Report on the Work of the Government 2020(3)

V. Implementing the strategy of expanding domestic demand and promoting accelerated transformation of the economic growth model

The potential of China's domestic demand is enormous. We will deepen supply-side structural reform, focus our efforts on improving the people's wellbeing, and boost consumption and expand investment in a mutually reinforcing way.

We will promote the recovery of consumption. We will stabilize employment, promote income growth and ensure people's basic needs are met to encourage and enable consumer spending. We will support the recovery and development of food and beverage, brick and mortar shopping, culture, tourism, domestic services, and other consumer services, and promote the integration of online and offline consumption. We will encourage automobile consumption and take strong measures to address the shortage of parking spaces. Elderly and child care services and comprehensive health care services will be developed. Pedestrian streets will be upgraded. We will support the rollout of e-commerce and express delivery services in rural areas to expand rural consumption. We will apply a combination of measures to boost consumption and meet diverse demand among consumers.

We will expand effective investment. This year, 3.75 trillion yuan of special local government bonds will be issued, a 1.6 trillion yuan increase over last year. The proportion of special bonds that can be used as project capital will be raised, and 600 billion yuan will be earmarked for investment in the central government budget. Priority will be given to new infrastructure and new urbanization initiatives and major projects, which not only boost consumption and benefit the people, but also facilitate structural adjustments and enhance the sustainability of growth. Specifically, efforts will be made mainly in the following three areas: First, we will step up the construction of new types of infrastructure. We will develop next-generation information networks, expand 5G applications, and develop data centers. We will build more battery charging and swapping facilities and promote wider use of new-energy automobiles. We will stimulate new consumer demand and promote industrial upgrading. Second, we will strengthen the development of a new type of urbanization. We will do more to improve public facilities and services in county seats, so as to meet the growing demand to work and settle in them among rural residents. We will begin the renovation of 39,000 old urban residential communities and support the upgrading of plumbing and wiring and the installation of elevators in old residential buildings; we will encourage the development of community services such as elderly home care, the provision of meals, and cleaning services. Third, we will redouble efforts to develop major transportation and water conservancy projects, and increase national railway development capital by 100 billion yuan. We will improve market-based investment and financing mechanisms to support private enterprises in participating in projects on an equal footing. We will ensure that projects are up to standard, so they do not create any undesired consequences and the investments made deliver long-term returns.

We will steadily advance new urbanization. We will leverage the role of leading cities and city clusters in driving the overall development of their surrounding areas, in an effort to foster new industries and increase employment. Acting on the principle that houses are for living in, not for speculation, we will implement city-specific policies to promote steady and healthy development of the real estate market. We will improve urban amenities and accessible facilities, and make our cities places that people enjoy living and working in.

We will step up implementation of China's regional development strategies. We will continue to promote large-scale development in the western region, the full revitalization of the northeast, the rise of the central region, and the trailblazing development of the eastern region. We will move forward with the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. We will advance well-coordinated environmental conservation in the Yangtze Economic Belt. An overall plan will be formulated for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin. Development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle will be promoted. We will encourage accelerated development in old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, border areas, and poor areas. We will develop the maritime economy.

We will implement a package of policies to support Hubei's development, helping it ensure employment, public wellbeing, and normal operations, and spurring the full recovery of economic and social activity there.

We will ensure more effective protection of ecosystems and the environment. Priority will be placed on curbing pollution in a law-based, scientific, and targeted way. We will intensify efforts to control air pollution in key areas. We will step up the construction of sewage and garbage treatment facilities and move ahead with the sorting of household waste. The relocation and transformation of producers of hazardous chemical products in densely populated areas will be accelerated. We will boost the development of energy-saving and environmental protection industries. Illegal hunting, trading, and consumption of wild animals will be severely punished. We will carry out major projects for protecting and restoring key ecosystems to promote ecological conservation.

We will safeguard energy security. We will promote cleaner and more efficient use of coal, develop renewable energy, improve systems for the production, supply, and sale of oil, natural gas, and electricity, and bolster our energy reserve capacity.

VI. Achieving poverty reduction goals and working for good harvests and growth in rural income

We will implement poverty reduction and rural revitalization measures, ensure the supply of important agricultural products, and raise rural living standards.

We will win the fight against poverty. We will channel greater energy into eliminating poverty in all remaining poor counties and villages, and ensure rural migrant workers from these areas have stable jobs in places where they work. We will launch programs to boost the consumption of products from poor areas, and support businesses involved in poverty alleviation in resuming operations. Follow-up support will be provided to people relocated from inhospitable areas. We will deepen collaboration on poverty alleviation between the eastern and western regions, and encourage stronger assistance for targeted poor areas from central Party and government departments, offices of other political parties, as well as state-owned enterprises, public institutions, and universities under the central government. We will work harder to ensure that the basic needs of the most vulnerable groups are met. A poverty reduction survey will be conducted nationwide. For counties that have recently eliminated poverty, major support policies will remain in place. We will continue to promote both poverty alleviation and rural revitalization in an all-out effort to help people who have risen out of poverty move toward prosperity.

We will work to bolster agricultural production. We will keep total crop acreage and grain output stable, raise the multiple cropping index, increase the minimum purchase price of rice, give more rewards to major grain-producing counties, and take effective measures to prevent and control major diseases and pests. We will support the production of soybeans and other oil crops. The acquisition of farmland for other purposes in violation of laws and regulations will be penalized. The area of high-standard cropland will be increased by 5.33 million hectares. We will breed superior crop varieties and promote their wider use. We will improve the policy on subsidies for agricultural machinery purchases. We will further rural reform. We will step up efforts to prevent and control animal epidemics like African swine fever, promote a recovery in the production of hogs, and develop livestock, poultry, and aquaculture farming. The distribution of agricultural products will be improved. We will fully implement the system of provincial governors assuming responsibility for the “rice bag” and city mayors for the “vegetable basket.” It is imperative, and it is well within our ability, to ensure the food supply for 1.4 billion Chinese people through our own efforts.

We will create more channels for rural residents to find employment and increase their incomes. We will help rural residents seek employment or start businesses in places close to their homes, promote the integrated development of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and expand work-relief programs to ensure that those who return to their homes have a job and income. We will step up vocational skills training for rural residents. We will take legal measures to address at the root wage arrears owed to rural migrant workers. We will support the development of appropriately scaled agricultural operations, and improve commercial services for farmers. Intensive processing of farm products will be encouraged. We will improve support policies for rural land used for industrial development. We will strengthen collective economies. We will invest more funds raised through special bonds to support modern agricultural facilities, safe drinking water projects, and the improvement of living environments. This will promote steady improvements in rural living and working conditions.

VII. Promoting higher-standard opening up and stabilizing the overall performance of foreign trade and foreign investment

Faced with changes in the external environment, we must stay committed to opening our door wider to the world, keep our industrial and supply chains stable, and make opening up a catalyst for reform and development.

We will stabilize the overall performance of foreign trade. To help businesses get more orders and keep their employees on, we will increase credit supply, extend the coverage of export credit insurance, lower compliance costs for imports and exports, and support the domestic sale of export products. We will accelerate the growth of cross-border e-commerce and other new forms of business, and enhance our international shipping capacity. We will advance a new round of trials for innovative development of trade in services. We will make good preparations for the third China International Import Expo, work actively to expand imports, and foster a large globally-oriented market of higher standards.

We will step up utilization of foreign capital. The negative list for foreign investment will be significantly shortened, while a negative list will also be drawn up for cross-border trade in services. We will advance reform and opening up in special economic zones. We will grant greater autonomy in reform and opening up to pilot free trade zones, open new pilot free trade zones and integrated bonded areas in the central and western regions, and launch further comprehensive trials on opening up the service sector. The development of a free trade port in Hainan will be accelerated. We will foster an enabling market environment in which all companies, Chinese and foreign, are treated as equals and engaged in fair competition.

We will focus on quality in the joint pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative. Staying committed to achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration, we will uphold market principles and international rules, give full scope to enterprises as the main actors, and work with our BRI partners for mutually beneficial outcomes. We will guide the healthy development of outbound investment.

We will promote liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. We will firmly safeguard the multilateral trading regime, and actively participate in reform of the WTO. We will work for the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and advance free trade negotiations with Japan and the Republic of Korea as well as other countries. We will work with the United States to implement the phase one China-US economic and trade agreement. China will continue to boost economic and trade cooperation with other countries to deliver mutual benefits.