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China's leadership is hard at work speeding up efforts to let
officials at all levels accept and adopt the "scientific concept of
development,'' which stresses both stable economic growth and
better social services.
Just days before the convention of the "two sessions'' -- the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the
National People's Congress (NPC), the full text of Premier Wen
Jiabao's speech on this concept was published.
The speech, described by experts as "the first comprehensive and
systematic elaboration" on this concept, is believed to be a
preview of a main topic at the two sessions.
The "scientific concept of development," focusing on seeking
sustainable economic and social growth, is believed to take into
account the interests and concerns of the people, according to Li
Xiutan, an expert with the Research Office of the Party School of
the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
He told China Daily that it is expected to become a hot
topic at the CPPCC and NPC meetings, which will be attended by
China's political elites, especially government officials at all
levels, as well as scholars and representatives of all social
groups.
The publishing of Wen's speech ahead of the meeting is
important, because Wen will make his first government work report
to NPC deputies who cast votes last year to choose him as the
country's top government official, Li said.
"The work associated with running a government has entered a new
period and there are two possibilities: either the smooth
development of the country, or social unrest,'' Li said.
In his speech, Wen urged his audience, mainly ministerial and
provincial-level officials, to learn lessons and experience from
other countries and properly deal with the relations between
economic growth and social development.
"The scientific concept of development is a marked theoretical
contribution to socialism construction,'' Li said.
He said it shows the new leadership of the State, headed by
President Hu Jintao, has a deeper and better understanding of rules
governing the development of socialism, as well as human and social
progress.
The adoption of the new concept is a "positive and active''
response to the political, economic and social challenges faced by
Chinese leadership, Center for China Studies Director Hu Angang
said in an interview with China Daily.
The center is jointly run by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and
Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Professor Hu, a member of the central government's brain trust,
listed problems in five sectors as the biggest challenges for
China: the widening gap between rural and urban areas; the
increasing disparity between different regions; unbalanced economic
and social development; over-exploitation of resources and
environment, and increasing unemployment figures.
"The people-centered new concept of development should focus on
improving the quality of people's lives, instead of just increasing
the per capita gross domestic product (GDP),'' Hu said.
The relentless push for per capita GDP growth usually covers up
such problems as increasing gaps between the rich and the poor,
unbalanced regional development and unfair social distribution, he
added.
R.C. Lao, the resident project manager of the Canada-China
Project on Cleaner Production under the Canadian International
Development Agency, said that China's cost for national GDP growth
is one of the highest in the world, including the energy and
material consumption associated with the unit GDP.
The country must adopt a model characterized with consumption of
low natural resources, control of environmental pollution, and
efficient deployment of human resources, Lao said.
In the past, the Chinese Government has paid more attention to
economic growth than to social development, according to Hu.
He said that "hardware investment,'' or investment in basic
infrastructure and equipment, is more than "software investment,''
referring to investment in education, public health and
environmental protection.
"China should increase its financial expenditures on education,
public health, family planning, poverty relief and environmental
protection,'' he noted.
Li said that it is significant for NPC deputies to discuss the
"new concept of development'' because some officials still only
take increases of the GDP as achievements in their governmental
posts.
Undoubtedly, economic growth is still the core of development,
but indices of social progress, democracy, legal system, resources
and environment should also be taken into consideration by the
government, he noted.
(China Daily March 4, 2004))
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