Division of tasks laid out for implementing govt work report

The State Council released a document on April 9 detailing the division of main work tasks among ministries and departments for implementing the 2019 Government Work Report.

A total of 98 tasks in 13 aspects are appointed in line with their functions.

The implementing of major social economic goals is the responsibility of the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Commerce, the central bank, General Administration of Customs, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, State Administration of Foreign Exchange and others.

According to the Government Work Report, the main targets for economic and social development in 2019 are set as follows: GDP growth of 6–6.5 percent; over 11 million new urban jobs, a surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5 percent, and a registered urban unemployment rate within 4.5 percent; CPI increase of around 3 percent; a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, and stable, better-structured imports and exports; a macro leverage ratio that is basically stable, and effective prevention and control of financial and fiscal risks; a reduction of over 10 million in the rural poor population; personal income growth that is basically in step with economic growth; a further improvement in the environment; a drop of about 3 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP; continued reductions in the discharge of major pollutants.

The Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration will lead the job of implementing tax cuts. The policy of reducing employers’ social insurance premium payment burden will be led by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and Finance Ministry.

The General Office of the State Council will lead the implementation of the further reform of streamlining administration, delegating power and improving regulations and services.

According to the Government Work Report, the government will promote high-quality manufacturing, strengthen the foundations of industry and the capacity for technological innovation, boost the integrated development of advanced manufacturing and modernized services, and work faster to make China strong in manufacturing. That work will be taken by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the State Taxation Administration will be responsible to increase urban and rural personal incomes, boost capacity for consumption, and fully implement the revised Individual Income Tax Law to see that approximately 80 million taxpayers to whom reductions apply get the most out of these policies.

The National Development and Reform Commission also will lead the work of allocating 577.6 billion yuan ($86 billion) in the central government budget for related investment in 2019, an increase of 40 billion yuan from last year.

The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development will lead the work of intensifying poverty alleviation in areas of extreme poverty, strengthen infrastructure development in such areas, and ensure social safeguards for the most vulnerable groups.

The National Development and Reform Commission and other relative departments will be responsible for promoting coordinated development across regions and improving the quality of new urbanization.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other departments are responsible for preventing and controlling pollution. This year, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions should be cut by 3 percent, and there should be a continuous decline in PM 2.5 concentrations in key areas, according to the Government Work Report.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, and some other departments are responsible of accelerating state capital and SOE reforms, strengthening and improving the regulation of state assets, and continuing to conduct trial reforms to establish state capital investment and management companies.

According to the Government Work Report, China will follow the principle of competitive neutrality, treat enterprises under all forms of ownership equally when it comes to access to factors of production, market access and licenses, business operations, government procurement, public biddings, and so on. The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Finance Ministry will be responsible to deliver that work.

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce will be responsible for further easing controls over market access, shortening the negative list for foreign investment, and permitting wholly foreign funded enterprises to operate in more sectors.

In 2019, government budgetary spending on education will remain above 4 percent of GDP, and central government spending on education will exceed 1 trillion yuan, which will be delivered by the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Education.

The document also directs specific departments to implement policies on ethnic affairs, religion, overseas Chinese nationals, national defense, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan affairs, and diplomacy.