The economy has to be stopped from becoming overheated and to
ensure that officials at all levels will implement the central
government's policies, the country's highest leadership said
yesterday.
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee gave the call after central government inspection
teams found some local governments are ignoring the State Council's
decision to save energy and cut greenhouse gas emission, and are
still investing heavily in high resource-consuming sectors.
"All the local governments, especially leading officials, should
implement the central government's measures to the letter," the
Political Bureau said at its meeting, chaired by President Hu
Jintao.
It told all local governments to understand the consequences of
the blistering economic growth: 11.9 percent in the second quarter,
and 11.5 percent in the first half of the year.
Fixed-asset investment in urban areas jumped 26.7 percent in the
first half year-on-year and a large part of the money went into
industries that consume huge amounts of energy.
"The priority now is to prevent the economy from overheating,"
the meeting said.
Hu emphasized the importance of seeing the ever-changing
domestic and international economic environment in the right
perspective, and called for continual effort to tackle issues such
as excessive liquidity and overcapacity.
Agricultural production, especially grain output, should be
increased and the development of agricultural infrastructure
accelerated, he said.
Efforts to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emission should
be intensified, Hu said. People's lives should be improved by
tackling problems that concern them, such as those associated with
education, employment, healthcare, housing, and work safety.
The "commitment" to cutting energy consumption per unit of GDP
by 20 percent during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) is a
"challenge", the CPC Political Bureau said.
Experts said some local governments don't have enough funds to
meet the goal.
Huang Shengchu, president of the China Coal Information
Institute, said the current situation is not because of difference
in thinking but because some local governments lack funds.
(China Daily July 27, 2007)