Report on the Work of the Government

III. Major Tasks for 2012

1. Promoting steady and robust economic development

Expanding domestic demand, particularly consumer demand, which is essential to ensuring China's long-term, steady, and robust economic development, is the focus of our economic work this year.

We will work hard to expand consumer demand. We will move faster to set up a permanent mechanism for boosting consumption. We will vigorously adjust income distribution, increase the incomes of low- and middle-income groups, and enhance people's ability to consume. We will improve policies that encourage consumption. We will vigorously develop elderly care, domestic, property management, medical and healthcare services. We will encourage consumer spending on cultural activities, tourism, and fitness; and implement the system of paid vacations. We will actively develop new forms of consumption such as online shopping; support and guide the consumption of green goods such as environmentally friendly building materials, water-saving sanitation products, and energy-efficient vehicles; and expand consumer credit. We will improve the urban-rural logistics system and infrastructural facilities, such as roads and parking lots, strengthen supervision over product quality and safety, improve the consumption environment, and safeguard consumers' legitimate rights and interests.

We will continue to improve the investment structure. We will maintain the steady growth of investment and use investment to promote consumption and vice versa. We will fully implement the Guidelines of the State Council on Encouraging and Guiding the Sound Development of Nongovernmental Investment and adopt specific operating rules for their implementation. We will strengthen the role of government investment in guiding adjustment of the economic structure, ensure funding for key projects that are under construction or expansion, and begin construction on major national projects in an orderly manner. We will tighten standards on market access and the screening and approval process relating to land, credit, energy conservation, environmental protection, safety, and quality; and strengthen supervision and inspections of major projects, particularly those undertaken by governments and state-owned firms, to improve the quality of and returns on such investments.

2. Keeping overall prices basically stable

This is a key task affecting the people's interests and China's overall economic and social development. We will control prices and prevent inflation from rebounding by effectively carrying out macroeconomic policies, managing the supply of money and credit, and striving for basic equilibrium in aggregate supply and demand.

We will increase production and ensure supply. We will continue to make curbing excessive rises in food prices a priority of stabilizing prices. We will effectively carry out the practice of holding provincial governors responsible for the "rice bag" (grain supply) and city mayors for the "vegetable basket" (non-grain food supply) and ensure the supply of major farm products. Large and medium-sized cities should have sufficient farmland for growing vegetables, maintain and raise the proportion of seasonal vegetables sold there that are grown locally, and develop vegetable production bases in collaboration with neighboring areas and areas with suitable conditions. We will strengthen coordination of the production, transportation, and sale of important commodities; improve systems of government reserves and commercial reserves; do a good job purchasing, storing and marketing major agricultural products; and regulate the market better.

We will improve distribution and reduce distribution costs. We will ensure that the green channel policy for transporting vegetables and other fresh farm products is fully implemented. We will carry out policies to support wholesale agricultural product markets, market fairs, and community-based, low-priced vegetable stores. We will encourage urban chain supermarkets, universities, large enterprises, and communities to establish direct supply contacts with farm product distributors, specialized farmer cooperatives, and large family farms. We will also reduce distribution links and increase retail outlets so that they can play a leading role in distribution. We will deepen reform of the distribution system. We will expand trials of a tax on the income of logistics enterprises after deductions, and improve tax policies on the use of land occupied by facilities for storing major commodities. We will adjust and improve VAT policies for the wholesale and retail of some agricultural products, and promote standardized and information-based distribution. We will adopt a full range of measures to make distribution more efficient and cost-effective so as to benefit both producers and consumers.

We will tighten oversight and ensure market order. We will give high priority to strengthening oversight and inspection of food and drug prices as well as fees and charges for medical, communications, and educational services; put an end to unauthorized collection of charges and fines in the transportation sector; stop large commercial retailers from illegally collecting fees; and crack down on illegal practices such as releasing false information, hoarding and profiteering, manipulating prices, and speculation. We will lead public opinion and correctly guide public expectations of price movements.