Full text: Report on China's central, local budgets (18)

The appropriation for agriculture, forestry, and water conservancy is 619.588 billion yuan, up 12.8% over last year's budgeted figure and 3.3% over last year's actual figure. The disparity between the budgeted and actual figures for last year was primarily due to a one-off increase in investment in building major water conservancy projects and irrigation and water conservancy facilities, reinforcing small dilapidated reservoirs, and cleaning up and improving the flood defenses of small and medium-sized rivers, which was made by adjusting the spending structure in the course of budget implementation. This year's appropriation will be used to improve small irrigation and water conservancy facilities in key counties and extend the project to more counties, strengthen the flood defenses of small and medium-sized rivers, reinforce small dilapidated reservoirs, and prevent and control disasters from mountain torrents. We will improve the policy of providing general subsidies for purchasing agricultural supplies, continue the policy on providing subsidies for superior crop varieties, and increase subsidies for purchasing agricultural machinery to further mechanize China's agriculture. We will expand coverage of subsidies for agricultural insurance premiums and raise subsidies for some types of insurance. We will provide funds for carrying out major agricultural science and technology projects in the seed industry and other industries, spreading key technologies for preventing and mitigating natural disasters and for ensuring stable grain output and further increasing it, and promoting the application of scientific and technological advances in agriculture. We will assist in boosting development of modern agricultural production and specialized farmer cooperatives, and support innovations in agricultural production and operation systems and the development of commercial organizations that provide agricultural services. We will increase investment in overall agricultural development, and with the focus on major grain-producing areas and counties, continue to support the upgrading of low- and medium-yield cropland to high-yield standards as well as the upgrading of water-saving equipment in medium-sized irrigated areas. We will improve the policy on subsidies and awards for grassland ecological conservation and support development of replacement industries, further refine the compensation system for growing and managing forests that bring ecological benefits and increase compensation, improve the comprehensive fiscal policy for poverty alleviation and support poor areas in developing industries with unique features and advantages, and continue to implement the government award and subsidy system for village-level public works projects and strengthen management and maintenance of completed projects. We will extend the pilot reform to relieve state-owned farms of social services and the demonstrations and trials on comprehensive rural reform.

The appropriation for energy conservation and environmental protection is 210.127 billion yuan, an increase of 18.8% over last year's budgeted figure and 5.1% over the actual figure. The disparity between the budgeted and actual figures for last year was mainly due to a one-off additional investment in improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings and laying sewers to complement urban sewage treatment facilities when we adjusted the spending structure during budget implementation last year. Support for controlling air pollution will be increased to make innovations in mechanisms for comprehensive treatment, clearly define responsibilities, and refine related rules and regulations. We will lend impetus to building key energy conservation projects, help spread the use of advanced environmentally-friendly products, and boost the development of the environmental services industry. Efforts to promote energy-saving products that benefit the people will be intensified, and the work on spreading the use of five categories of energy-efficient industrial products, including electric motors, draught fans, and water pumps, will be accelerated. We will promote the prevention and control of water pollution in key watersheds as well as the construction and operation of sewer networks, help strengthen ecological conservation in lakes with good water quality, and encourage efforts to resolve the issue of safe drinking water. Demonstrations of comprehensive prevention and control of heavy metal pollution will be carried out, and another round of environmental cleanup in contiguous rural areas will be launched. We will strengthen development of national demonstration centers for recovering mineral resources from city waste, promote harmless disposal of kitchen waste and recovery of resources from it, and extend trials on upgrading industrial parks to make their operations more circular. We will provide funds to continue implementing the second phase of the project to protect virgin forests and consolidate past achievements in returning cultivated land to forests while increasing subsidies for some of these projects. We will support R&D on and the industrial application of new-energy vehicle technologies and accelerate the development of new, renewable, and clean energy.

The appropriation for transportation is 397.386 billion yuan, up 0.1%. These funds will be used to support construction of public transportation infrastructure, continue to provide fuel subsidies for public transportation and other public service industries, and provide subsidies to local governments to phase out tolls on government-financed Grade II highways.

The appropriation for national defense is 720.168 billion yuan, an increase of 10.7%. Funds will be used to support efforts to make the armed forces more mechanized and information-based, improve the working and living conditions of service personnel, and strengthen national defense and the military so as to safeguard national security.

The appropriation for public security is 202.937 billion yuan, up 7.9%. This will be used to improve the mechanism for ensuring funding for primary-level procuratorial, judicial, and public security departments, strengthen the capacity of these departments in poor areas, and support the provision of legal assistance.

Expenditure on general public services will come to 135.058 billion yuan, up 1.5%. The main reason for this relatively small increase is the need to abide by relevant regulations of the central leadership and strictly limit regular spending as well as overheads and project outlays of administrative bodies.