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The First Session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC),
China's top legislature, held its second plenary session in
Beijing, the national capital, Thursday morning.
Top leaders including Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Li Lanqing, Wu
Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Huang Ju, Wu
Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan were present. A total of 2,899
deputies attended the meeting.
The deputies heard the Report on the Implementation of the 2002
Plan for National Economic and Social Development and on the 2003
Draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development, delivered
by Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development
Planning Commission; and the Report on the Implementation of the
Central and Local Budgets for 2002 and on the Draft Central and
Local Budgets for 2003, delivered by Xiang Huaicheng, minister of
finance.
They also heard a report on government agency reform submitted by
the State Council, China's cabinet, which was presented by Wang
Zhongyu, state councilor and secretary-general of the State
Council.
According to Zeng, China's top planner, the national economy
continued to grow rapidly in the past year, and the main targets
set for the macroeconomic control were smoothly realized.
Last year, China achieved new progress in readjustment of
industrial structure, development of export-oriented economy,
progress and innovation of science and technology, social
undertakings, as well as environmental improvement in some key
areas, the minister said.
The development of the western region was accelerated. The national
revenue increased by 15.4 percent, according to the official.
Minister Zeng proposed major targets for 2003 as an around seven
percent economic growth, an increase of 8 million and above jobs in
cities, a registered unemployment rate of 4.5 percent, a one
percent rise in the general price level of consumer goods, and an
increase of seven percent in total imports and exports volume.
In
his report, Xiang Huaicheng, the top financier, said the central
and local budgets were satisfactorily implemented. In 2002, China
generated 10.2398 trillion yuan in GDP, an eight percent rise over
the previous year. In 2002, the central check left a deficit of
309.8 billion yuan, which is equivalent to the figure approved by
the 5th Session of the 9th NPC. Meanwhile, the local revenue and
expenditure was in balance.
This year, the minister of finance proposed, China will uphold the
policy of expanding domestic demand and continue to implement the
proactive fiscal policy in a bid to promote the sustained, rapid
and sound development of the national economy in light of the
requirements for building a well-off society in an all-round way.
The deficit for 2003 is budgeted to be 319.8 billion yuan, 10
billion more than in 2002, he said.
Meanwhile, China will further increase funding for agriculture,
science and technology, education, social security undertakings,
development of the western region, and improvement of people's
life. This year, the government will issue 140 billion yuan
construction state bonds.
When explaining a draft plan on the reform of the State Council,
State Councilor Wang Zhongyu said the agency institutional reform
is made to cope with the demands for improving the socialist market
system and promoting political restructuring, further changing the
functions of the government, readjusting and improving the layout
of government departments, and enhancing the administrative level
of the government, in order to build a standardized,
well-coordinated, fair and transparent, and clean and
highly-efficient political managerial system.
According to the draft plan, the State Council will set up a "State
Council commission on the supervision of state-owned properties";
reorganize the State Development Planning Commission into the
"State Commission for Development and Reform"; establish the
"Commission on the Supervision and Management over China's Bank
Business" and the "Ministry of Commerce"; found the "State
Administration for Food and Drug Control"; rename the current State
Family Planning Commission as "State Population and Family Planning
Commission".
Moreover, the existing State Economic and Trade Commission and
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation would not to be
retained.
After the new round of restructuring, the State Council will have
28 ministerial departments, apart from the State Council General
Office, according to the state councilor.
At
the meeting, the deputies approved, by voting, a resolution on the
setting-up of nine special committees of the 10th NPC, the method
on the composition personnel for these special committees, and the
name list of the chairperson, vice-chairpersons, and members of the
Committee of Finance and Economy of the 10th NPC.
The meeting was presided over by Li Tieying, and attended by Ding
Shisun, Cheng Siwei, Yu Junbo, Wang Yunlong, Li Keqiang,
SongZhaosu, Zhang Gaoli, Qian Yunlu, and Cao Bochun.
(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2003)
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