President Hu Jintao yesterday urged governments and
officials to make efforts to help raise farmers' income and
prioritize the development of modern agriculture in building a new
socialist countryside.
"We should shift our focus to infrastructure construction and
social development in rural areas and take further steps to tackle
the problems arising from agriculture, farmers, and countryside,"
Hu said when joining a panel discussion of lawmakers from south
China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region who are in
Beijing for the annual session of the National People's Congress
(NPC).
Hu called on officials in Guangxi, home to the largest
population of ethnic minorities in China, to accelerate local
economic growth and maintain harmony between different ethnic
groups.
Hu also said the autonomous region should take its geographic
advantage by taking more measures to open wider to the outside
world and actively participating in the building of a free trade
area between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
In his discussion with lawmakers from the southernmost island
province of Hainan, Premier Wen Jiabao called on Hainan people to give
environmental protection top priority and strike a balance between
economic development and ecosystem preservation.
In a group discussion with NPC deputies from eastern Zhejiang Province, Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee
of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called for proper understanding of the
basic principles and main contents of the draft property law and
corporate income tax law, which are put before the country's
legislators for deliberation.
Jia said the province should make more efforts to develop the
private economic sector to turn it into a strong pillar of the
local economy.
Vice President Zeng Qinghong, while joining the discussion of
lawmakers from northwestern Shaanxi Province, said continuous efforts
should be made on energy saving and environment protection.
Zeng called on Shaanxi people to make full use of energy, water,
land and wood and develop environment-friendly industries and
recycling economy.
Joining the discussion of NPC deputies from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Wu Guanzheng, head of the Central Commission
for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC),
called on more efforts to restrict and supervise government
officials.
Li Changchun, member of the Standing Committee
of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, stressed the
importance of sticking to the socialist core value system in
developing the harmonious culture while joining the panel
discussion with lawmakers from Sichuan Province.
Another member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau
of the CPC Central Committee, Luo Gan, called on officials to help resolve
conflicts and disputes among people to ensure social harmony and
stability when joining the group discussion of lawmakers from Shanxi Province.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2007)
