Premier Li Keqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, chaired a symposium with officials from local governments on the economic situation and development tasks via video link on Oct 12.
At the symposium, governors from Liaoning, Jiangsu, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shaanxi provinces reported local economic situations and gave suggestions.
Those at the meeting said that in recent months, large-scale preferential policies, especially tax and fee reduction policies, have constantly taken effect. The economy has continued to pick up, as major indicators recovered gradually, new emerging market entities helped drive employment and people's livelihoods were guaranteed effectively and firmly.
Premier Li said governments at all levels have proactively implemented the policies and decisions made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Under this year’s challenging situation, it is rare that the Chinese economy has maintained basic fundamentals, and presented steady resumption and growing momentum.
Development is the basis and key to solving the problems in China, the Premier said. He also called for more efforts to achieve annual development targets despite severe domestic and foreign climates and mounting uncertainties.
The Premier stressed confidence, thorough analysis of difficulties and problems, and hard work to consolidate steady economic resumption and growth trends.
He urged the officials to implement new development concepts, and to follow the requirements of promoting high-quality development and building new development patterns to ensure stability on six fronts and security in six areas among regular epidemic prevention and control.
He also called for solving development issues through reform and opening-up, resolutely winning the battle against poverty, striving to achieve positive economic growth for the whole year, and ensure the achievement of this year's major targets.
Premier Li said tax and fee cuts and interest concessions are important supports for easing enterprises’ burdens, and the key measures for the economy’s steady recovery.
Policy implementation must be stressed in the following months this year, fiscal funds that are channeled directly must be used precisely and government’s promises to market entities should also be fulfilled to enhance their development ability, the Premier said.
He urged governments at all levels to tighten their belts and forbid activities that cut the policy bonus through centralized cleaning tax arrears and irregular charging fees. Premier Li pledged to expand the coverage of inclusive finance for providing effective financial services for more small and medium businesses and industries in difficulty.
According to the Premier, development of new growth engines must be sped up. He called for encouraging the activity of market forces, developing new business models, promoting online and offline integration, coordinating the development of new and traditional consumption, and driving economic growth through unleashing consumption potentials.
With focuses on boosting economic transformation and upgrades, following development laws, promoting the construction of new infrastructure and new urbanization initiatives and major projects, more efforts must be made to tap more new effective investment growth points in ecological and environmental protection and tackle problems in key technologies, the Premier said.
Premier Li said continued efforts should be made to push forward reform and opening-up, optimize the business environment and stimulate market vitality and social creativity.
He called for advancing reforms, including administrative reform, to help more new market entities emerge and grow, building a more resilient and vibrant economy.
China will firmly open wider to the world, put in place policies on stabilizing foreign trade and investment, expand imports and exports, and maintain stability of industrial chains and supply chains, the Premier added.
Premier Li stressed the key tasks concerning people's basic livelihood should be fulfilled, and multiple measures should be rolled out to help key groups, such as college graduates and migrant workers, find jobs.
Also, the country must ensure the timely and full payment of pensions to retired people, implement security policies on unemployment and minimum living security allowance, and guarantee basic livelihoods for those who get into difficulties due to the epidemic and floods, he said.
He called for coordination of supplies of coal, electricity, oil and gas to ensure a warm winter for the people. Responsibilities on safe production also should be strengthened, he added.
Vice-Premier and member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Han Zheng, Vice-Premiers Sun Chunlan and Hu Chunhua, and State Councilors Wang Yong, Xiao Jie and Zhao Kezhi also attended the meeting.
