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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday that his government wants
a seven percent economic growth for 2004, expecting to keep the
economic speed train running stable while preventing the wheels
from becoming too hot.
The target is set for a "stable and rapid economic growth
without drastic fluctuations", Wen said in his report on the work
of the government delivered at the opening of the Second Session of
the 10th National People's Congress, the top legislature.
China registered a stunning economic growth of 9.1 percent in
2003.
In his report, Wen pledged that the government will adhere to
the policy of expanding domestic demand and continue to implement a
proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy this
year.
The premier did not give an explicit assessment on whether the
Chinese economy is on the brink of an overheating state or not, but
he listed economic foes such as "excessively broad scale of
investment, the serious problem of haphazard investment and
low-level, redundant construction in some industries and
regions".
The government plans to cut this year's construction treasury
bond issuance by 30 billion yuan to 110 billion yuan, Wen said.
China began issuing such bonds in 1998 in a bid to expand
investment to stimulate the then slowing economic growth.
The issuance of construction treasury bonds is an interim policy
adopted during a period of insufficient demand and their scale
should be reduced gradually as the increase in nongovernmental
investment accelerates, Wen said.
Meanwhile, the government should make full use of the role of
monetary policy, appropriately control the size of credit and
optimize the credit structure to support economic growth while
fending off inflation and financial risks, he said.
The consumer price index (CPI), a barometer measuring inflation,
rose 1.2 percent in China last year. The prevailing view of
domestic economists points to a further CPI increase in 2004.
(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2004)
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