulan River

●   Monitor natural ecosystems

     ► Regulate ecological conservation and restoration

     ► Implement strict inspections and law enforcement to ensure that ecological red lines are not crossed

●   Maintain eco-security

     ► Promote biosecurity in an integrated way and throughout the chain

 

Promote green and low-carbon development

●   Improve the constraint mechanism for pollution control and carbon reduction

     ► Promote carbon peak in key industries

     ► Develop a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions and pollution

●   Foster green economy

     ► Develop new energy vehicles, electric ships, new type of energy storage, and photovoltaic power generation

●   Translate ecological legacy into economic strength

     ► Promote pilot practices of the mechanism for realizing the market value of ecosystem goods and services

 

Eighth, we will maintain social stability.

 

Ensure safety in development

●   Enforce accountability for workplace safety

     ► Overhaul and eliminate potential dangers in gas, hazardous chemicals, water transport, fishing vessels, road traffic and fire

          control

●   Improve food and drug safety

     ► Keep food safe from farm to table

     ► Keep drug safe from lab to hospital

●   Prevent, mitigate and respond to disasters more efficiently

     ► Standardize the mechanisms for flood and typhoon response at the primary level

 

Guard Against Risks

●   Forestall political risks

●   Prevent energy security risks

●   Prevent and defuse financial risks

●   Prevent and defuse real estate risks

●   Prevent and defuse local government debt risks

 

Shore up the foundation for social governance

●   Modernize administrative governance

     ► Promote the “close neighbor” model for Party building and grid-based service management

●   Improve law and order across the board

     ► Crack down on illegal and criminal activities such as telecom and online fraud

●   Handle public complaints on a rule-of-law basis

     ► Get fully involved in the whole process of resolving public complaints

 

We will adhere to and strengthen overall CPC leadership and strive to build a service-oriented government for the people.

 

●   Gain a deep and solid understanding of the Party’s theories

●   Reach out to local communities, and always be sensitive to people’s needs

●   Be at the disposal of the people and work to deliver outcomes

●   Pursue rules-based and law-based governance

●   Advance self-reform and maintain integrity