Following are highlights of the Chinese government work report distributed Thursday morning to the press ahead of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

-- Increase GDP by approximately 7 percent

-- Keep increase in CPI at around 3 percent

-- Create over 10 million jobs in urban areas

-- Ensure registered urban unemployment rate not to exceed 4.5 percent

-- Increase imports and exports by around 6 percent

-- Cut energy intensity by 3.1 percent

-- Continue to implement proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy

-- Proactive fiscal policy must sustain the momentum of economic growth and increase economic returns, monetary policy must be prudent and balanced

-- Annual government budget deficit is projected to be 1.62 trillion yuan

-- Deficit to GDP ratio will rise from last year's 2.1 percent to 2.3 percent

-- M2 money supply is forecasted to grow by around 12 percent, but actual supply may be slightly higher

-- Encourage popular entrepreneurship and mass innovation

-- Draw up a negative list for market access

-- Greatly relax market access for private investment and encourage the use of private capital to set up equity funds

-- Actively promote models of cooperation between government and nongovernmental capital in developing infrastructure and public utilities

-- Take timely action to accelerate price reform

-- Encourage qualified private investors to establish, in accordance with law, small and medium-sized banks and other financial institutions

-- Keep the RMB exchange rate at an appropriate and balanced level and allow it to float more freely

-- Launch the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect on a trial basis at an appropriate time

-- Halve the number of industries in which foreign investment is restricted

-- Move faster to strengthen infrastructure connectivity with neighboring countries

-- Work for progress in talks on free trade zones with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Israel

-- Keep housing consumption stable

-- Launch a number of major new projects

-- The central government will increase its budgetary investment to 477.6 billion yuan

-- Over 800 billion yuan will be invested in railway construction and open over 8,000 km of railways to traffic

-- Over 800 billion yuan will be invested in the major water conservancy projects

-- Build an additional 7.4 million units of government-subsidized housing

-- Reduce the poor rural population by more than 10 million

-- Keep grain output above 550 million metric tons

-- Strive for zero-growth in the consumption of coal in key areas

-- Cut the intensity of carbon dioxide by at least 3.1 percent

-- Renovate 3.66 million dilapidated rural houses, an increase of 1 million over the renovated last year

-- Draw up and implement a strategic maritime plan

-- Implement the "Made in China 2025" strategy

-- Develop the "Internet Plus" action plan to integrate the mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing

-- Work toward putting in a strong bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics

-- Uphold the fundamental principle of the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China over the armed forces

-- Strengthen efforts in all areas in a coordinated way to maintain military preparedness

-- Strengthen efforts to modernize the armed police forces

-- Oppose the independence of Taiwan and keep cross-Strait relations on the right course in peaceful development

-- Work together with other members of the international community to uphold the victory of World War II and international justice.