1,783 proposals deal with economy, 443 on political affairs
Over 40 percent of the proposals registered during the annual session of China's top political advisory body are focused on the economy, particularly on how to achieve the country's goals over the next five years, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) disclosed Monday as it concluded its annual session in Beijing. [Special coverage]
Addressing the closing meeting, Chinese top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng called on his more than 2,000 fellow advisors to contribute as the country "enters the home stretch" for its 2020 goal of building a moderately prosperous society.
China has set 2020 as the target year to double its GDP and per capita income from the 2010 level before the Communist Party of China marks the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1921. Annual per capita income in 2010 was 30,600 yuan ($4,709).
Earlier this month, China unveiled a draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan on national economy and social development, which set an average annual GDP growth target at above 6.5 percent from 2016 to 2020. The draft will be submitted to lawmakers for a vote on Wednesday.
"The curtains of history have been lifted and the arduous tasks have been bestowed on our shoulders," Yu said.
As of March 8, 5,375 proposals had been submitted to the CPPCC National Committee in areas such as the economy, politics, culture and the environment.
A total of 4,248 proposals have been registered and another 824 delivered to relevant authorities as "opinions and suggestions."
The economy dominates the agenda, with 1,783 of registered proposals focusing on it, 42 percent of all those registered.
These include pushing forward supply-side reform during the 13th Five-Year Plan, accelerating the implementation of the free trade area strategy and promoting e-commerce in rural areas.
Among the remaining proposals, 1,334 focus on social affairs, 445 focus on political construction, including enhancing multi-party consultation and grass-roots democratic consultation and another 417 focus on environmental protection and ecological progress.
"This year's annual session saw much greater participation in debates than ever before," Cao Yisun, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and a nine-time attendee told the Global Times on Monday.
Cao, who is also a member of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League, one of China's eight other political parties, said that the annual session helped boost confidence in China's future economic development.
Overcapacity in focus
"Now people all care about [the economy], as China is not only facing problems brought by an economic slowdown, but also seeing pressure in its real economy," Kuang Xianming, director of the research center for economy under the China Institute for Reform and Development told the Global Times on Monday.
Many factories in China's coastal regions, which used to operate on behalf of overseas companies as original equipment manufacturers, are battling overcapacity after their contractors moved production lines away, Kuang said.
"This overcapacity was caused by the mismatch between investment and consumption in volume and structure," Kuang noted, adding that there should be a new focus on quality rather than on unwanted production.
While the country must make necessary economic structural adjustments to cut overcapacity, more attention was paid to the resettling of workers during this year's two sessions.
"Workers laid off in the drive to cut overcapacity now only rely on basic living allowances. [China] still lacks an unemployment insurance system which could promote employment," Yang Yucheng, a political advisor from North China's Hebei Province, was quoted by the Guangming Daily as saying on March 9.
Yang said that the unemployment insurance system should be improved to promote re-employment among the workers to be resettled.
On March 5, Premier Li Keqiang said in an annual government work report at the opening of the National People's Congress that the central government will allocate 100 billion yuan ($15.33 billion) to resettle workers retrenched in the drive to reduce overcapacity.
A more comprehensive social welfare system should be built and more vocational training provided to avoid transmitting the pressures in economy to society, Kuang said.
