Proposals from deputies, advisers help steer goals

The Government Work Report, approved by China’s top legislature on Tuesday, set new goals after including most of the suggestions and proposals from NPC deputies and political advisers, an official said.

Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Research Office of the State Council, said at a news conference on Tuesday that most of the changes are in improving this year’s government work plan, a portion of the Government Work Report, particularly regarding measures to carry out supply-side structural reform.

“For example, in the goal of boosting new economic growth drivers, the final version has put in the idea of accelerating the development of a modern service industry and building smart societies,” he said. “Regarding future efforts in enhancing China’s manufacturing, the final version has added the idea of promoting smart manufacturing and nurturing large groups of innovative workers.”

New goals and steps focus on reforms, Han said, as the final report added that the government will “carry out reforms on the financial regulation system”.

At the same time, efforts are more specific when it comes to improving people’s lives, as it added that the government will “pay great attention to kindergarten teachers and to medical workers and nurses”, he said.

A total of 86 changes were made to the draft and retained in the final report, according to Han, who said the final draft also used suggestions in documenting achievements over the past five years and making them more comprehensive.

Each year, the Research Office of the State Council is responsible for helping draft and edit the Government Work Report. During the process, numerous suggestions are voiced by deputies to the National People’s Congress from across the country at the annual gathering.

Han said the process of discussion by NPC deputies and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is important.

“Through such discussions, while deputies from across the country get together, they will learn each other’s ideas and get a clearer view of the central government work plan for the coming year,” he said.

Yet many ideas were not included in the final report, Han said.

“Some of them were related to certain national strategies that still remain undecided, and some related to supportive policies regarding one particular industry or one region, which requires an overall arrangement,” he said. “Premier Li Keqiang has asked us to keep these ideas on record, and we may be able to use them during more specific policymaking.”

He said that with the conclusion of the two sessions, the State Council will start immediately to split up the tasks approved by the NPC, and regular supervision will be carried out to make sure goals set in the report can be met.