Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday China's economy had
developed satisfactorily in the first quarter of this year but
"some key problems still remain".
In the first quarter, China's economy grew steadily and fast,
farm production was stable, industrial restructuring made new
progress and both the employment rate and people's incomes rose
markedly, said Wen.
But "China found it difficult to raise grain output and farmers'
incomes, the challenge of reducing energy consumptions and
greenhouse gas emissions proved arduous, money and credit grew
excessively, and fixed assets investment and the trade surplus
continued to increase", said Wen.
To prevent the economy from overheating, the Chinese government
should promptly take economic and legal measures and strengthen
macro control.
Subsidies should be provided to farmers to help them with grain
production and the subsidies for purchasing production materials
such as fertilizer and machine tools should be allocated and the
country's minimum purchasing prices for grain must not be lower
than last year, said Wen.
China should curb the fast growth in products that consume too
much energy and lose no time in eliminating outdated production
methods.
To prevent fixed assets investment from rebounding, stricter
market access and environmental standards should be set for new
construction projects and land use should continue to be
tightened.
Facing excess liquidity, China should curb the excessive supply
of money and credit, strengthen supervision of cross-border flows
of short-term capital and improve foreign currency management.
Wen also said China should clear up policies that give exports
inappropriate preferences and expand its imports of advanced
technology and equipment.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2007)