Work report reflects change in thinking
China Daily  Updated: 2005-03-06 08:27

Premier Wen Jiabao appeared confident when he reported to the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference yesterday on the work of his cabinet.

The Wen cabinet displayed conspicuous helmsmanship in the maze of delicate social and economic conundrums.

Headaches over tight grain supply, swelling investment in fixed assets, excessive growth in money and credit supply, and short supply of energy and transport once gave rise to plenty of scepticism about the health of our economy.

The government's choice to go ahead with macroeconomic control was in many eyes a high-risk ploy.

For most of 2004, the world waited nervously to see if the widely-feared "hard-landing" of the Chinese economy would ignite a new round of global stagnation.

But the outcome was as good as it could be. We saw the country's gross domestic product rise by 9.5 per cent over 2003.

The administration deserved the applause the audience in the Great Hall of the People gave throughout Wen's report.

As always, the report on government work is also about what is to be done.

The to-do list in Wen's report features many great changes compared to his 2004 report. Although the country faces some old problems as a year ago according to the report, they are being approached with a broader outlook.

If the administration's appreciation of balance and harmony was somewhat vague in Wen's 2004 report, it is loud and clear this time around.

Building a harmonious society is one of the three matters of overriding significance Wen named for 2005, the other two being macroeconomic control and reform and opening up. Such prominence for commitment to societal harmony is unprecedented in a report of this kind.

Along with the long-standing focus on rural areas, agriculture and farmers, the report gives hope to the disadvantaged.

The promise of increased investment in workplace safety is an imperative response to one of the most gruesome aspects of our growth story. Our society shares a moral obligation to put an end to the stream of lethal industrial accidents this nation has witnessed. But little can be done unless the government acts.

Premier Wen's report also places considerable emphasis on government credibility.

While higher efficiency and more transparency are fundamental for a constructive public-government relationship, it cannot be harmonious until society's underdogs are better cared for.

The economy continues to stand tall on the priority list. But attention is more focused on improving the quality of growth.

There is an impressive insight into the idea of cultivating consumer demand in the relatively underdeveloped rural regions.

It makes more sense this time considering the corresponding policy back-up the report has prescribed.

The report shows remarkable progress in thinking by incorporating the long-standing academic advice to make industry feed agriculture in return for the benefits it has drawn from the latter, for cities to support the countryside.

The market potential of rural areas will remain theoretical before people there earn more.

Wen's report proposes to create non-farming jobs in the countryside and push ahead with urbanization.

Beyond that, we should not neglect the need for a unified national job market better suited to rural job seekers.

Wen's new report places a heavier emphasis on resources and the environment.

We are particularly impressed with his vow to "let the people have clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, as well as a better environment to work and live in."

For that to happen, we are full of hope that the compulsory elimination of equipment and products featuring high resource and energy consumption as well as the energy and resource saving standards the report proposes can be worked out as soon as possible.

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