The total retail sales of consumer goods is also expected to grow by 10 percent this year, Minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission Li Rongrong said at a press conference.

Li said his commission will make great efforts to help enterprises improve their performance this year.

China Closes Over 10,000 Small Coal Mines in 2001

China closed down more than 10,000 small coal mines in 2001 in an effort to eliminate the outdated enterprises, the State Economic and Trade Commission said. A total of 58,000 coal mines have been shut down, accounting for 73 percent of all small coal mines in the country.

Gov't Focus to Shift from SOEs to All Enterprises

China's State Economic and Trade Commission will shift its work emphasis from state-owned enterprises, especially small and medium-sized ones, to enterprises of all kinds of ownership, the senior economic official said Friday.

There are three other aspects of the "four changes" the commission is to make this year, said Li.

"As for the work style, we must transfer from administrative examination and approval to carrying out macro-control, creating a sound environment and strengthening supervision," Li said.

Changes will also be made in the commission's working method, from project examination to guiding the flow of information and managing through both economic and legal means, he said.

The commission will try to change from emphasizing concrete affairs to considering, discussing and dealing with major events in order to become a useful consultant and assistant to governments at all levels, the minister said.

SOEs Performance in 2001 Far Better than in 2000

The performance of China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2001 is far better than that in 2000, despite a 1.4-percent drop in profits, according to the top economic official.

Though the profit figure is lower than the goal set for last year, the result is "very satisfactory," the minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission said at a press conference given by the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

He pointed to the fact that the result was achieved against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown in 2001, when the global trade volume and investment declined by 12 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Three-fourth of the countries in the world reported decrease in domestic gross product (GDP) values and 12 countries were having a depression in 2001, he said.

"Against such a backdrop, the SOEs have managed to retain their performance level. This is not simple," Li said.

The minister attributed the SOEs' profit drop, which stood at 6.2 billion yuan, partly to increased spending on compensation for job cuts.

For example, the China National Petrochemical Co. and the China National Petroleum Co. alone spent 41 billion yuan on compensation for 600,000 shed jobs, to improve their long-term competitive edge, he said.

"In fact, the performance of the SOEs in term of labor efficiency, per capita profit and tax far beat that in 2000," Li said.

China Exports 85.9 Million Tons of Coal in 2001

China exported 85.9 million tons of coal in 2001, an increase of 46 percent over the previous year, the State Economic and Trade Commission said.

The amount of export ranked the second in the world, highlighting the country's 2001 foreign trade and exports.

China Intensifies Efforts in Enterprise Merger, Bankruptcy

As a result of the government's effort to eliminate outdated enterprises, a total of 460 mergers and bankruptcies were carried out in 2001, Li said at the press conference.

Some 51.5 billion yuan of non-performing loans and bad debts in banks was written off and nearly 700,000 laid-off workers were reemployed.

China to Open Wider to the Outside

China will open wider to the outside world and make all-out efforts to meet the requirements brought about by its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), top economic official Li Rongrong said.

Li said that efforts will be made to create an environment compatible with WTO rules under which both the government and enterprises operate according to law.

China will work out detailed measures to meet WTO requirements and speed up the establishment of an import and export administrative system that is in conformity with international norms, in a bid to guarantee the safety of national industries, Li told a press conference hosted by the on-going Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.

China will continue to implement the "go global" strategy and encourage and help eligible enterprises of various forms of ownership to set up factories or undertake contracted projects abroad, particularly in neighboring countries, in order to promote the export of technological items, equipment, materials and labor.

80 Billion Yuan Slated for Mergers, Bankruptcies in 2002

China will set aside 80 billion yuan (nearly one billion U.S. dollars) this year for mergers and bankruptcies of enterprises that are incurring losses and producing pollution and are with exhausted resources, according to Li.

Continued efforts will be made to relax control over and invigorate small and medium-sized state-owned enterprises, he said, adding that the Law on the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion will soon be enacted.

( March 8, 2002)