Fellow Deputies,

The achievements we made last year did not come easily. We owe them to the correct leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary as well as to the concerted efforts of the whole Party, the entire armed forces, and the people of all of China's ethnic groups.

On behalf of the State Council, I express our sincere gratitude to the people of all our ethnic groups and to the democratic parties, people's organizations and people from all sectors of society. I express our heartfelt appreciation to our compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, our Taiwan compatriots, and overseas Chinese. I also express our sincere thanks to foreign governments, international organizations and friends from all over the world that show understanding of and support China in its endeavor to achieve modernization.

In carrying out our work ahead, we will adhere to the thinking and practices that proved effective in last year's government work and keep improving them.

At the same time, we must be keenly aware of the many difficulties and problems on our road ahead. The main ones are: The foundation for sustaining steady economic growth is not yet firm, and the internal impetus driving growth needs to be increased. Risks and hidden dangers still exist in public finance and banking; some industries are heavily burdened by excess production capacity; and the exercise of macro-controls has become more difficult. Increasing agricultural output and rural incomes is becoming more difficult. Air, water and soil pollution is severe in some places, and the task of conserving energy and reducing emissions remains arduous. There are major structural problems constraining employment. There are still many problems which people are unhappy about in housing, food and drug safety, medical services, old-age services, education, income distribution, land expropriation and resettlement, and public order. Serious and major industrial accidents occur frequently. The social credibility system needs to be improved. Some government employees are prone to corruption and some still do not perform their duties with integrity and diligence.

Some of these problems have arisen in the course of development and others have occurred because we have not done our work well enough. The government must first examine itself to identify the causes of these problems and work out ways to resolve them. It must follow people's wishes in exercising governance. We must firmly bear in mind our duties and mission, increase our sense of vigilance against potential dangers, be eager to take on challenges, work tirelessly and effectively to solve problems, and truly live up to people's expectations.

II. General Work Arrangements for 2014

In 2014, we are still in a complex environment with both favorable and unfavorable factors. The world economic recovery still faces instability and uncertainties. Macro-policy adjustments made by some countries introduce new variables into the equation, and emerging economies are facing new difficulties and challenges. The global economy is undergoing profound adjustment and international competition is getting fiercer.

We are at a critical juncture where our path upward is particularly steep: The basic conditions underpinning development are undergoing profound changes; deep-seated problems are surfacing; painful structural adjustments need to be made; the pace of economic growth is changing; and downward pressure on the economy remains great.

At the same time, it should be noted that China has the foundation and conditions for maintaining a medium-high rate of economic growth for some time to come: We are still in an important period of strategic opportunity during which great progress can be made in China's development; industrialization and urbanization are being advanced; and there is considerable potential for regional development. We must address problems as they emerge, guard against latent problems, and keep the development initiative firmly in our hands.

The overall requirements for the government's work this year are as follows:

Hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics; take Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development as our guide; comprehensively implement the guidelines of the Eighteenth National Party Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the Eighteenth CPC Central Committee; implement the guiding principles of Comrade Xi Jinping's important speeches; adhere to the general work guideline of making progress while maintaining stability; carry out reform and innovation in all areas of economic and social development; maintain continuity and stability of our macroeconomic policies; make macro-control more forward-oriented and targeted; comprehensively deepen reform; constantly expand opening up; drive development through innovation; keep to the new path of industrialization, IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization with distinctive Chinese features; accelerate transformation of the growth model, structural adjustments, and industrial upgrading; strengthen the development of the basic public service system; ensure and improve people's wellbeing; raise the quality and returns of development; promote socialist economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement; and achieve sound and sustained economic development and social harmony and stability.

The following are the main targets we have set for China's economic and social development this year: Increase GDP by about 7.5%, keep the rise in the CPI at around 3.5%, create ten million more urban jobs, ensure that the registered urban unemployment rate does not rise above 4.6%, achieve basic balance in international payments, and increase personal incomes in step with economic development. We need to make overall planning for and balance major targets, namely, economic growth, employment, prices and international payments.