Premier Zhu calls for 7% GDP Growth for 2003

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, March 05, 2003

Premier Zhu calls for 7% GDP Growth for 2003

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Premier Zhu Rongji delivered, on half of this government whose term is expiring, the Report on the Work of the Government at the opening of the First Session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) Wednesday.

The report, in 40 pages and over 23,000 characters, gives a retrospect on the government work in the past five years and offers proposals for the government work this year.

China's economy maintained a high growth rate during the past five years, and important advances were made in the strategic restructuring of the economy, according to the premier.

China's GDP rose from 7.4 trillion yuan in 1997 to 10.2 trillion yuan in 2002, an average annual increase of 7.7 percent, when calculated in constant prices. National tax revenue grew by alarge margin every year. Total fiscal revenue rose from 0.8651 trillion yuan in 1997 to 1.8914 trillion yuan in 2002, an average annual increase of 205.3 billion yuan. China's foreign exchange reserves climbed from 139.9 billion US dollars to 286.4 billion US dollars.

Remarkable achievements were made in infrastructure development;the program for developing the western region made a good start; and the country's capability for sustainable development was enhanced, the premier said.

In the past five years, the reform and opening achieved many breakthroughs; and the basis of a socialist market economy was established; the ownership structure was further readjusted and improved, the modern market system developed in a comprehensive way; and reforms of the banking, fiscal, taxation, investment and financing systems were deepened; the framework of a social security system was established by and large.

China's opening up was expanded in greater scope and depth. China's foreign trade has taken several big steps forward. The combined volume of imports and exports increased from 325.2 billion US dollars in 1997 to 620.8 billion US dollars in 2002. In the past five years, the amount of foreign direct investment actually used over the past five years came to 226.1 billion US dollars, more than the total used in the 1979-1997 period.

China became a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO)in December 2001, which was a new landmark in our opening up, Zhu said.

Over the past five years, China has succeeded in improving the people's standard of living and in establishing on the whole a relatively affluent society.

According to the report, the per capita disposable income of urban dwellers went up from 5,160 yuan in 1997 to 7,703 yuan in 2002, an average annual increase of 8.6 percent in real terms. Theper capita net income of rural households increased from 2,090 yuan to 2,476 yuan, up by an annual average of 3.8 percent in realterms. The balance of savings deposits of urban and rural residents rose from 4.6 trillion yuan to 8.7 trillion yuan.

Over the past five years, China's scientific and technological innovativeness has improved noticeably, and education developed vigorously; outstanding achievements were scored in building socialist democracy and a socialist spiritual civilization; national defense and army building have made new strides; fresh progress was made in promoting the great cause of national reunification; and a new chapter was begun in diplomatic work.

In his report, the premier summed up his experience in fulfilling the government job as follows:

-- Maintaining the right direction and intensity of macroeconomic regulation and implementing the proactive fiscal policy and the prudent monetary policy;

-- Unswervingly taking economic restructuring as paramount and working hard to improve the quality and efficiency of economic growth;

-- Steadfastly giving priority to solving the problems facing agriculture, rural areas and farmers and consolidating the position of agriculture as the foundation of the national economy;

-- Steadfastly carrying forward the reform of state-owned enterprises and effectively strengthening reemployment work and development of the social security system;

-- Steadfastly opening wider to the outside world and actively participating in international economic and technological cooperation and competition;

-- Implementing the strategy of invigorating the country through science, technology and education, raising the nation's scientific and technological capability for innovation and improving the overall quality of the population;

-- Continuing to take the path of sustainable development and promoting a coordinated development of the economy, population, resources and the environment;

-- Doing everything possible to maintain social stability and creating a favorable environment for reform and development;

-- Continuing to transform government functions and endeavoring to build a clean, diligent, efficient and pragmatic government.

In his proposals for the new government, Zhu said, "Based on our overall analysis of the situation at home and abroad, we set the target for 2003 economic growth at around seven percent. This growth rate is both necessary and achievable through hard work."

He proposed that this year the new government should continue to expand domestic demand and achieve a steady and rapid economic growth; promote all-round development of agriculture and the rural economy; aggressively push forward the readjustment of the industrial structure and the development of the western region; deepen economic restructuring and opening still wider to the outside world; further efforts to improve the work of job creationand social security; conscientiously implement the strategy of national rejuvenation through science, technology and education and the strategy of sustainable development; strengthen the building of socialist democracy, the legal system and spiritual civilization; and earnestly improve the government itself.

On the issue of China's reunification, Zhu said, "Maintaining the prosperity, stability and development in Hong Kong and Macao is an unshakable goal of ours."

He called for implementing the basic principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" and the eight-point Proposal for the settlement of the Taiwan question in an all-roundway, and striving for an early resumption of dialogue and negotiation between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits on the basis of the one-China principle, while vigorously promoting the opening of the "three direct links" between the two sides.

On the issue of international situation and China's diplomatic work, the premier said that peace and development remain the themes of the present era, and world multipolarization and economic globalization are making headway amid twists and turns.

"We will unswervingly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, remain opposed to all forms of hegemonism and power politics and stand against terrorism in all its manifestations," he stressed.

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