Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development Planning
Commission (SDPC), told the annual national planning meeting which
opened Sunday that the government plans to complete a group of
construction projects, funded by issuing treasury bonds, by the end
of next year.
The government will push for a general speeding up of progress of
such large-scale projects as the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the natural
gas transmission pipeline extending from Xinjiang in west China to
Shanghai in the eastern coast, and the power grids transmitting
electricity from western parts of the country to eastern areas.
Construction also will begin on the north-south water diversion
project, a water resources protection project in Beijing, and
artery highways in west China, Zeng said.
He
said investment will be increased in construction of
infrastructures in rural areas next year, adding that
industrialization and technological upgrading of the agricultural
sector will be carried out more swiftly.
He
called for acceleration of the development of hi-tech industries,
application of information technology in all sectors of the economy
and society, increase in the country's production capacity of
important equipment, and restructuring of conventional
industries.
Zeng noted that the government will try all means possible to
increase employment opportunities. It will guide the expansion of
labor-intensive industries, develop small towns and improve the
social security network. In the meantime, favorable policies will
be adopted to encourage spending on housing, tourism, automobiles,
education and information services.
He
said the government will greatly upgrade infrastructures in western
China by expanding the networks of paved roads and power grids, and
radio and TV broadcasting. It will take measures to let every rural
family in the area participate in and benefit from the process of
turning cultivated land back into forest or grassland.
At
the same time, the government will open the country wider to the
outside world after China's accession to the World Trade Organization(WTO). All
possible measures will be taken to expand exports and optimize the
structure of imports.
He
said that the government will press ahead with the campaign of
rectifying the market order and improve its ability to monitor
economic activities. It will improve the use of pricing as leverage
in economic regulation.
Zeng said the country will actively push forward the development of
such social causes as education, culture and sports and strengthen
environmental protection and sustainable development of
resources.
( December 3, 2001)