The opening session of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) was held on March 5th. (WANG ZHOU/CSST)

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China has set its target for economic growth in 2018 at around 6.5 percent, which was announced in the government work report at the opening session of the annual National People’s Congress (NPC) in early March.

The report announced that China aims to increase the CPI by around 3 percent, create more than 11 million jobs in urban areas and ensure the registered urban unemployment rate does not rise above 4.5 percent.

NPC Deputy Wei Houkai, director of the Rural Development Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said he is positive about the goals. The growth rate of approximately 6.5 percent is moderate. If the goal can be achieved, an increase of employment and income will be guaranteed, Wei said.

People’s living standards continued to improve during the past five years, according to the report. The number of people living in poverty was reduced by more than 68 million, and 8.3 million were relocated from inhospitable areas. The incidence of poverty dropped from 10.2 to 3.1 percent. Average annual growth of personal income reached 7.4 percent, surpassing the rate of economic growth. China is now home to the largest middle-income group in the world.

Wei said those achievements were closely related to the prioritization of poverty alleviation by the Party Central Committee and the State Council as well as the correctness of the targeted poverty alleviation policy. China has the ability and conditions to facilitate higher-quality growth that is more effective, equitable and sustainable.

Innovation is vital for China’s future economic growth. The report urged to “accelerate building China as an innovative country and grasp the new round of scientific and technological revolution and the general trend of industrial revolution in the world, deeply implementing innovation-driven development strategies, and continuously enhancing innovation capacity and competitiveness of China’s economy.” encouraging people to launch businesses and innovate,” and “accelerating China’s innovation” mentioned in the report.

The report proposed a series of concrete measures to encourage innovation, including strengthening basic research and applied basic research, launching a number of major scientific and technological innovation projects, and building high-quality national laboratories. It also suggested revising and abolishing the old rules and regulations that have failed to encourage innovation and cutting red tape that hinders the release of innovative vitality.

“It can be foreseen that China will increasingly become a paradise for entrepreneurs to realize their entrepreneurial dreams,” said Fang Guanghua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a professor at Northwest University. He said the root of innovation is thought. Historically, the Chinese nation has accumulated a wealth of rational ideas. In addition, in its struggle of national independence and liberation and the great practice of national construction and reform in modern times, China has also produced a large number of ideas that that can be used for reference. This is the foundation for us to gain a firm foothold in the surges of world culture, and a spiritual sign for us to integrate into and influence the world, Fang added.

To facilitate high-quality economic growth, it is essential to prevent and resolve major risks, carry out targeted poverty alleviation, and prevent and tackle pollution, said NPC Deputy Xu Jiuping, a professor at Sichuan University. The effectiveness of fighting the three major challenges is directly related to the quality of growth and the completion of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Winning this tough battle will increase the sense of well-being and happiness among all ethnic groups as well as their recognition of and pride in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Xu said.

 

(edited by JIANG HONG)