Highlights of Chinese Premier’s government work report

Following are the highlights of a government work report distributed to media ahead of the annual session of the National People’ s Congress (NPC) Monday morning.

OVER PAST FIVE YEARS

-- China’ s gross domestic product (GDP) has risen from 54 trillion to 82.7 trillion yuan, registering average annual growth of 7.1 percent.

-- More than 68 million people have been lifted out of poverty.

-- Tourist departures have grown from 83 million to over 130 million.

-- Both energy and water consumption per unit of GDP have fallen more than 20 percent, the release of major pollutants has been consistently declining, and the number of days of heavy air pollution in key cities has fallen 50 percent.

-- Personal income has increased by an annual average of 7.4 percent, outpacing economic growth and creating the world' s largest middle-income group.

-- More than 66 million new urban jobs have been added, and the country, with its population of over 1.3 billion, has achieved relatively full employment.

MAJOR TARGETS FOR 2018

-- GDP growth of around 6.5 percent

-- CPI increase of around 3 percent

-- Over 11 million new urban jobs, the surveyed urban unemployment rate within 5.5 percent, and the registered urban jobless rate within 4.5 percent

-- Basic parity in personal income growth and economic growth

-- A steady rise in import and export volumes, and a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments

-- A drop of at least 3 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP, and continued reductions in the release of major pollutants

-- Substantive progress in supply-side structural reform, basically stable macro leverage, and systematic and effective prevention and control of risk

WHAT ELSE TO DO THIS YEAR

-- This year’ s deficit as a percentage of GDP is projected to be 2.6 percent, 0.4 percentage point lower than last year.

-- Cut steel production capacity by around 30 million metric tons and coal production capacity by approximately 150 million metric tons.

-- Reduce taxes on businesses and individuals by more than 800 billion yuan.

-- This year will see 732 billion yuan invested in railway construction and around 1.8 trillion yuan invested in highway and waterway projects; the scale of investment in ongoing water conservancy projects will reach 1 trillion yuan.

-- The general manufacturing sector will be completely opened up, and access to sectors like telecommunications, medical services, education, elderly care, and new-energy vehicles will be expanded.

-- Actively expand imports, host the first China International Import Expo, and lower import tariffs on automobiles, some everyday consumer goods, and so on.

-- Promote the peaceful growth of cross-Strait relations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, and advance China' s peaceful reunification.

-- Promote coordination and cooperation among major countries, deepen friendships and achieve common development with our neighbors, and enhance unity and cooperation with other developing countries.

-- Ensure the success of the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Source: Xinhua