The State Council Information Office held a news briefing on May 22, inviting two officials from the State Council to brief reporters on the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening meeting of the third session of the 13th National People's Congress.
Huang Shouhong, head of the Government Work Report drafting group and director of the Research Office of the State Council, and Sun Guojun, a member of the drafting group and of the leading Party members group under the research office, also answered questions from the media.
The COVID-19 epidemic has brought significant changes to the global and domestic landscape, causing a delay in kicking off the annual two sessions, Huang said.
Major adjustments and revisions were made in this year’s draft Government Work Report, Huang said, adding that Premier Li chaired two State Council executive meetings and one State Council plenary meeting to discuss and deliberate on its drafts.
In the process, opinions and suggestions came from departments of central authorities and State organs, and people from all walks of life, including those joining via online platforms.
The drafting group received nearly 1,400 pieces of representative advice collected via the portal of the central government, he said.
With a global perspective, 13 foreign experts from nine countries also provided input on the work of the Chinese government and the drafting of the Government Work Report.
While analyzing current situations in China and beyond, the report set out tasks for the next stage this year, Huang said, stressing particular attention to stabilizing six fronts — employment, the financial sector, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and expectations.
In addition, the report also stressed further work to implement regular epidemic prevention, eradicate poverty, expand domestic demand, and push forward reform and opening-up.
Having no specific GDP growth target does not mean that economic growth is unimportant or the government will allow the economy to slide out of the proper range, Sun said.
To safeguard employment and people's livelihoods, win the uphill battle against poverty, and guarantee financial capability at primary levels, maintaining economic growth is required, he added.
This year’s financial deficit and government bonds especially for anti-epidemic response will go directly to the people and enterprises, said Huang.
Sun said this year’s Government Work Report puts great importance on opening-up. Despite the complicated external environment, the Chinese government will increase its effort in the regard, he said.
For current difficulties faced by businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the report has come up with a series of measures to stabilize employment, Huang said.
According to the report, last year China reduced corporate burdens by 2.36 trillion yuan (about $332 billion), and in 2020 the government aims to reduce more than 2.5 trillion yuan (about $352 billion), he said.
Sun also said China has been upholding the strategy of expanding domestic demand, since it is a benefit of the large population and can constantly boost economic growth. He also stressed that expanding domestic demand must go along with structural reforms and ultimately serve the goal of better livelihoods.
Expanding domestic demand will not only bring opportunities and benefits for domestic enterprises, but will also bring them to enterprises from all countries, he said.
