Government Work Report implementation targeted

The State Council released a circular on April 12 that laid out the work division across ministerial departments for carrying out the Government Work Report this year.

A total of 57 specific tasks, covering 12 aspects, were distributed to main ministries and departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The report set out a general target for economic growth in 2018, including the GDP growing at 6.5 percent, the consumer price index rising 3 percent, newly added employment in urban areas reaching more than 11 million, the urban unemployment rate under 5.5 percent and the urban registered unemployment rate lower than 4.5 percent. At the same time, fiscal policies should stay positive, said the circular. The fiscal deficit should be 2.38 trillion yuan ($380 billion) with the central government’s fiscal deficit at 1.55 trillion yuan and local fiscal deficit at 8.3 trillion yuan. At the same time, the monetary policy should remain prudent and neutral, it said.

To push forward supply-side structural reform, new driving forces, such as big data and artificial intelligence, should get a boost, as well as high-end industries including 5G and new energy cars, to forge greater manufacturing power. Overcapacity should be further cut, by weeding out 30 million metric tons of steel and 150 million tons of coal. In order to establish innovative power, a national system should be established to spur scientists and technical creativity, and to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation.