Accelerating the development of the eastern region will help increase our
national strength and competitiveness, as well as support and stimulate the
development of the other regions. The eastern region needs to lead the nation in
optimizing the economic structure, deepening institutional reforms and changing
the pattern of growth. It should pay more attention to raising the overall
quality of its economy and increasing its competitiveness in the international
market, and develop a more globally oriented economy. In addition, the region
should better balance urban and rural development as well as economic and social
development, and strengthen efforts to protect arable land, economize on
resources and improve the natural environment. It should also support the
development of the central and western regions.
We will adopt even more effective measures to support old revolutionary base
areas, ethnic minority areas, border areas and underdeveloped areas to
accelerate their economic and social development.
IV. Vigorously Promoting Economic Restructuring and Opening
Up
We will work even harder this year to advance economic restructuring. In
particular, we will strive to make further breakthroughs in some major areas and
key links.
1. Continuing rural reforms. The reform of rural taxes and administrative
charges constitutes a profound transformation of the rural economic and social
framework. We will exempt the agricultural tax and eliminate all unreasonable
financial burdens on farmers, a complete reversal of the practice of farmers
paying grain tax to the government for working the land that has lasted more
than two millennia. Attaining this goal is only the first step in our reform of
rural taxes and administrative charges. We still need to work harder, and we
have a long way to go to solidify what we have achieved in this reform. We will
resolve new conflicts and problems as soon as they arise in the reform,
concentrating on the supporting reforms of government institutions at the town
and township level, the rural compulsory education system, and the financial
management system for counties and townships. This will be a more important,
complicated and arduous task. In addition, we need to deepen the reform of the
grain distribution system, rural financial reforms, and the reform of the rural
land management system.
2. Deepening the reform of state-owned enterprises. This reform continues to
be the central link in economic restructuring, and it must proceed unwaveringly
in accordance with the principles and policies set by the Central Committee and
the State Council. First, we will continue to strategically readjust the
distribution and structure of the state-owned sector of the economy and improve
the mechanism for ensuring rational distribution of state funds by increasing
investment in some areas and pulling it out of others. We will energetically
develop large companies and large enterprise groups that own intellectual
property rights, have name brand products and are internationally competitive.
Second, we will speed up the transformation of large state-owned enterprises
into stock companies. We will improve corporate governance and change the
operational mechanisms of enterprises to meet the requirements for a modern
enterprise system. We will institute a system for annually assigning
responsibility for enterprise performance and a system for holding enterprise
executives responsible for their work during their terms of service. We will
standardize the system of benefit packages for these executives. Third, the
process of relieving state-owned enterprises of the obligation to operate social
programs will be accelerated. We will continue to carry out policy-based
closures and bankruptcy proceedings for enterprises, and a legal mechanism will
be established for declaring them bankrupt. Fourth, we will deepen reform of the
power, telecommunications and civil aviation industries and continue reform of
the postal and railway systems and urban public utilities by liberalizing market
access and instituting competitive mechanisms. We will improve the management
system and the methods of oversight for state assets and institute a budget
system for the use of state capital. We will standardize the procedures for
transforming state-owned enterprises and for transferring state equity to
prevent erosion of state assets and protect the legitimate rights and interests
of employees. We will deepen the reform of collectively owned enterprises and
promote the development of a diversified collective sector of the economy.
3. Encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public
sector of the economy. We will conscientiously implement the State Council's
Guidelines for Encouraging, Supporting and Guiding the Development of the
Non-Public Sector of the Economy, Including Self-Employed Workers and Private
Companies, so as to create a legal, policy and market environment that ensures
fair competition for all non-public enterprises. More industries and fields will
be opened to non-public capital, and financing channels for non-public
enterprises will be widened. Private property and the rights and interests of
these enterprises will be protected in accordance with the law. These
enterprises will be better served and supervised. They need to improve their
quality, and they must abide by laws, regulations and policies of the state,
conform to regulations for industrial safety and environmental protection, and
guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of their employees.
