Local incentives pay off in achievements

Retirees and homemakers practise taichi at a playground in Chaohu, Anhui province. [Photo by Li Yuanbo/For China Daily]

The State Council's nationwide policy inspection mechanism is encouraging local governments to make extraordinarily progress in industrial upgrading and improving people's livelihood, senior officials said.

The State Council will award 24 incentives to 25 provinces and autonomous regions, 82 cities and 116 counties for their outstanding achievements in implementing key policies in 2017, said Xi Yanchun, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office.

The awards were for their excellent performance in pushing forward supply-side reform, expanding demand, deepening innovation-driven development, improving the business environment and improving people's livelihood, Xi said at a news briefing on Friday.

It's part of the second nationwide inspection of policies held by the State Council since the Cabinet established a regular mechanism on policy implementation in 2017.

More grassroots areas have received incentives in this round of inspection than in 2017, Xi said.

Li Pumin, secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission, said incentive measures as part of supervision in the past two years have effectively encouraged healthy competition in development across regions.

Anhui province, for example, has been granted incentives and encouragement in its effort to nurture strategic emerging industries for two consecutive years. In 2017, strategic emerging industries in Anhui grew by 21.4 percent, contributing 31.4 percent of the province's total industrial output growth. Zhoushan in Zhejiang province－where the city's private investment grew by 23 percent in 2017 －has received such awards for two consecutive years for issuing corporate bonds.

Li said Hainan province, which also was given awards in the inspection, has issued many policies to boost private investment.

"While local government has done a good job in fulfilling its role in public services, they have been given a greater mandate in nonpublic services to the market and private investors to boost their vitality," he said.

Chen Yin, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the briefing that 14 municipalities, including Chengdu, Dalian and Wuxi, have received awards from the State Council for their outstanding progress in advancing the Made In China 2025 strategy, industrial upgrading and maintaining steady industrial growth.

"Places that are awarded incentives during this round of supervision have made a turnaround in industrial production, and local corporate revenues have accelerated in their improvements," Chen said.

These areas have made great efforts in developing smart manufacturing to boost new information technology and intelligent technology. They will be deeply integrated with traditional manufacturing to realize industrial upgrading, he said.

Wang Hesheng, deputy director of the National Health Commission, said that 38 regions and cities have received awards for their progress in reforming public hospitals.