李克强记者招待会bbc翻译

Full text of Chinese premier's news conference on 17 March. BBC Monitoring International Reports
| March 18, 2013 | Copyright
Market refor m was the overriding theme in Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's first news conference in his new role. Speaking to the media in Beijing on 17 March, Li said China would stand to gain if the government eased restr ictions on the ent ry of pr ivate capital into the finance, railway and energy sectors. H e said his cabinet would pursue three main aims: transfor ming China's economic model, impr oving people's livelihoods and enhancing social justice. The follow ing is the full text of his speech at the news conference, as aired live by C hinese state television CCTV-1 at 0200 gmt on 17 March.
[Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, addressing local and foreign reporters at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing]: Ladies and gentlemen; friends of the press, first of all, I would like to thank you all for your hard work in covering China's Two Sessions. I would like to introduce to you the vice premiers, w ho are w ith me here: Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Vice Premier Wang Yang, and Vice Premier Ma Kai.
We thank you from the bottom of our heart for the deputies' trust in us. From the very moment I assumed this new post, I have felt deeply the great trust placed by people of all ethnic groups throughout our country, and that it is a h uge responsibility. We will stay loyal to the constitution, remain faithful to the people, and carry out policies in line with what the people want. We w ill deem as our sacred mission the work of realizing the people's aspirations for the future. We w ill revere the law and respect the people. We will work for the well-being of the whole nation and build a strong and prosperous country as a government that will shun no responsibility and w ill dare to take action. These are my opening remarks. Now, I would li ke to welcome fr iends of the press and to field their questions.
[Reporter with Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao] The State Council institutional reform plan has attracted great attention from the outside wor ld. Is this refor m an ideal plan for you, Premier Li? H ow will you attain the goals of streamlining the government, the delegation of power, and transfor ming its functions? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] You asked if it is ideal. If we want to achieve something, we always need to str ike a balance between the ideal and reality. The core of the reform plan is to transform government functions, and that certainly includes streamlining the government and delegating power. If institutional reform is about optimizing the distr ibution of power within the government, then transforming government functions is about redefining and rationalizing the government's relationship with the market and with the society. Put simply, we must leave to the market what the market can handle, and entrust to the society what society can do. And the government manages and controls the things that fall w ithin its purview.
Institutional refor m is not easy, but transfor ming government functions is even har der because it involves more in-depth changes. While inspecting localities, I often heard complaints such as: We need to get scores of government stamps [of approval] just to get one thing done, or just to start a business. The public says it frustrates them. Not only does this hamper efficiency, but it also invites corruption, or the so-called rent-seeking behaviour, that hurts the government's image. That is the reason why transfor ming government functions must start with reforming the government's system of examination and
approval. There are currently over 1,700 items still requiring government examination and approval across the State Council departments. Within the ter m of this administration, w e are deter mined to slash that number by at least one third.
Do people not say the government has a misplacement issue? Then we should r emove the misplacement hand of the government and put it on the market. This means curbing government power and imposing self-revolution. It w ill hurt a lot, and may even feel like cutting one's own hand. But it is what development requires and what the people aspire to. We must have the resolve to make sacr ifices. We will keep our promises and match our w ords with our actions. We w ill never pretend to let go out in the open, while secretly clinging onto power; we will never shy away from the real difficult issues by ta king on tasks of less importance. And we w ill never play games to get ar ound issues.
[Renmin R ibao] Gr eetings Mr Premier, I am a reporter from Renmin Ribao and Renmin Wang. Many people believe that the new government w ill face a daunting task. I would like to ask you, Mr. Premier, what are the administrative goals of your government, and what are the key issues that you intend to resolve? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] This is a big question. As for the goals of my government, the 18th National C ongress of the Communist Party of China has set them down in comprehensive detail. Those w ill be the goals of my government. The nearer we are to our goal of modernization, the more r isks and challenges we might encounter. China is a large country and naturally there w ill be many issues for us to resolve. If we wer e to list the key issues, I believe the top issue would be to maintain sustainable economi c growth. It can be expected that the economic environment facing China will remain rigorous and complex. We must be prepar ed for potential adversity and for handling the changing situation in a calm fashion. We need to maintain steady economic growth, prevent inflation, and control potential risk, so that there w ill not be drastic fluctuations in our economy. To realize the goals w e have set for our country by 2020, we would have to register an annual GDP growth rate of around 7.5 percent, and that will not be easy. How ever, we have favourable conditions in place, and an enormous domestic demand. The key is to have economic transformation. We need to combine the dividends of refor m, the potential of domestic demand, and the vitality of creativity to form new economic-growth drivers. We need to enhance quality and efficiency, raise employment figures and the people's income, and improve on environmental protection and resource saving in order to upgrade China's economy.
Second, we need to work constantly to improve the people's lives. That is to say, we need to raise the income of urban and rural populations, especially the low-income group. We need to expand the size of the middle income group. If we say government is about impr oving people's lives, then we need to focus on providing for the basic necessities of our people, and to create a social safety net that covers the enti re population so to protect the people's basic needs. That w ill involve compulsory education, medical care, old-age insurance, housing, and so on. We need to work hard to gradually strengthen the w eak links in our country's development. Also, we need to im prove the subsistence allowance assistance for patients suffer ing from ser ious diseases, so that the r eally poor people can have something to fall back on for their basic needs. If these people exper ience even more difficulties in their lives, that might disrupt the moral and psychological baselines of our society. Therefore, the government w ill make its maximum effort to mobilize more forces in our society, so as to protect the people's r ights to live w ith dignity.
Third, we w ill promote social fairness. Fairness is the source of societal creativity, and the yardstick for measuring improvement of people's satisfaction. The government should be the guardian of social fairness. We need to work hard to create equal opportunities for everyone. Whether they are from urban or rural areas, regardless of their family background, the people w ill be duly r ewarded through their ow n hard work. And whatever type of wealth creators they are working in - a
state-ow ned enterpr ise, a private enterpr ise, or an individually run business - as long as they conduct their businesses in a clean and honest way, they w ill be able to taste success.
To resolve these thr ee issues, or to fulfil these thr ee tasks, the following three safeguards are essential. First, w e need to build an innovative government, so that we can further unleash the vitality of our economy and our society through refor m and opening up. Second, w e need to build a clean government, and to improve the credibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of our government. Third, we need to build a clean government [as heard]. This is particular ly important. Law should have a sacred place in our society. No matter who you ar e, no matter what you intend to do, you must not exceed the boundar ies of law. Under the spir it of the rule of law, w e intend to build a modern economy, a modern society, and a modern government.
To achieve these three tasks, we w ill have to make arduous efforts. The good thing is that my pr edecessor, Premier Wen Jiabao, and my colleagues who have retired, have laid a good foundation for us. We would like to convey our deep respect for them. We are convinced that under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee w ith C omrade Xi Jinping as the general secretary, and with the har d work and w isdom of the 1.3 billion Chinese people, we w ill continue to achieve success and realize the goals of national r ejuvenation and modernization.
[CNR reporter] H ow are you, Mr Premier? I am a reporter w ith the China N ational Radio and its website. We have noticed that corruption cases have recently been exposed successively in some localities. Mr. Premier, we would like to ask: What specific measures w ill the new government adopt to make people more confident in the anticorruption drive? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] I would like to add my thanks to the reporter of R enmin R ibao and its website for raising the question just now. I think that your question is very important. We must say that corruption and the government's reputation is as completely irreconcilable as fire and water. The Chinese Government is unswerving in its deter mination and will in fighting corruption. I would like to make this position clear, her e. To practice a clean government, we must begin with ourselves. Only when we are upright, can we ask others to be upr ight. This is an old adage, and also the truth. Since ancient times, holding government office and getting rich have been two separate paths. As we have taken public offices to serve the people, w e must stop thinking of getting rich. We are w illing to accept the supervision of the whole society and the media.
Further, we must establish and perfect an anticorruption mechanism so that officials are unable to, and dare not to, pr actice corruption. We w ill severely punish corrupt behaviour and corrupt elements, in accordance with the law, w ithout any leniency whatsoever. It is even more important that power will be exercised in an open and transparent environment, and that people will be able to supervise the government more fully and more effectively. It is also like adding a preservative to power, so that it is only for official use, and unable to be abused.
We need to win the trust of the people and br ing benefits to them by pr acticing frugality in government. If the people are to lead a good life, the government must run on a tight budget. Recently, I received a fiscal report for January to Febr uary, the margin of increase in the central government's fiscal revenues only increased by 1.6 percent. It can be inferred that in the future it will be very unlikely that we w ill be able to maintain a high-speed growth in fiscal revenues. However, spending related to the people's livelihood is rigid and can only increase and not decrease. We w ill have to cut government spending. Here, let us la y down three rules. W ithin the term of this government: First, construction of new government buildings, halls, or guesthouses will not be allowed; second, the number of personnel on the government payroll will only decrease, and not increase; and third, spending on hospitality, overseas tr ips, and official vehicle purchases w ith public funds will only decrease, and not increase. The central gover nment must lead by example and upper levels of gover nment must set an example for lower levels of governments. Thank you.
[Associated Press reporter] Premier Li, C hina has called for the building of a new type of relationship with the United States. What would the Chinese side like the United States to do? This includes the so-called US pivot to Asia. W ill C hina stop the cyber attacks against the United States? Since this has now become an issue of American national secur ity.
[Li Keqiang] You should ear n double income since you are your own interpreter. Your question reminded me of a US media report that I have read two days ago. The U S side raised a viewpoint that conflicts between major countries is not an inevitable law, and I subscribe to this viewpoint. I was also reminded of a visit I made in the 1980s to the United States, which happened to be in elections. I met w ith people from the two main political parties and they told me, "Rest assured, no matter who come into power, cooperation w ith China and commitment to the One-China policy will not change." C hinese-US relationship, despite its ups and downs over the past decades, has alw ays moved forward. Why is this so? This shows that Chinese-US relationship meets the fundamental interests of the people in both countries and serves the global tr end of peace and development. The new Chinese government, like in the past, attaches gr eat importance to Chinese-US relationship as this is the relationship between the w orld's largest developing country and largest developed country. We are w illing to work w ith th e Obama Administration to build a new type of relationship between major countr ies.
You asked about how we can build that kind of relationship, and this again reminded me of the time since I began working in the C entral Government. I often met with US politicians and they have been very frank in our talks, saying that they came to advance US interests. And I said to them that I work for Chinese interests. Since everybody is talking about interests, this is great, as that gives us a common ground and points of convergence. We can recall that over 30 years ago, trade volume between C hina and the U nited States w as only one billion dollars, but last year the trade volume has approached 500 billion dollars. We w ill continue to pursue mutual benefits. I think the opportunities and space for trade and investment between China and the United States in the future w ill be much larger compared to the past 30 years and these will deliver tangible benefits to people in both countries. Of course I do not deny that there are differences between China and the United States, but as long as we respect each other's major concerns and manage well the differences, then our common interests will outweigh our differences. C hina and the U nited States can mutually learn from the distinctive civilizations and cultures each side created, so as to enhance the fr iendship between the people of both countr ies and build social foundation for Chinese-US relations.
As for the Asia-Pacific region, this is the region w here C hina and the United States have the most overlapping and concentrated interests. Both China and the United States have expressed the hope to uphold the stability of the region and promote its prosper ity. I hope to match the words w ith deeds by starting from the Asia-Pacific region and doing a good job in building a new type of r elationship between major countries. This w ill also be good for peace and development in the
Asia-Pacific region and the wor ld at large.
As for the hacker attacks that you mentioned, this is a wor ldw ide pr oblem and in fact China is itself a main victim of attack s by hackers. Not only does C hina not support, but we oppose hacking activities. Why do I sense a presumption of guilt in what you said just now? I think w e should make less groundless accusations against each other and do more concrete things to safeguar d cyber secur ity. Thank you.
[CCTV reporter] Premier, I am a reporter w ith CCTV and CNTV. You have often mentioned that r efor m is the biggest dividend China can receive. Recently I have also noticed that many netizens have been discussing this phrase on some major websites, including the 'I Have a Question for Premier' website hosted by CCTV, and they have high expectations on this. We understand that China's reform has come to uncharted waters and the prevalent view among the public is that reform in uncharted waters will be very difficult, as it may deal w ith groups of people w ith vested interests. What's more, those groups might impede reform. Under these circumstances, how can we unleash dividends through refor m? What do you have to consider when pushing forward refor m to the next stage? What areas do you need to focus on? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] The reason I said that refor m is the biggest dividend China can receive is that China's socialist market economy is still in the process of making improvements and there is a lot to be done w ith regards to unleashing productivity through reform.
There is still great potential for making sure the benefits of reform will reach the entire population. The implementation of reform lies in action. Actions speak louder than words. We must persist in market-oriented refor m. If we are to get to the key point, it is about involving the three tasks I have mentioned earlier to push forward reform that w ill bring about a domino e ffect.
In pushing forward economic transformation, we need to pay attention to fiscal, financial, and pr icing leverage, and carry out an open, tr ansparent, standardized, and complete r efor m of our fiscal and budgetary system. These actions will allow people to supervise the government's revenues more effectively, optimize its spending and revenues, and tilt its expenditure towards improving people's livelihood. In the financial sector, we must pursue market-oriented r efor m of the interest r ate and the exchange rate, develop a multi-tiered capital market, and raise the share of di r ect financing. We must also pr otect the investors, particularly the legitimate rights of small and medium investors. We can also drive transformation through opening up. The key is to further open up the service industry. C ertainly, C hina's trade, includi ng commodities trade, will continue to grow, and even at a faster rate, for years to come. This is an enormous opportunity for the world, and also a good opportunit y for Chinese enterprises to upgrade themselves in the course of fair competition.
To improve people's livelihood, we must reform the income distr ibution system. We should be brave enough to tackle head-on the two biggest gaps -- the gap between urban and rural areas, and the gap between different regions. We particular ly need to tackle head-on the urban-rural gap involving the largest population of over 800 million rural residents and over 500 million urban residents, and take action to gradually narrow this gap. We also need to implement refor m of the social security system and enhance the level of overall planning so as to gradually realize the reimbursement and continuation of medical and
old-age insur ance for people migrating from one place to another. This w ill also be conducive to the mobility of the labour force.
We need to push forward the reform and promotion of social equality, constantly eliminate regulations that impede social equality, and allow transparent rules to trump hidden rules. Meanw hile, we must promote the smooth and effective flow of private capital into financial, energy, and railw ay sectors, and pursue reform in the social sector so as to pr omote upw ard mobility. For example, the proportion of college students from rural ar eas is low. We need to gradually raise that to give hardworking students hope. While pursuing reform, we should not only focus on key areas, but also stress overall planning and coor dination. We want to pursue comprehensive refor m covering all sectors so as to continuously forge ahead in promoting socialist undertaking w ith Chinese characteristics.
You mentioned just now that our refor m has come to uncharted w aters. That is, we are going thr ough a difficult period because w e are going to tackle the problem of fixed, vested interests. It is now more difficult to deal with vested interests than it is to touch the soul. Nonetheless, no matter how deep the water may be, we have to w ade through because w e have no alternative. Reform concerns the destiny of our country, and the future of our nation. This requires courage, w isdom, and tenacity. Fortunately, w e can acquire this from our people and make solid pr ogress in refor m. Thank you.
[Taiw an Lien-ho Pao r eporter] Thank you, Mr Moderator. Greetings, Premier Li, I am a reporter with Taiwan's Lien-ho Pao. There have been major strides in cross-Strait relations over the recent years. I would like to ask you what plans and visions you have for further promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. What do you see as the opportunities and challenges for cross-Strait relations under the new circumstances? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] The two sides of the Strait belong to one China. The people residing on both sides are compatriots of flesh and blood. The word "compatr iot," and its concept, is deep-rooted in Chinese culture. And I believe this is the reason why the Chinese nation has thr ived unceasingly for over 5,000 years. We say that bones may be broken, but not the sinews. There is no knot that cannot be untied between compatriots who have a sibling bond.
We are very pleased to see that cross-Strait relations ar e developing in the direction of peace and that cross-Strait cooperation has yielded good results in recent years. I think as long as we uphold the one China pr inciple and safeguard the compatr iots' bond, there w ill be tremendous room and potential for advancing cross-Strait relations.
We should make full use of the opportunities in front of us, and keep expanding our chances for the future. The new government w ill carry out pr omises made by the previous government, and w e will work hard to identify new pillars of cooperation. As we push for more opening-up and development on the mainland, w e will give more consideration to the
well-being and interests of the Taiw an compatr iots. We are w illing to share development opportunities with Taiw an.
In the course of their development, Taiwan and Taiwan compatriots can make better use of the opportunities created by the mainland's development. Both the mainland and Taiwan belong to our common homeland. Together, w e should maintain and build it w ell, to make it a land full of flowers. I believe w e will eventually see a full moon when the flowers are in full bloom. Please also convey my sincere regards and good wishes to the compatriots in Taiwan. Thank you.
[Reporter from the Xinhua News Agency] Thank you, Moderator. I'm a reporter from the Xinhua News Agency. At the moment, there are a lot of discussions about urbanization and many different views have also surfaced. Some think that urbanization i s the natural result of the modernization process so it is not necessary to proactively push for it. Some also worry that as urbanization advances, many farmers will lose their land, and, as a result, a new class, a class of ur ban poor, w ill emerge. What does the Premier think about this issue? Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] This is another big question. I will do my best to answer this question briefly. You have just mentioned that there are many discussions about urbanization. I have hear d most of them, and also pay close attention to them. This is because urbanization in China is unprecedented in human history, in terms of its sheer size. It is not only important for China's development but w ill also affect the w orld. I think that these discussions and worries are aimed at smoothing the process of urbanization. Urbanization is the inevitable tr end of modernization, as well as the gener al desire of the far mers. It will not only spur tremendous consumption and investment demands, and create more job opportunities, but also directly enr ich the farmers and benefit the people. I often chat w ith the farmers dur ing my inspection tours in the countryside. When farmers talk about their aspirations for life in the future, many express themselves in one concise sentence, saying that they would like to live a life as good as those of the people living in the cities. This used to be an extravagant w ish for the farmers in the past. Now the door of China's urbanization has been opened for farmers and they can come and participate in secondary and tertiary industries in the cities. And those that stay in the countryside can increase their income and become r ich through an appropriate scale of operations. Currently, over ten million farmers migrate to urban areas each year, and this is an inevita ble trend.
What we have stressed is a new kind of urbanization that is people-oriented. Ther e are currently around 260 million migrant workers from r ural areas and it will be a long and complex process to gradually assimilate those with desires into the cities, since there must be employment and service support. Moreover, urbanization cannot depend on massive expansion, but rather on the coordinated development among large, middle, and small cities, w ith localized promotion for eastern, central, and wester n regions. We must also pay attention to preventing urban malaise. We must not allow one side to be filled w ith tall buildings, while the other is r idden with rows of shanty shacks. This government is deter mined to renovate over ten million shanties of all kinds. This is aimed at resolving the dual structure w ithin the cities, as well as low ering the threshold of urbanization. What is particularly important is that this new kind of urbanization must be complementary to the modernization of agriculture. We must protect the red line of arable land, ensure food security, and protect the farmers' interests. Urbanization is a complex and systematic construction that w ill bring profound changes to the economy and society. It requires the implementation of all kinds of supportive measur es. We w ill also encounter all kinds of problems that we w ill have
to resolve during the implementation process. It is said that more than 500 suggestions and proposals about urbanization have been r aised dur ing the Two Sessions. We are still calculating and will earnestly study them one by one in order to proactively and steadily push them forward. Thank you.
[Le Figaro reporter speaking in English] Nowadays environment pollution and food safety has become a very, very serious issue. We can see the sky in Beijing this weekend. Is it possible for the Chinese Government, is it possible to solve this problem while maintaining the speed of economic development, and will you give more space for the Chinese people and media to monitor this issue?
[Li Keqiang] I said ear lier that we must forge an upgraded version of the C hinese economy. That also includes [having a place] where the people can breathe clean air, drink safe w ater, and eat food with no w orries. Just now, Mr Reporter talked about, a period of time, in Beijing. Actually, the extensive regions of the eastern part of China have experienced hazy w eather, and like all of you, I am very upset. We must show gr eater resolve, and take more vigorous efforts to manage this problem, which has evolved over a long period of time. As for the key r egions and the man-made factors that w e have identified, we must manage these issues within the deadlines. As for water and soil pollution, we w ill
need to develop a clear understanding about the extent of the problem, and then take resolute steps t o fix the problem. Food safety is a matter of utmost importance. It has a direct bearing on the people's quality of life and physical health. The government should take strong measures to investigate and punish the heartless producers of substandard and fa ke foods, and let cr iminals pay a high pr ice.
I am also concerned over whether we can see rapid change to the extensive model of development. I once said befor e that we cannot be poor and backward w ith green mountains and clean w aters, but, also, we canno t be well-off in an environment that is exper iencing degradation. We need to further innovate in the ideas of development, and promote scientific development. First, we cannot incur new debts, this includes raising the environmental threshold; second, we n eed to speed up efforts to repay old debts, to include phasing out backward production capacities. The government should face the situation squarely and enforce the law with an iron fist.
We cannot sacrifice the environment to pursue economic growth that causes dissatisfaction among the people. It is very important that we must make public, and show transparency in, the situation of pollution, food safety issues, and the results of cleanup efforts so that the people and media organizations can supervise mo re fully and more effectively. This w ill also help to force enterprises and the government to live up to their responsibilities, and strengthen the people's awareness of
self-protection. Since we breathe the same air, we have to work hard together. Everyon e should pitch in, and the government should show a greater resolve to reassure the people. Thank you.
[China D aily reporter] Hello, Premier. I am a reporter from China Daily and its w ebsite. Just now you talked a lot about the goals and the steps of reform. We pay a lot of attention to reform of the re-education through the labour (lao jiao) system. We also wish to know if there is a timetable for reforming China's r e-education through the labour system. Thank you.
[Li Keqiang] Please allow me to answ er you concisely. The relevant authorities are w orking intensively to research and implement the plan to refor m China's re-education through the labour system, and the plan has a chance of being unveiled with this year. Thank you.
[Feng Huang Wei Shih reporter] Good day, Premier. I am Hong Kong Feng Huang Wei Shih [Phoenix TV] reporter Hu Yihu. I just noticed one detail: When you were responding to my media colleagues, you raised your hands more than 30 times. This。