NPC Group Praises Jiangxi for Implementing Law on Township Enterprises

After a week-long inspection of east China's Jiangxi Province, a group of lawmakers from the National People's Congress (NPC) concluded that the province has played a positive role in implementing the law on township enterprises over the past three years.

The group was headed by Yang Zhenhuai, a member of the NPC Standing Committee and vice-chairman of the NPC committee of agriculture and rural affairs.

This is the first time the NPC Standing Committee has made such a review since the legislation took effect on January 1, 1997. By the end of last year, China had about 20.71 million township enterprises employing over 127 million people. The township enterprises accounted for nearly one-third of the country's gross domestic product for 1999.

The lawmakers agreed that a series of policies issued by the province over the past three years have accelerated the development of its township enterprises and have benefited both the economy and society.

However, the NPC group pointed out, the province still faces some problems, such as inferior product quality and low profitability, as well as township enterprises' difficulty in obtaining bank loans.

The group suggested that the governments within the province create a more favorable environment for the growth of township enterprises.

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