Beijing acting mayor upbeat on city growth targets

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Beijing acting mayor upbeat on city growth targets

Acting mayor of Beijing, Wang Qishan, Monday vowed to keep the city's urban registered unemployment rate under 2.5 per cent this year.

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Acting mayor of Beijing, Wang Qishan, Monday vowed to keep the city's urban registered unemployment rate under 2.5 per cent this year.

The level, which does not take into account jobless migrants in the city, was proposed for discussion at the second session of the 12th Beijing Municipal People's Congress, which opened Monday.

The unemployment figure for last year was 1.43 per cent, Wang said at the meeting, which 740 deputies attended.

The so-called urban registered unemployment rate in China remains somewhat controversial since it does not embrace all jobless laborers in the city.

The capital city is facing a more serious employment problem in 2004 than in 2003 since 230,000 local farmers are already here and another 200,000 new migrant labourers are expected to swarm into Beijing, according to the local labour and social security authorities.

The mayor has vowed to create 100,000 new jobs in local residential communities this year.

Meanwhile, the already settled farmers will be brought into the employment registration and fall into the unemployment figures soon, he said.

In the government report to congress deputies, Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to increase by 9 per cent this year.

The GDP of Beijing soared 10.5 per cent to reach 361.19 billion yuan (US$43 billion) last year, Wang said in his report.

Explaining the reason for the city's high economic growth, Wang said his government had accelerated readjustment of economic structures and boosted the automobile and high technologies sectors.

The investment in fixed assets came to 215.71 billion yuan (US$26 billion), up by 18.9 per cent. Exports by local enterprises surged 24.9 per cent to US$7.37 billion and the use of direct foreign investment went up by 19.8 per cent to US$2.15 billion.

Farmers' per-capita net incomes were up 6,496 yuan (US$782) a year, up by 11.5 per cent.

The mayor said the catastrophic event that occurred early in February at a Lantern Festival gathering in Beijing's Miyun County -- killing 37 people during a trampling episode on an overcrowded bridge --has prompted the acting mayor to announce that a unified emergency command system will be organized. It will improve plans and options for possible emergencies.

Unlike the common practices in some Western nations, China traditionally classifies contingencies into varied categories with different emergency call numbers.

For instance, in case of fire or explosion, people should dial 119 for help; for medical problems, 120 or 999; and crimes, 110.

Wang urged his fellow officials to learn a painful lesson from the serious accident, which is still being investigated.

Wang Monday said that efforts are stepped up to build Beijing into one of the most open cities in the world with setting up investment promotion and service systems that accord with the international practices.

Regulations and operation methods on mergers and acquisitions of enterprises will be further upgraded this year to make it more convenient for foreign investors to take part in urban infrastructure facility construction and State-owned enterprises restructuring, according to the acting mayor.

On the other hand, Wang pointed out problems existing in Beijing's economic development and governmental work.

For example, natural resources such as water and land have become restrictive factors for the city's development.

The government is also urging enhanced efficiency and promotion of government construction.

The 340 deputies to the municipal people's congress will discuss the government report put forward by Wang in upcoming days and give a final vote on it on Saturday when the session closes.

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