China assigns tasks in government work report

The Chinese government has assigned the major tasks set out in the newly passed Report on the Work of the Government to ministries and departments of the State Council, or the Cabinet.

According to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday, the government will specify the responsibilities of these bodies to ensure the targets concerning economic and social development are met.

The Report on the Work of the Government, passed on Wednesday at the Fifth Session of the 11th National People's Congress, has set out major government tasks for this year.

The meeting asked all government departments to prioritize the most important work, strive to resolve prominent issues in social and economic development, as well as problems of wide concern and urgent need of the people.

According to the statement, the Chinese government should strengthen and improve macro regulation to promote steady and robust economic development and do well in work concerning improving people's livelihoods and developing social causes.

China will make new progress in accelerating economic restructuring and transforming the economic growth pattern, and intensify reforms to inject new impetus into economic development, according to the statement.

It also specified the tasks that the government should strive to finish this year.

They include formulating a general plan for reforming the income distribution system, formulating regulations on compensation for the expropriation of rural collective land, and achieving full coverage of the old-age pension system for both rural and urban residents.

The government will also aim to meet the requirement that spending on education accounts for 4 percent of China's GDP this year, unswervingly carry out policies on property market regulation, as well as make detailed rules on guiding the sound development of nongovernmental investment.

The statement said that China's economy is currently heading in the desirable direction set out in the country's macroeconomic regulation.

"Domestic consumption is steadily increasing, industrial output remains stable, market confidence is also stable and has been improving, and meanwhile consumer prices are dropping and tending to become more stable. The economic work this year has seen a good start," the statement said.

It said the government should build on this good foundation and take the initiative this year.

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, increased 3.2 percent year on year in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier this month. It was the lowest pace in 20 months, providing more room for the government to stimulate growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The Report on the Work of the Government made it clear that the focus of economic work this year is expanding domestic demand, particularly consumer demand.

The report also showed that China has lowered its GDP growth target for 2012 to 7.5 percent after projecting it around 8 percent for seven consecutive years, as China hopes to achieve higher-quality development over a longer period of time.