Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report (summary) (Part Two)

Continuing to strengthen control and management of real estate market

Premier Wen emphasized China's need to build energy-efficient, land-saving and environmentally-friendly buildings in light of the current economic conditions and levels of development. The real estate industry should focus on ordinary housing for the masses. The government should specially care for and help solve the housing problems of low-income families, increase policy support, establish and perfect the low-rent housing system, as well as improve and standardize the system for economical housing.

Wen said China needs to correctly use government regulations and market mechanisms to maintain a reasonable scale of investment in real estate, optimize the commercial supply structure, increase supervision and regulation of housing prices, curb excessive increases in property costs, and maintain a reasonable level of prices. Efforts should be made to thoroughly rectify and regulate the real estate market order, improve supervision of the market, and crack down on illegal development, transactions and intermediary activities in accordance with the law.

Do much more to save energy and protect the environment

Wen stressed that energy-saving and environmental protection work should focus on the following eight areas in 2007:

-- Improving and strictly implementing energy and environmental standards.

-- Eliminating obsolete production capacity.

-- Giving priority to key industries and enterprises.

-- Improving energy-saving and environmentally-friendly policies.

-- Accelerating progress of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly technology.

-- Intensifying efforts to control pollution and protect the environment.

-- Strengthening the supervision of law enforcement management.

-- Taking responsibility system for saving energy and protecting the environment.

Arable land no less than 1.8 billion mu

We must not make any irreversible mistakes which would be calamitous to future generations, Wen said, and we must ensure the area of arable land is no less than 1.8 billion mu (15 mu equals one hectare).

In order to better protect arable land, especially basic farmland, as well as prohibit the unauthorized use of tillable land, it is necessary to regulate which areas are built upon. The construction of villas, golf courses, and new Party, government and state-owned enterprise projects, such as training center sites, should be prohibited in particular.

Encouraging, supporting and guiding private economic development

Wen Jiabao said that it is necessary to enthusiastically implement the central government's policies and measures aimed at encouraging the private economy to get involved in the reform of state-owned enterprises, financial services and society. They should also be included in undertakings such as the construction of public utilities and infrastructure. Efforts should be made to improve the policies on finance, taxation and technological innovation, as well as the management of private enterprises. The legitimate rights and interests of privately-owned enterprises should be protected in accordance with the law and the guidance and management of non-public enterprises should be improved, so as to encourage these enterprises to operate in compliance with the law.

Promoting development of education

According to Wen, China will take two major measures to promote the development of education.

Firstly, beginning with the 2007 academic year, China will establish and improve the system of state scholarship and increase aid for students attending general undergraduate colleges and universities, higher vocational institutions and vocational secondary schools. The central government will increase the central budget for this from 1.8 billion yuan in 2006 to 9.5 billion yuan in 2007. Spending will hit 20 billion yuan next year. Local governments will increase spending correspondingly. In addition, China will expand a national student loan policy to help students from poor families.

Secondly, China will provide free education for students studying to be teachers at normal universities directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education, so as to encourage more young people to devote themselves to the education of others.

Waiving tuition and other fees for compulsory education in rural areas

According to Wen, China will completely waive tuition and fees for compulsory education in rural areas in 2007, so as to reduce the economic burden on the 150 million rural families which include middle and primary school students. In addition, it will continue to provide free textbooks and subsidies to boarders from poor families.

The national budget for compulsory education in rural areas will reach 223.5 billion yuan this year, an increase of 39.5 billion yuan over 2006. During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the central government will invest a total of 10 billion yuan in reconstructing junior high schools in rural areas. Local governments will also increase spending correspondingly.

Putting greater emphasis on vocational education

Premier Wen pointed out that giving priority to the development of vocational education and making education truly accessible to the whole of society is a major change and a historic task.

It is necessary to focus on the development of secondary vocational education, and to improve the vocational education and training network in both urban and rural areas, Wen said. China needs to expand the reform of the management system for vocational education, establish an educational system that involves industry, enterprises and schools, and promote cooperation between them. The quality of higher education needs to be improved and reform of education and teaching needs to be accelerated. Efforts should be made to stabilize the enrollment scale, improve academic and university development, and to train as many talented people as possible. The Chinese Government needs to support and regulate the development of private education, so as to give full play to society's enthusiasm for education.

By People's Daily Online