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China's Wen pledges fairer growth | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has opened the annual session of the country's legislature with a call for more sustainable economic growth. | |
Mr Wen said China would do more to cut pollution levels, and increase spending on health and education. | |
He also pledged to reduce the wealth gap between urban and rural areas. | |
Mr Wen's speech goes to the heart of the government's pledge to focus more on sustainable development than rapid economic growth at any cost. | |
But the BBC's Daniel Griffiths in Beijing says that China's politicians have made similar promises in the past, without much success. | |
PARLIAMENTARY AGENDA Draft laws on tax and propertyNew motions aimed at tackling government corruptionSchool fee exemptions for some areasMacro-economic controls class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/china_politics/government/html/1.stm">How China is governed | |
Despite increasing international concern at the country's expanding military, Mr Wen also used his speech to confirm that China would continue to strengthen its armed forces. | |
The Chinese government announced over the weekend that the nation's military budget would rise by 17.8% in 2007. | |
A greener China? | |
The National People's Congress (NPC) is a largely symbolic organisation which meets in full only once a year. | |
It mainly serves as a rubber stamp to endorse the policies of the ruling Communist Party. | |
In his two-hour opening address to nearly 3,000 delegates in the Great Hall of the People, Mr Wen delivered a report focused mainly on the government's plans to fine-tune China's economy. | |
He projected that GDP would grow by about 8% in 2007 - slightly down from the double-digit growth of recent years. | |
The need to shun growth for growth's sake and to make the nation's economy greener was a recurring theme. | |
We must safeguard social fairness and justice, and ensure that all of the people share in the fruits of reform and development Prime Minister Wen Jiabao NPC delegates gather | |
"We should... avoid seeking only faster growth and competing for faster growth," Mr Wen said. | |
He also called for a greater effort to protect the environment, after China missed its targets to improve energy efficiency and pollution levels last year. | |
"The pattern of economic growth is inefficient. This can be seen most clearly in excessive energy consumption and serious environmental pollution. | "The pattern of economic growth is inefficient. This can be seen most clearly in excessive energy consumption and serious environmental pollution. |
"We must attach greater importance to saving energy and resources, protecting the environment and using land intensively," he said. | "We must attach greater importance to saving energy and resources, protecting the environment and using land intensively," he said. |
Private property rights | |
He also acknowledged that ordinary people, especially in poorer rural areas, were being sacrificed in the rush for riches. | |
"We must... safeguard social fairness and justice, and ensure that all of the people share in the fruits of reform and development." | "We must... safeguard social fairness and justice, and ensure that all of the people share in the fruits of reform and development." |
Mr Wen said a law ending preferential tax rates for foreign companies would also be passed. | |
Foreign companies have up until now paid an income tax rate of 15%, compared with 33% for local businesses. Under the new legislation, a tax rate of 25% will apply to all companies. | |
Another law expected to be passed, but not mentioned in Mr Wen's speech, would give unprecedented protection for private property rights - an important step in the Communist Party's transition to a market economy. | |
Despite the fact that no actual policies are decided at the 12-day NPC meeting, analysts say it does offer a rare chance to hear about the issues at the top of the government's agenda. | |
This year's meeting will also be followed closely because it comes before a major Communist Party gathering later in the year, when President Hu Jintao is expected to carry out a reshuffle to further strengthen his position. | |