Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
In an address to the opening of parliament's annual session, Wen gave no sign that China would yield to pressure to ease exchange-rate controls, which critics say contributes to its rising trade surpluses. But he said technology and resource imports would rise and that Beijing would "strive to redress the trade imbalance."
China expects its economy to grow about 8 percent this year, Wen said, slowing sharply from the 9.9 percent it grew last year. He gave no reason for the forecast slowdown, which contrasts with analysts' forecasts for growth rates of up to 9.2 percent.
However, Wen said the economy faces threats, including the loss of farmland, excess investment in showcase buildings and other unneeded projects, and shortages of key resources, such as coal.
China's leaders have been forecasting lower growth for several years, only to see those targets beaten as the economy steamed ahead, fueled by robust growth in exports and stubbornly high growth in spending on factories, real estate and construction projects.
The shift to promoting rural growth comes amid mounting anger there over land seizures, corruption and pollution. Increasing the spending power of China's 800 million rural citizens, the majority of its population of 1.3 billion, is seen as a crucial step in the country's long-term development.
This year's budget, part of the country's latest five-year blueprint for development, calls for shifting more resources to the countryside, where average incomes are one-third the size of those in cities.
The government plans to spend 339.7 billion yuan (US$42.3 billion) this year on agriculture and rural areas, up 14.2 percent from the year before, Wen said. The overall deficit is forecast at 295 billion yuan, slightly lower than in last year.
The nearly 3,000-member parliament, which always endorses policies set by the communist leadership, is due to approve the budget, Wen's report and other plans when its 10-day session ends March 14.
The challenge will be in ensuring that the blueprint is actually implemented at local levels, where officials often balk at policies that threaten their own interests.
"We have huge problems to deal with," said Zhao Xueming (趙學明), a member of the government's top advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. "It's not enough to just have good policies at the top, we have to ensure that they are carried out."
A nearly 20 percent rise in tax collections in last year, to 523 billion yuan was a welcome boost, though at least 11 percent was credited to surging prices for crude oil, coal and nonferrous metals, according to the government's budget report, also released yesterday.
The shift to focusing on rural areas is part of the leadership's effort to shift to a more sustainable growth model after two decades of breakneck industrialization that have strained energy and transport systems and fouled its environment.
Wen pledged to reduce energy consumption per unit of economic output by 4 percent and to shut down heavily polluting factories.
Reforms aimed at improving corporate governance and reducing government holdings in state-owned enterprises would continue, he said.
The government intends to crack down on counterfeiting of goods, rampant smuggling, fraud and securities crimes, he said.
"We will rigorously prosecute parties committing illegal and criminal acts in the financial sector ... guard against general financial risks and work to maintain financial stability and security," Wen said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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