Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government (5)

This year, we will continue to pursue a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy. On the basis of conducting range-based regulation, we will focus more on targeted and well-timed regulation and increase the foresight, precision, and effectiveness of our regulation. We will strengthen coordination of consumption, investment, regional, industrial, and environmental protection policies, and ensure the economy performs within an appropriate range.

We will pursue a more proactive and effective fiscal policy. This year's deficit-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 3 percent, with the fiscal deficit set at 2.38 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 200 billion yuan. To break this down, the projected deficit of the central government is 1.55 trillion yuan, and the projected deficit of local governments is 830 billion yuan. Local government special bonds to be issued will total 800 billion yuan, and local government bonds will continue to be issued to replace their outstanding debt. The main reason for keeping this year's deficit-to-GDP ratio unchanged is to allow for further reductions in taxes and fees. Over the course of the year, the tax burden on businesses will be further eased by around 350 billion yuan, and business related fees will be further cut by around 200 billion yuan to benefit market entities.

Government budgets should highlight priorities; spending in some areas should be maintained while in others cuts should be made; and more should be spent to strengthen areas of weakness and improve living standards. General transfer payments to local governments will be increased by 9.5 percent, with the focus on increasing transfer payments for equalizing access to basic public services and stepping up subsidies for regions facing economic difficulties. We will scale down non-priority spending and cut budgets for projects that do not deliver desired outcomes.

Governments at all levels should tighten their belts, and central government departments should take the lead by cutting no less than 5 percent of their general expenditures. No increase in spending on official overseas visits, official vehicles, or official hospitality is permitted; and we will squeeze out more funds to cover cuts in taxes and fees. We will keep government spending low and enrich our people.

We will continue to pursue a prudent and neutral monetary policy. The M2 money supply and aggregate financing are forecasted to grow by around 12 percent in 2017. We will apply a full range of monetary policy instruments, maintain basic stability in liquidity, see that market interest rates remain at an appropriate level, and improve the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. We will encourage a greater flow of financial resources into the real economy, particularly in support of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, and small and micro businesses. The RMB exchange rate will be further liberalized, and the currency's stable position in the global monetary system will be maintained.

To deliver a good performance this year, we in government should stick to the following guidelines:

First, we should make progress while maintaining stable performance and keep our strategic focus. Stability is of overriding importance. We should ensure stable growth, maintain employment, and prevent risks. To ensure overall economic and social stability we must not allow the redline to be crossed concerning financial security, people's wellbeing, or environmental protection. We should, while maintaining stable performance, endeavor to make progress, deepen reforms, accelerate structural adjustments, be prepared to take on some really tough problems, and push to make progress in key areas.

Second, we should focus on supply-side structural reform. We must give priority to improving supply-side structure. We should streamline administration, reduce taxes, further expand market access, and encourage innovation; and we should keep micro entities energized, reduce ineffective supply while expanding effective supply, and better adapt to and guide demand. Like the struggle from chrysalis to butterfly, this process of transformation and upgrading is filled with promise but also accompanied by great pain; it is urgent, formidable, and complicated. We should press forward with courage and get the job done.

Third, we should expand aggregate demand as appropriate and improve its efficacy. China's potential domestic demand is enormous, and it is both necessary and possible for domestic demand to be expanded. The key is to know where to start. We need to increase consumer spending to improve people's lives, and boost investment to strengthen areas of weakness and sustain development, so that the expansion of domestic demand becomes more effective and sustainable and supply-side reform and demand-side regulation reinforce each other.

Fourth, we should rely on innovation to replace old growth drivers with new ones and speed up structural improvement and upgrading. Having reached the current stage of development, China can now advance only through reform and innovation. We have the largest quality workforce as well as the largest pool of scientists, engineers, and professionals in the world, and their potential for innovation is truly tremendous. We must continue to draw strength from reform and opening up, fully tap the potential of human resources and human capital, and move more quickly to pursue innovation-driven development. We should foster and develop new growth drivers while transforming and upgrading the traditional growth drivers, and increase total factor productivity. These steps will enable China's economy to maintain a medium-high rate of growth and China's industries to move toward the medium-high end.

Fifth, we should solve prominent problems of public concern. All government work is for the people. We should keep in mind the fact that China remains in the primary stage of socialism and pursue a people focused development philosophy. Where conditions permit, we will lose no time in solving problems about which the people have great concern and which demand speedy resolution. When problems cannot be solved for the time being, we will work to resolve them over time. We must make dedicated efforts to deliver services to the people, resolve the difficulties they face, promote social equity and justice, and demonstrate that development does better people's lives.

I now wish to discuss our major areas of work for 2017.

Confronted with the formidable tasks of reform and development and maintaining stability this year, we must keep in mind the big picture and adopt a holistic approach, have clear priorities and focus on key tasks, and properly handle interactions among various sectors. We should give priority to the following areas of work.

1. Pushing ahead with the five priority tasks through reform

We should, on the basis of consolidating and building on what we have achieved, improve our policies and measures in light of new developments and new problems so as to make greater progress.

Take solid and effective steps to cut overcapacity

This year, we will further reduce steel production capacity by around 50 million metric tons and shut down at least 150 million metric tons of coal production facilities. At the same time, we will suspend or postpone construction on or eliminate no less than 50 million kilowatts of coal-fired power generation capacity in order to guard against and defuse the risks of overcapacity in coal-fired power, improve the efficiency of this sector, optimize the energy mix, and make room for clean energy to develop.

We will strictly enforce all laws, regulations, and standards on environmental protection, energy consumption, quality, and safety and make more use of market- and law-based methods as we work to address the problems of "zombie enterprises," encourage enterprise mergers, restructuring, and bankruptcy liquidations, shut down all outdated production facilities that fail to meet standards, and stringently control the launching of new projects in industries that are already saddled with overcapacity.

As overcapacity is cut, we must provide assistance to laid-off workers. Central government special funds for rewards and subsidies should be promptly allocated and local governments and enterprises need to put in place related funds and measures, to ensure that laid-off workers can find new jobs and secure their livelihoods.