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Wen addresses press conference (full text)
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-03-15 02:11 Xinhua: Last year, you said macro-regulation was a new and severe task
for the government. It was no easier a task than fighting against SARS. Now that
a year has passed could you comment on last year's work with regard to macro
regulation? Could you speak to new features and characteristics of macro
regulation for this year? Will you intensify the policy measures?
Wen: In the past couple of years, we have been facing a battle of contact in
terms of economic development. To fight this battle, we have combined a series
of policies. We can say now these policy measurers have achieved remarkable
results.
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| Premier Wen Jiabao gestures at yesterday's news conference held
after the closing of the annual NPC session.
[newsphoto] | We have been successful in avoiding
major ups and downs in the economy, preventing excessive price hikes, keeping
prices at a stable level and maintaining steady and fairly rapid economic
growth. Now we must not slacken in our efforts in the slightest way. The
situation we are facing now is like going upstream. If we don't forge ahead, we
will be left lagging behind. Let me put the problems we face in proper
prospective.
First, the foundation for macro regulation needs to be consolidated further.
We face considerable difficulty in further raising grain output and increasing
farmers' income. In particular, because of price rises in capital goods, it is
more difficult for us to achieve these goals in terms of increasing grain output
and farmers' incomes. Moreover, investment growth in fixed assets may pick up
again. Coal, electricity, oil and transportation are in short supply. In the
first two months of this year, power generation has increased by 12 per cent.
Yet 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities experienced blackouts.
In the economy, the supply chain is overstretched.
Second, we are facing a series of dilemmas in our economy. For example, a
slow economic growth rate won't do, because it would make it more difficult for
us to create jobs, increase revenue, and engage in necessary undertakings for
society. Yet too fast economic growth rate won't do either, because it may make
the economy to stretched out for a long time in an unsustainable situation.
Third, the problems we face in China's economy can all boil down to
structural problems, growth patterns and institutional problems. All these
deep-rooted and underlying problems will take time to be addressed. In a word,
the top priority for the government is to further strengthen and improve macro
regulative policy measures in order to sustain a steady and fairly rapid
economic growth rate.
If a journey is 100 miles, travelling 90 is half of it. We must not stop and
we must not waste our previous efforts. In the meantime, we must also take
special attention to differentiated treatment for different situations. We must
take both administrative and economic means to achieve macro regulative
objectives.
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