The performance report Premier Wen Jiabao delivered to the national legislature yesterday on behalf of his cabinet was by and large an excellent answer-sheet given the dramatic twists and turns our economy and society has been through in the past five years.
The economy, as has been true since the late 1970s, continues to produce the most convincing hallmarks of progress - the country's GDP last year was 65.5 percent higher than it was when Wen and his colleagues assumed office in 2002. With that, the country is now the fourth largest economic entity the world over. We are the world's third largest foreign trader, with the largest foreign exchange reserve.
The most impressive difference, as we see it, lies in the swelling government revenues and the subsequent weight put on public finance. Last year, financial revenues reached 5.13 trillion yuan nationwide, 1.71 times more than in 2003. The abolition of the agriculture tax, popularization of free compulsory education in rural areas, and a recent subsistence guarantee mechanism for rural residents are only some of the practical benefits of the wealthier State.
If continuous growth appears more or less a matter of course given the solid groundwork laid by more than two decades of economic dynamism, re-orienting the public finance alone suffices to win the current government full endorsement for its five years in office.
We appreciate the report's idea to earmark extra-budget revenues, the sum of which has been huge in recent years, for public welfare. We need more of such input to make sure all members of society benefit from the awe-inspiring growth.
As was expected, Wen's report responded to such broad public concerns as inflation pressures, runaway home prices, and fears about food safety. It designated anti-inflation as the government's primary task in its 2008 macro-control program, and placed unprecedented emphasis on regulating the housing market and upgrading food safety.
A real substantial distinction between this and previous reports on government work, however, lies in the part on government reform. For the first time in such a report, Wen proposed to build a service-oriented government, which gives a sensible purpose for political reforms in this country.
The widely-speculated "super-ministry" concept is officially adopted as the future pattern of government layout in China. We will see more details when the blueprint for reshuffling of the State Council is unveiled on March 11. Once approved, this will be the boldest ever rearrangements of government offices.
(China Daily, March 6, 2008)