BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang Thursday urged the country's labor department to find employment for people this year. China is facing a daunting task to secure jobs for its workforce after more than 20 million migrant workers lost their jobs in the global financial crisis. To compound the problem, more than seven million college graduates will be looking for jobs this year. "We must ensure a stable employment situation this year, as employment is related to people's livelihood and the harmony and stability of the society," Zhang said at a working conference of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The country's urban unemployment rate increase 0.2 percentage points to 4.2 percent at the end of 2008, even though migrant workers are not included in that number. Zhang asked the ministry to adopt more active policies to find employment for people. Tax burdens of firms could be reduced, and preferential policies for social security coverage could be employed to help firms survive the crisis and keep jobs, Zhang said. More subsidies should be offered to organize vocational training in order to get people reemployed, and training should be made more relevant to different jobs, he added. The Vice Premier also said the government should step up building a social insurance system that covers both urban and rural residents, and continue to raise pensions for retired workers. China created new jobs for 11.13 million people last year, 11 percent more than the target of 10 million. The country also found jobs for five million laid-off workers and for 1.43 million who had difficulty in finding a job. The combined 6.43 million was again higher than the original target of five million.
MOSCOW, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia and China "have similar positions" on the reform of the international financial system, Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said Monday. Both Russia and China have voiced support for the notion of a "supra-national reserve currency," and the two countries have held discussion over the issue, Dvorkovich told reporters at a briefing. "Indeed, we have similar positions," Dvorkovich said, adding the G20 London summit may initiate broad consultation over the issue. The applicability of a supra-national reserve currency in the international balance and trade can be taken into consideration in the short term, said Dvorkovich, who added there is yet no serious discussion about using the currency in the cash flow. The presidential aide also said Russian Ruble and Chinese Yuan should be included in the basket of the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). When speaking of the upcoming meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on the sidelines of the London summit, Dvorkovich noted it revealed the significance of bilateral ties for both countries. Sharing a profound prospect for further cooperation, Russia and China have huge potentials for cooperation in the fields like energy, industry, service and cultural exchanges, he added. Dvorkovich told Xinhua that having great potential for cooperation, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) share "similar interests" on the assurance of the world's stable economic growth and the reconstructure of the international financial supervision system. BRIC will continue to play a bigger role in the future global economic and financial system, he said. Yet the four countries will not issue a joint statement alone at the G20 summit, since only one comprehensive statement, indicating all parties' agreed stance, will be passed at the summit, he added.
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday called on the nation to strengthen "conviction for victory" as he unveiled an unprecedented stimulus package to shore up economic growth amid global downturn. In a work report to the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, Wen said China is facing "unprecedented difficulties and challenges" as economic growth slows, employment pressure mounts and social uncertainties increase in 2009, the most difficult year since the new millennium. PREMIER'S ECONOMICS China's economy cooled to a seven-year low of 9 percent last year, and broke a five-year streak of double-digit expansion, as the global financial crisis took its toll on the world's fastest growing economy. The country, however, is "able to achieve" an economic growth at about 8 percent as long as right policies and appropriate measures are adopted and implemented, Wen said. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao delivers a government work report during the opening meeting of the Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2009In his report, Wen outlined an aggressive stimulus package, including huge government investment, tax reform, industrial restructuring, scientific innovation, social welfare and promoting employment. In addition to a 4-trillion yuan (585.5 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package that was announced in November, the premier also proposed a budgeted fiscal deficit of 950 billion yuan (139 billion U.S. dollars) for 2009, a record high in six decades and nearly three times over the last record of 319.8 billion yuan set in 2003. The deficit accounted for less than 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), nearly surpassing an internationally accepted risky line. Wen said increasing government spending is the most active, direct and efficient way to expand domestic demand, while economists believe China's 2-trillion U.S. dollar foreign reserves, current-account surplus and budget surplus offers the government lots of room to do so. Other key economic and social targets included creating more than 9 million jobs in the city, controlling urban registered unemployment rate under 4.6 percent and keeping the rise of Consumer Price Index (CPI) at about 4 percent. EXPECTATIONS OF A MIGRANT WORKER AND MORE While nearly 3,000 lawmakers convened at the Great Hall of the People in the center of Beijing, Zhang You, a migrant worker from central Anhui Province who was waiting in his rented room for a job opportunity in the outskirts of the capital, also watched Wen's nationally televised speech, though the Premier's economics might be beyond his imagination. "I didn't quite understand what those figures meant," he said. "But I was impressed by Premier Wen's vow to expand social security for migrant workers and help us find jobs," the 30-year-old man said. "I am happy about that." Zhang, a painter, said he has had no work to do for months. "I guess it's because fewer people are buying houses," he said. China's real estate sector was also hit by the international financial crisis with fewer people buying houses. But Zhang said he believes he will soon be able to find a job. "I feel the government is trying hard to overcome the difficulties. This kind of situation won't last long." "I hope the economy will get better. My whole family is depending on me," said Zhang, one of the 20 million migrant workers who have lost jobs following the financial crisis. In addition to millions of migrant workers seeking jobs in the cities, another 6.1 million college students are due to graduate this year, worsening the country's unemployment woes. Announcing a 42-billion-yuan central government investment to boost job opportunities, Wen said in his report "the government will do everything in its power to stimulate employment." He said the government will make full use of the role of the service sector, labor-intensive industries, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the non-public sector of the economy in creating jobs, he said. Hao Ruyu, vice president of the Capital University of Economics and Business, said to maintain an 8 percent growth rate is "vital" to the Chinese economy and the country's stability. "One percentage point growth could create 800,000 to 1 million jobs," said Hao, vice chairman of the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee. Despite worsening world economy, economists are optimistic about China's economic growth as previous stimulus measures have started to show initial effects. Economist Li Yining told Xinhua that he believes China's economic growth this year could reach 8 percent, or even higher. The Chinese economy is also very likely to recover before other major economies, even though the world economy is still shrouded in uncertainty, said Li, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body. "The economic slowdown is beginning to bottom out, and the economy is bound to rebound on huge government investment," he said. According to a survey of factories issued Monday by the brokerage CLSA, China's manufacturing activity contracted for a seventh consecutive month in February, but at a slower rate than previous months. INVESTMENT FOR A HARMONIOUS SOCIETY While explaining the stimulus plan, Wen said the government will "give top priority to ensuring people's wellbeing and promote social harmony." He said a total of 908 billion yuan of the central government investment this year will go to projects aiming at improving people's life. Those projects covered low-income housing, education, health care, culture, environmental protection, and reconstruction in regions affected by the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. As part of the efforts to shore up domestic demand, Wen said China will increase investment to improve China's social security network, whose low coverage has long been blamed for the country's high saving rate. He said the central government plans to spend 293 billion yuan on the social safety net this year, up 17.6 percent or 43.9 billion yuan over the estimated figure for last year. The money will be used to fund social welfare programs, including pension, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and living allowances to low-income groups. Wen also promised that his government will improve efficiency and continue to combat corruption. "We must discharge our duties with great diligence and, through our actions and achievements, build a government that is for the people and is pragmatic, clean, efficient to satisfy people's needs and win their trust," he said. CHINA IMPETUS LIMITED? As the world's fastest expanding economy, China's policy making has captured international attention since the world was hit by the financial turmoil. Before Wen delivered his report, U.S. stocks broke a five-day losing streak with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 149.82, or 2.2 percent, to 6,875.84 on Wednesday. Some analysts said expectations on China's economic stimulus package might have contributed to the stock jump. But Wang Xiaoguang, a Beijing-based economist, said such an influence is very "limited." Wang said China's stimulus package might help store up some investors' confidence in world economy, but the recovery of the world depends on both China and the United States. China's economic growth could help cushion the blows of world economic downturn, Wang said. "But if the U.S. economy continued to worsen, China alone could not revive the world," he said.
HORSHAM, Britain, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting sent a positive signal that the international community is rising unitedly to the economic and financial challenges, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said here Saturday. As the financial crisis continues to spread and bites harder from one country to another, solidarity achieved at the meeting will help boost market confidence and stabilize economic and financial conditions, Xie told Chinese reporters shortly after the meeting. Xie said the meeting provided a platform for economic leaders to have in-depth discussions on enhancing exchanges and coordination on policy issues. He said participants agreed to continue to adopt effective policies and measures and strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policy to restore market confidence as soon as possible. They also reached consensus on further deepening trade and economic cooperation and fight trade and investment protectionism, Xie said. Participants unanimously agreed to promote international trade with an open mind and pay close attention to the difficulties of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries, the minister added. Participants also agreed to strengthen financial supervision, enhance transparency and accelerate the reform of international financial institutions to ensure that the developing countries will have greater representation and bigger say, he said. Xie said China took an active part in the discussions on all issues at the meeting and extensive exchanges and consultations with various parties on the effective ways to deal with the global financial crisis and promote global economic revival and growth. China calls on countries around the world to strengthen policy coordination and step up the fight against protectionism to better cope with the crisis, he said. Xie said the meeting had made some necessary preparation for the upcoming G20 financial summit in London, and created a favorable atmosphere for a successful London summit.
BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Credit extended by China's banks in the first quarter hit 4.58 trillion yuan (670 billion U.S. dollars), the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said Saturday. In March alone, new yuan-denominated loans increased 1.89 trillion yuan. It was the third straight month that new loans exceeded 1 trillion yuan. "It is not beyond market expectations. The increase was boosted by the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus plan and showed the possibility of a faster economic recovery in China compared with other countries," said Zhang Qizuo, vice director of China International Economy Society. Premier Wen Jiabao said on March 5 at the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's legislature, that new yuan-denominated loans this year were expected to reach 5 trillion yuan. Historical data show the first-quarter bank credit usually accounts for more than 60 percent of the year's total. "There is a time lag between the credit increase and actual use of capital, but the big increase will surely lay a solid foundation for the recovery of the real economy," said Zhang. In the first quarter, the central bank withdrew 47.3 billion yuan from circulation, 78.5 billion yuan more than the same period of last year. "The increase in currency withdrawal from circulation showed the central bank was carefully watching the credit growth," said Yuan Gangming, an economist with Tsinghua University. Zhuang Jian, an economist at the Asian Development Bank, said the regulators should pay attention to the quality of new loans and prevent bad loans. By the end of February, non-performing loans by Chinese banks totaled 1.53 trillion yuan, 17.5 billion yuan less than the start of the year. The structure of credit growth was also improving. The proportion of bill financing fell to about 22 percent in March from 47 percent in February, though still much higher than the average of 5 percent. "The decline in bill financing is a good sign. It means company activities are increasing and the credit's impact on the economy is strengthening," said Zhuang. Through March, the M2 figure -- a broad measure of money supply,which covers cash in circulation and all deposits -- grew 25.5 percent from a year earlier to 53.06 trillion yuan. The narrow measure of money supply, M1 (cash in circulation pluscorporate current deposits), was up 17.04 percent year on year to 17.65 trillion yuan. "The fast rebound of M2 indicates China's liquidity is abundant. This is very important to the economic recovery. The sharp rise of M1 shows companies are increasing spending on investment and management." said Zhang Bin, an economist with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang Thursday urged the country's labor department to find employment for people this year. China is facing a daunting task to secure jobs for its workforce after more than 20 million migrant workers lost their jobs in the global financial crisis. To compound the problem, more than seven million college graduates will be looking for jobs this year. "We must ensure a stable employment situation this year, as employment is related to people's livelihood and the harmony and stability of the society," Zhang said at a working conference of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The country's urban unemployment rate increase 0.2 percentage points to 4.2 percent at the end of 2008, even though migrant workers are not included in that number. Zhang asked the ministry to adopt more active policies to find employment for people. Tax burdens of firms could be reduced, and preferential policies for social security coverage could be employed to help firms survive the crisis and keep jobs, Zhang said. More subsidies should be offered to organize vocational training in order to get people reemployed, and training should be made more relevant to different jobs, he added. The Vice Premier also said the government should step up building a social insurance system that covers both urban and rural residents, and continue to raise pensions for retired workers. China created new jobs for 11.13 million people last year, 11 percent more than the target of 10 million. The country also found jobs for five million laid-off workers and for 1.43 million who had difficulty in finding a job. The combined 6.43 million was again higher than the original target of five million.
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BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhua) -- China will promote health-care reform in four areas -- public health services, medical treatment, medical insurance and drug supply -- for both urban and rural residents, according to a central government document released on Monday. The reforms will make health-care more convenient and affordable and narrow the urban and rural gap, said the reform guidelines, jointly issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council. The government will provide unified education on disease prevention and control, health-care for women and children, first aid, blood donation and family planning to both urban and rural residents, the guidelines said. Efforts will be made to further improve the sanitation of living and working conditions for urban and rural residents and to deal with all forms of pollution, said the document, adding that the monitoring for food sanitation and sanitation at work places and schools will be strengthened. Medical treatment will mainly depend on nonprofit medical organizations with state-run hospitals playing the major role and commercial hospitals developing in a complementary way, the guidelines said. The medical service in rural areas will be greatly improved, with emphasis on county-level hospitals. Large hospitals in cities should provide long-term aid to county-level hospitals in terms of clinical services, personnel training, technological guidance and equipment sharing, according to the document. The reform will set up a new urban medical system based on community health-care services, which can help lower the medical expenses and provide more convenient service. Chinese traditional medicine will play a bigger role in disease prevention and control, and in dealing with emergency public health incidents and medical care services, the document said. The guidelines said a comprehensive medical insurance system composed of the basic medical insurance for urban employers and employees, basic medical insurance for urban residents and a new rural cooperative medical care program will cover 90 percent of the population by 2011. In 1998, China began to establish a medical care system, aimed to cover all employers and employees in urban areas. The country introduced a comprehensive medical insurance program, which covers all urban residents, including children and the unemployed, in July 2007. A total of 79 cities were selected to launch the pilot program. The insurance system's principle will shift from major diseases to also covering minor diseases. Commercial medical care insurance will also be made available to meet individual needs, according to the guidelines. The document said China will speed up the establishment of a drug supply system to ensure basic supply and safety. The system is based on a catalogue of necessary drugs that are produced and distributed under government control and supervision. The basic medical insurance will cover all listed drugs to effectively provide access to a range of basic medicines and to reduce quality problems, and prevent manufacturers and business people from circumventing the government's price controls.
BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- China voiced its strong dissatisfaction Wednesday against a U.S. Congress resolution on the Taiwan Relations Act saying it is an interference in its internal affairs. "China is strongly dissatisfied and has lodged a solemn representation over the resolution adopted to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement. The U.S. House of Representatives voted for the resolution Tuesday. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1979, required the United States to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character. China has never recognized the legitimacy of the act. Qin said the Chinese government and people, from the very start, resolutely opposed the Act adopted by the United States unilaterally. "We urge the United States to follow the basic norms guiding international relations and the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, and stop the wrongful act of using the Taiwan issue to interfere in China's internal affairs," Qin said.
SHENZHEN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China started construction of the eastern segment of the country's second West-East natural gas pipeline in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province on Saturday. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang attended the kick-off ceremony announced the start of the construction. The pipeline, the second after the first West-East natural gas transfer project, will cross 15 regions and carry 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas every year to Zhejiang, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hong Kong, among others. When visiting the construction site, Li said the pipeline under construction is the country's most expensive energy project in decades and the world's longest natural gas pipeline. It is of great importance to ensuring China's energy security, coordinating regional economic development, deepening the ties between Hong Kong and inland provinces and promoting economic growth. The 8,704 km pipeline will be made up of one trunk line and eight sub-lines. Construction of the west segment of the pipeline was started in February 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The whole line will be operational by the end of 2011. As China battles the financial crisis and expands its domestic demand, the second West-East gas pipeline project is a landmark project that will boost people's confidence to overcome the crisis, said an official with the National Development and Reform Commission. The total investment of the second West-East gas pipeline was 142.2 billion yuan (20.82 billion U.S. dollars). The eastern segment stretches 2,472 km, with an investment of 93 billion yuan. The government approved the east segment project during an executive meeting of the State Council or the Cabinet last November, in a hope to ease natural gas shortage, boost economic development and popularize utilization of clear energy. Zhou Dadi, a researcher with the Energy Research Institute of National Development and Reform Commission said the construction of the gas pipe is essential for China to increase gas resources and ensure energy security. It is hoped that construction will boost consumption and increase investment amid a world economic downturn, Zhou added. It is estimated that investment will top 300 billion yuan in other relevant industries, including machinery production, electric technology, and construction material sectors. Dong Xiucheng, professor with China University of Petroleum said this project will help China increase clean energy consumption. In China, coal makes up 70 percent of the total energy consumption, 40 percentage points higher than the world average. Natural gas consumption only accounts for three percent of the total. The completion of the second pipeline is expected to save 11.06million tonnes of coal every year. The first West-East gas pipeline was finished in 2004. It has provided 42 billion cubic meters of gas to 3,000 factories and nearly 200 million people over the past five years Wang Yang, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Donald Tsang, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, also attended Saturday's ceremony.
BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wednesday called for a more transparent and modern information system for donors to promote the integrity of charity organizations. Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was speaking to delegates at the 20th anniversary conference of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA). Jia said the foundation should work harder to create a public service platform for donors to easily contribute while being able to track where and how their donations were used. Charity organizations should make better use of modern telecommunications and the Internet to promote transparency, so that people could be proud of their contributions, he said. Jia said charity organizations should further improve their administration and promote public credibility, by fully implementing tax break policies for donors. The CFPA has poured almost 2.4 billion yuan into poverty relief over the past 20 years, benefiting 7.18 million people.