What State Council says about special bonds to fund transport infrastructure

Special bonds to fund transport infrastructure

China will allocate part of next year's special bonds quota to meet local needs for the construction of key projects, an executive meeting of the State Council decided on Sept 4.

The scope for the use of such bonds will be expanded, with a focus on transportation infrastructure including railroads, metro lines and urban parking lots, energy projects like power grids and natural gas pipeline networks in urban and rural areas, and ecological projects in agriculture, forestry and water conservancy as well as urban sewage and waste disposal, a statement released after the meeting said.

Services related to people's livelihoods such as vocational education, healthcare, elderly care, child care and urban utilities will also be prioritized, it said.

The meeting said funds raised from the special bonds should not be used in areas related to land reserves and real estate, for debt swaps, or for industrial projects that could be fully developed commercially.

The funds raised from the bonds should be readily available at the start of next year, it said.

The meeting also urged greater efforts in project management and preventing "half-finished projects".

The statement said funds raised from special bonds will be allocated to projects as required and will first go to well-prepared projects that have completed approval procedures.

Regions with a good track record of bond issuance and use and suitable conditions for construction this winter and next spring will be given favorable consideration, it said.

Data from the Ministry of Finance showed that 2 trillion yuan ($280.8 billion) of special bonds were issued in China in the first eight months of this year, accounting for 93.3 percent of this year's planned quota.

Outline sets three goals for sports by 2050

China plans to develop into a modern sports power by 2050, according to an outline published on Sept 2 that set three strategic goals to be achieved in stages from 2020 to 2050.

The outline on building a leading sports nation, issued by the General Office of the State Council, said that by 2020, a new sports development mechanism adapted to the building of a moderately prosperous society should be established.

By 2035, 45 percent of the population should be involved in regular exercise, the sports area per person should reach 2.5 square meters, and the sports industry should become one of the pillars supporting China's economic development.

To encourage wider public engagement in sports, efforts will be made in such areas as improving public services, building more sports facilities and organizing more national sports activities, the outline said.

It also targets better competitive sporting performances, a stronger sports industry, a more vibrant sporting culture, and enhanced sports exchanges.

A modern sports competition system should be established to promote professional sports and raise the level of competitive sports in a bid to help Chinese athletes perform better on the global stage, according to the outline.

China is expected to participate in all events during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and achieve its best winter games results, it said.

According to the outline, efforts will be made to speed up integration of the internet, big data and artificial intelligence with the sports-related real economy in order to promote the upgrading of sports-related manufacturing and improve the quality of services related to sports.

The outline also said government departments need to set individual goals and tasks to ensure the three strategic goals are completed on time.