Income gap top concern, survey finds

People looking to Government Work Report for indications that incomes and the environment top the agenda, Cui Jia reports.

China’s growing income inequality is the issue of most concern to the public, according to a survey conducted by Tianjin Hylanda Information Technology Co and China Daily ahead of the annual sessions of the top legislature and top political advisory body.

So people will be hoping that those attending the fifth session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, which commenced on Friday, will be able to recommend ways to achieve fairer income distribution.

They will also be hoping the attendees, who are representative members of Chinese society who advise the government, and legislative and judicial organs, can propose effective ways to strengthen environmental protection, which replaced anti-corruption as the second most important issue of concern.

Since the annual Government Work Report not only reviews the government’s work over the previous year, but also sets economic priorities for the coming year, people will be listening attentively to what Premier Li Keqiang has to say on Sunday morning, when he delivers this year’s Government Work Report to the 12th National People’s Congress, the nation’s top legislature.

As China is now the second largest economy in the world, politicians and investors around the world will be paying close attention to the report for signals of how China plans to achieve moderately high growth. The Chinese public will be keen to learn how the government plans to realize higher quality growth and address the issues that directly affect their lives.

Lin Jianfei, 33, who has been working in the IT industry in Beijing for 10 years, said she will watch Li delivering the Government Work Report live online and she will follow the news conferences held by ministers during the two sessions, because what they talk about “will certainly have an impact on my life”.

“Without the support of my parents, there is no way I would have been able to pay the down payment for my apartment in Beijing in 2016, and my salary is not that low,” said Lin. “Now I am one of the ‘house slaves’ who have little money left to spend each month after paying off the monthly loan repayment.”

“Income”, which is the public’s top concern, was third on the list of high frequency of keywords in the Government Work Report delivered by Li last year, according to analysis of the frequency of the keywords in the last three Government Work Reports by Tianjin Hylanda. It was mentioned 14 times, up from 11 in 2015 and eight in 2014.

House prices are also likely to get a few mentions. Li mentioned “housing” six times in the Government Work Report in 2014 and 10 times in 2016, making it the second most popular keyword in the 2016 Government Work Report.

“While China has made great progress in increasing people’s disposable income it needs to do more to narrow the income gap by deepening taxation reform and improving the income distribution system,” said Su Hainan, deputy director of the China Association for Labor Studies.

During the session of the CPPCC, The Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy, a political advisory body, plans to suggest the government offer tax cuts on incomes from innovation-related work and impose heavier taxation on those, such as singers and actors, who receive large amounts in one-off payments.

Lin also said she is not surprised to see concerns about environmental protection are on the rise because “unlike economic growth, pollution is something people can see and feel with every breath they take, no matter how rich or powerful they are”.

In the local sessions of the two bodies held earlier this year around China, almost all provinces and regions listed combating pollution as one of the government’s top priorities in 2017, so people are eagerly waiting to see what tougher environmental protection measures are heralded in the Government Work Report this year.

Environmental protection issues received the most discussion online and on social media ahead of the two sessions, Tianjin Hylanda found.

“Environmental issues are closely linked to people’s livelihoods and well-being. The challenge is how to address pollution and overcapacity without sacrificing growth. I want to see the central government’s evaluation of the existing environmental problems and if environmental law enforcement authorities are to be given more powers,” said Zhang Xiaode, director of the Ecological Civilization Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Governance

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is likely to get more than one mention as it is a key part of the country’s further open- ing-up to the world and a key driver of its future development.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road were first mentioned in the Government Work Report in 2015, two years after President Xi Jinping first proposed the initiative aimed at revitalizing the ancient trade routes that connected Asia with Europe and Africa. While the Belt and Road Initiative was mentioned just once in 2015 it was mentioned six times in the Government Work Report last year.

“If we say 2013 is the year of the proposal, 2014 is the year of the guidelines, 2015 the year of top-level design, then 2016 is the year of implementing landmark projects of the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Zhao Lei, a professor at China’s Central Party School. “The people in many European countries have displayed high approval ratings for the Belt and Road Initiative.”

The Belt and Road Initiative will not be a flash in the pan and it will produce real benefits, Zhao added.

The annual Government Work Reports actually highlight the government’s strategies and China’s step-by-step development over the years. So the policies put forward by this year’s Government Work Report will indicate how the government intends to take the next step forward.