All policies introduced in the Government Work Report must be effectively delivered to meet the targets and tasks for economic and social development this year, the State Council’s executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang urged on May 29. The meeting decided on the division of responsibilities in executing the key tasks in the Government Work Report.
The meeting said the Government Work Report, adopted at the just concluded third session of the 13th National People’s Congress, set out the targets and priorities for economic and social development this year.
The report reflects what the people hope for and drew upon the wisdom of various sectors of society. It comprises tasks and commitments that governments at all levels must fulfill one hundred percent.
The meeting assigned the 51 key tasks in 45 areas as laid out in the report to relevant departments of the State Council.
To fulfill the tasks assigned under the Government Work Report, the meeting instructed State Council departments and all relevant agencies to designate persons-in-charge, and formulate timetables and phased deliverables, and keep track of progress on a regular basis. All the work must be open to public oversight and deliver concrete benefits to the people.
”O(jiān)ur policies of a sizable scale this year are forceful and appropriate. What’s most important is to have these policies fully delivered to live up to our commitments to the people,” Premier Li said.
The meeting underlined the imperative to implement the decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and advance both epidemic control and economic and social development.
While advancing the six priorities where stability is key and the six where protections are needed, the meeting required that governments at all levels act swiftly and effectively to implement the policies of a sizable scale to provide relief to businesses and revitalize the market.
There must be no delay in the allocation of fiscal funds, issuance of bonds, and adoption of supporting measures.
A special mechanism will be set up to see that the funds go straight to primary-level governments and be put to effective use. Special accounts will be established under public finance and social security departments. All funds must directly benefit market entities, especially micro, small and medium businesses and self-employed individuals, as well as vulnerable groups. No such funds will be withheld.
Agencies for local public finance oversight, treasury management under the People’s Bank of China, and auditing must step up supervision under their purview and forge a synergy of oversight to promptly deal with any attempt at false accounting or embezzlement.
Policies for tax and fee cuts, electricity rate reduction, loan payment deferral, and reduction or exemption of civil aviation development fund contributions and port construction fees must be fully delivered without fail.
“Real gains must be extended to businesses and people in need in an inclusive and equitable way,” Premier Li said.
The meeting urged advancing reform and opening-up. The reform of government functions will be deepened, and fostering a market-oriented and world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework and promoting fair competition will feature prominently on the government work agenda.
Practices of reaching out to meet the needs of businesses during COVID-19 response will be extensively applied, and restrictions will be removed unless needed for containment purposes.
More initiatives will be taken to pursue opening-up to cultivate a big market for the whole world that is attractive to more foreign investors.
“While real investments are still needed, what’s more important is to create an enabling environment that helps to preserve the tax base. Reform holds the key to overcoming difficulties and boosting development. Unwarranted restrictions must be lifted to further unlock market vitality and social creativity. We must take strong measures to improve the business climate, eliminate undue restrictions, and fully unleash the initiative and creativity of the vast numbers of market entities and individuals,” Premier Li said. “Greater opening -up will help further expand China’s market.”
The meeting called for fully appreciating the complexity and severity of the current situation and closely monitoring the evolving dynamics in the global COVID-19 and economic situations. Problems that emerge during policy implementation should be carefully analyzed and properly addressed, to inform improvements on existing policies and policy reserves.
New measures should be rolled out as needed to keep the economic fundamentals stable, spur growth and accomplish the targets and tasks for economic and social development this year.
“We must effectively take forward the six protections, which is the focus of our effort in ensuring stability on the six fronts. This will help us achieve positive growth this year. We must fully implement all measures set out in the Government Work Report, and reject pointless formalities,” Premier Li said.
