Premier Spells out Social, Economic Problems in China (03/05/2001)

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji said numerous problems exist in China's economic and social life.

Zhu made the remark Monday in a report on the Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2001-2005) he delivered at the opening of the Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC).

According to the premier, China suffers from an inappropriate industrial structure and non-coordinated development of local economies, a low overall quality of the national economy, low competitiveness on the international market, imperfections in the socialist market economy and conspicuous systematic factors hampering the development of productive forces.

He also acknowledged a comparatively backward state of science, technology and education and relatively weak innovative ability in science and technology in the country.

Moreover, he said, China suffers from a shortage of important resources such as water and petroleum and the deterioration of the ecological environment in some regions, growing employment pressure, slow income increase of farmers and some urban residents, an increasing income gap and considerable disorder in some areas of the market economy.

The country has also witnessed frequent occurrences of grave accidents, serious corruption, extravagance and waste, formalism and bureaucratism; and poor public order in some localities, the premier noted.

Zhu explained that causes for these problems are rather complicated, but that they are not unrelated to shortcomings and errors in government work. He pledged to pay greater attention to these problems and take further steps to solve them.