Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government(13)

The major targets for this year's economic and social development are:

-- Increase GDP by about 7.5%.

-- Better coordinate development.

-- Hold increases in the CPI to around 3.5%.

-- Add more than 9 million urban jobs.

-- Keep the registered urban unemployment rate at or below 4.6%.

-- Ensure that real per capita income for urban and rural residents increases in step with economic growth and that work remuneration rises in step with increases in labor productivity.

-- Further improve the balance of payments.

Here, I wish to explain our targets for economic growth and overall prices.

The target for economic growth: This is a general target that is followed closely by all. In setting this year's target for economic growth at about 7.5%, we have taken two factors into account.

On the one hand, we need to continue to seize opportunities and promote development. Over the years, the capacity of China's manufacturing industry has increased considerably and our infrastructure has improved significantly, which means they are better able to sustain development. The rate of savings has been high, and the size of the workforce has remained large. We must better allocate and employ factors of production and maintain a proper level of economic growth in order to provide necessary conditions for creating jobs and improving people's wellbeing and to create a stable environment for changing the growth model and adjusting the economic structure. We must ensure that economic growth is in accord with the potential economic growth rate, the ability to supply factors of production, and the bearing capacity of resources and the environment.

On the other hand, we should, in accordance with the Scientific Outlook on Development, guide all the people to shift the focus of their work to accelerating the change of the growth model, adjusting the economic structure and improving the quality and performance of economic growth, so as to promote sustained and healthy economic development.

In light of these considerations, we deem it necessary and appropriate to set this year's target for economic growth at about 7.5%, a goal that we will have to work hard to attain.

The target for overall prices: Maintaining basic stability of overall prices has always been an important macro-control target. Last year, the rise in the CPI dropped to 2.6%. This was an important result of our efforts to curb inflation, and it was also due to the overall economic performance. This year, China is still under considerable inflationary pressure. The main reasons are:

-- There is upward pressure on the prices of land, labor and other factors of production and the prices of farm products and services.

-- Major developed countries are increasingly carrying out easy monetary policies, and imported inflationary pressure cannot be overlooked.

-- We need to leave some room for adjusting the prices of energy and resources.

-- The carry-over effect of the CPI increase in 2012 will contribute roughly one percentage point to this year's CPI growth rate.

Taking all these factors fully into account, we have set the target for increases in the CPI at around 3.5% for this year. We should effectively ensure the supply of major commodities, boost distribution of goods, reduce logistics costs, tighten oversight over market prices, and keep overall prices basically stable.