 The 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China from Oct. 15th to Oct. 21st, 2007. The following is some key points raised by President Hu Jintao in his keynote speech.
Per capita GDP to quadruple by 2020
By 2020, the country's per capita GDP will be four times what it was in 2000, Hu Jintao said in his report to the 17th Party Congress on Monday, Oct. 15th.
This goal is much higher than the target set by the CPC five years ago at the 16th National Congress, which was to quadruple the GDP value, without the mention of per capita, by 2020.
"We will quadruple the per capita GDP of the year 2000 by 2020 by optimizing the economic structure and improving economic returns while reducing consumption of resources and protecting the environment," the Party general secretary said.
China's GDP has been growing at an annual rate of more than 10 percent for the past four years and topped 20 trillion yuan ($2.7 trillion) in 2006.
The new goal is one of the major tasks Hu outlined in his report to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020, which was put forward at the last CPC National Congress.
Well-off society is the top goal
The Communist Party of China (CPC) will lead the Chinese people in building a well-off society that ensures balanced economic growth, improvement of people's well-being and social justice by 2020, Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, pledged in his keynote speech.
"In keeping with the changes in domestic and international situations and in light of the expectations of people of all ethnic groups for a better life, we must set new and higher requirements for China's development based on the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects set at the 16th Party congress," Hu said in his report to the 17th CPC National Congress which opened in Beijing on Monday.
To this end, he added, China will continue to power the engine of economic growth by quadrupling the per capita value of the 2000 gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020.
But the rapid growth will be subject to the proviso of reduced consumption of resources and greater efforts in environment protection, Hu said, proposing that a conservation culture be promoted while moving to build a well-off society.
The country will considerably increase the proportion of renewable energy in total energy consumption, bring the discharge of major pollutants under effective control and significantly improve ecological and environmental quality, Hu added.
Meanwhile, the nation will persist in reform and opening up, accelerate social development with the focus on improving people's livelihood, with particular stress on education, employment and social security. It will also manage to narrow the widening income gap, expand democracy, prevent and check corruption, modernize its armed forces and enhance the "soft power" of its culture, Hu noted.
Democracy dominates Hu's speech
The Chinese characters for democracy (min zhu) turned out to be some of the most extensively used in Party General Secretary Hu Jintao's keynote speech Monday to the landmark National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), showing up at least 60 times.
Hu said the CPC will "expand intra-Party democracy to develop people's democracy" by increasing transparency in Party affairs and "opposing and preventing arbitrary decision-making by an individual or a minority of people".
China needs to improve institutions of democracy, diversify its forms and expand its channels to guarantee people's rights to information and participation, Hu said at the opening of the 17th National Congress of the CPC.
To ensure "scientific and democratic decision-making", Hu called for improving the information and intellectual support for the decision-making process, increasing its transparency and expanding public participation in it.
Hu said the most effective and extensive way for the people to be masters of the country is that they directly exercise their democratic rights to manage public affairs and public service programs at the primary level.
On enhancing intra-Party democracy, Hu called on Party organizations at all levels and all Party members to "take the lead in upholding the authority of the Constitution and the law".
The Party will strictly implement democratic centralism, improve the system that combines collective leadership with division of responsibilities among individuals, he said.
Checks and balances
Hu also promised to accelerate the separation of the functions of government from those of enterprises, State asset management authorities, public institutions and market-based intermediaries.
Meanwhile, he vowed to standardize administrative practices, strengthen administrative law-enforcement agencies, reduce the number of matters requiring administrative examination and approval and standardize such procedures, and reduce government intervention in microeconomic operations.
Hu also called for the improvement of the mechanism of restraint and supervision, stressing that "power must be exercised in the sunshine to ensure that it is exercised correctly".
Emphasis on scientific outlook on development
The Chinese president, Hu Jintao, on Monday, pledged to thoroughly apply “Scientific Outlook on Development” as the country builds a moderately prosperous society.
As China is in the primary stage of socialism, the new concept has been "formulated to meet new requirements of development by analyzing China's own practice and drawing on the experience of other countries," Hu explained.
He said that the Scientific Outlook on Development takes development as its essence; comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development as its basic requirement; and overall consideration as its fundamental approach.
The outstanding problems and difficulties Hu listed include:
-- Economic growth is realized at the high cost of resources and the environment.
-- There is an imbalance in development between urban and rural areas, among regions, and between the economy and society.
-- It has become more difficult to have a steady growth of agriculture and to continue increasing farmers' incomes.
-- There are still many problems affecting people's daily lives in areas such as employment, social security, income distribution,education, public health, housing, work safety, administration of justice and public order; and some low-income people lead rather difficult lives.
-- More efforts are needed to promote ideological and ethical progress.
-- The Party's governance capability falls somewhat short of the ability to deal with the new situation and tasks.
-- Some grass-roots Party organizations are weak and lax. A small number of Party cadres are not honest and upright. Waste, corruption and other undesirable behaviors are still serious problems among them.
Narrowing wealth gap high on the Party's agenda
The country will press ahead with the reform of its income distribution system to reverse the growing wealth gap, Party General Secretary Hu Jintao said yesterday in a keynote speech at the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
"We will increase transfer payments, intensify the regulation of incomes through taxation, break business monopolies, create equal opportunities and overhaul income distribution practices with a view to gradually reversing the growing income disparity," he told more than 2,200 delegates to the congress.
Hu pledged that a reasonable and orderly pattern of income distribution will be put in place, with middle-income people making up the majority, and absolute poverty will be basically eliminated.
"Vigorous efforts will be made to raise the incomes of low-income groups, gradually increase poverty-alleviation aid and the minimum wage, and set up a mechanism of regular pay increases for enterprise employees," Hu said.
The reform of the income distribution system is only one of the blueprints Hu mapped out for improving people's livelihoods over the next five years. His report also had detailed plans for the development of education, employment, medical and old-age care, and housing.
He said the country aimed:
To promote the balanced development of compulsory education, speed up the development of senior middle-school education and vocational education.
To establish a unified, standardized labor market and a mechanism that ensures equal employment opportunities for both urban and rural residents.
To establish a sound social security system based on social insurance, assistance and welfare, with basic old-age pensions, medical care and subsistence allowances as its backbone, and supplemented by charity and commercial insurance.
Peace pact with Taiwan proposed
Hu Jintao, called for a peace agreement with Taiwan under the one-China principle on Oct. 15th.
"We would like to make a solemn appeal: On the basis of the one-China principle, let us discuss a formal end to the state of hostility between the two sides, reach a peace agreement, construct a framework for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations, and thus usher in a new phase of peaceful development," Hu said in a report to the 17th National Congress of the CPC.
It is the first time that the CPC has officially called for a peace agreement between the two sides in its political report.
Hu warned on Monday that the forces of "Taiwan independence" are stepping up secessionist activities, seriously jeopardizing cross-Straits ties.
Hu pledged that the Party will sincerely work for the well-being of compatriots on both mainland and Taiwan and for cross-Straits peace, and safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation.
There are currently about 1.3 million Taiwan people living or working on the mainland, according to official figures. |
