Full Text: Report on the Work of the Government(4)

II. The Plan for Work in 2015

China is the largest developing country in the world; it is still in the primary stage of socialism, where it will remain for a long time to come. At this stage, development is of primary importance to China; it is both the basis for and the key to solving every problem we face. In order to defuse problems and risks, avoid falling into the "middle-income trap," and achieve modernization, China must rely on development, and development requires an appropriate growth rate.

At the same time, China' s economic development has entered a new normal. Our country is in a crucial period during which challenges need to be overcome and problems need to be resolved. Systemic, institutional, and structural problems have become "tigers in the road" holding up development. Without deepening reform and making economic structural adjustments, we will have a difficult time sustaining steady and sound development.

We must be adamant in pursuing economic development as our central task and make a thorough job of development as the top priority for ensuring the governance and revitalization of the country. We must continue to promote development in a sound and balanced way through reform and speed up the transformation of the growth model so as to achieve quality, efficient, and sustainable development.

At present, the world economy is undergoing profound adjustment, its recovery lacks drive, the influence of geopolitics is increasing, and there are a greater number of uncertainties at play. Promoting growth, creating jobs, and making structural adjustments have become common goals for the international community. With downward pressure on China' s economy building and deep-seated problems in development surfacing, the difficulties we are to encounter in the year ahead may be even more formidable than those of last year.

On the other hand, China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity during which great progress can be made in development. Our country' s development has enormous potential and is hugely resilient, and we have ample room for growth. Steady progress is being made in the development of new types of industrialization, applications of information technologies, urbanization, and agricultural modernization; the foundation underpinning development is becoming stronger by the day; benefits of reform are being delivered as we speak; and we have gained much experience in conducting macro regulation. We must strengthen our awareness of latent problems while remaining fully confident and taking an active approach to development.

This coming year will be crucial for comprehensively deepening reform, the first year for fully advancing the law-based governance of the country, and a critical year for ensuring steady growth and making structural adjustments. The overall requirements for the government' s work this year are as follows:

-- hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics;

-- follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development;

-- comprehensively implement the guiding principles of the 18th National Party Congress and the third and fourth plenary sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee;

-- put into practice the guiding principles from General Secretary Xi Jinping' s major speeches;

-- act in accordance with the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy;*

-- actively adapt to and guide the new normal in China' s economic development;

-- adhere to the general principle of seeking progress while keeping performance stable;

-- ensure that the economy performs within an appropriate range;

-- focus on strengthening the quality and benefits of economic development;

-- give greater priority to transforming the growth model and making structural adjustments;

-- tackle tough problems of reform head on;

-- pursue innovation-driven development;

-- strengthen risk prevention and control;

-- strengthen safeguards for people' s standard of living;

-- get the right balance between carrying out reform, pursuing development, and ensuring stability;

-- promote all-round socialist economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement; and

-- achieve steady and sound economic development and ensure social harmony and stability.

Keeping in mind these requirements, we must focus on achieving the dual objectives of maintaining a medium-high rate of growth and moving toward a medium-high level of development. We need to maintain policy continuity and keep expectations stable while moving forward with reform and structural adjustment, and we need to develop twin engines to drive development: popular entrepreneurship and innovation, paired with increased supplies of public goods and services. This will ensure that our growth rate is adjusted without weakening momentum and that growth in quantity is underpinned by greater quality, thereby achieving a better-quality, more efficient, upgraded economy.

We have set the main targets for China' s economic and social development for this year as follows:

-- increase the GDP by approximately 7%;

-- keep the increase in the CPI at around 3%;

-- create over ten million jobs in urban areas;

-- ensure that the registered urban unemployment rate does not rise above 4.5%;

-- increase imports and exports by around 6%;

-- achieve a basic balance of payments;

-- ensure that personal incomes increase in step with economic development; and

-- cut energy intensity by 3.1%, and continue to reduce the emissions of major pollutants.