REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT

Delivered at the Fifth Session of the Fourteenth Beijing Municipal People’s Congress on January 14, 2017

Cai Qi, Acting Mayor of Beijing

Fellow Deputies,

On behalf of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, I will now report to you on the work of the government for your deliberation and approval, and for comments and suggestions from members of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

I. Review of Work in 2016

Thanks to the care from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the leadership of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, as well as the support and supervision from the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, and under the guidance of General-Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks delivered during his inspection tour to Beijing, we fully implemented the Framework Plan for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development and reaffirmed our vision of achieving innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development. Committed to steady progress while maintaining stability, and bearing in mind the capital’s strategic positioning, we carried out supply-side reforms and quickened our steps in relocating institutions non-essential to the capital, transforming the growth mode, improving the environment, shoring up weak links, and facilitating coordinated development. Thus we completed major tasks of the year and got off to a good start in the 13th Five-Year Plan (FYP) period. Preliminary estimations show that the city’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) grew by around 6.7% over the previous year, CPI went up by 1.4%, registered unemployment rate in urban areas stood at 1.41%, general public budget revenue increased by 7.5%, and disposable per capita income for both urban and rural residents grew by about 6.7% in real terms. Energy consumption, water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per 10,000 yuan of GRP dropped by over 4%, around 3% and around 5% respectively. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration dropped by 9.9%.

1. We made new progress in promoting coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.

Relocation of institutions non-essential to the capital went on in an orderly fashion. We strictly enforced the Catalogue of Prohibited and Restricted New Additional Industries, and rejected a total of 16,400 applications for business registration. We shut down 335 enterprises in general manufacturing or causing pollution, and relocated 117 low-end commodity markets of various kinds. Beijing City University and Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture were being relocated to the suburbs as scheduled; and we stepped up construction of new premises for Beijing Tiantan Hospital and the second phase construction of Beijing Tongren Hospital Development Zone Branch in Daxing District.

Construction of the administrative center of Beijing Municipality progressed well. We completed its master planning and detailed urban designs for six key areas, and stepped up construction of the office area. We coordinated 350 key projects in five fields, including infrastructure and environment management, with 106 projects already underway. Construction of Universal Studios Beijing started.

Fresh progress was made in our endeavor to achieve breakthroughs first in priority areas: Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway and the Beijing section of Beijing-Shenyang High Speed Railway were under construction as scheduled; Construction of Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway Beijing section started; Beijing-Taipei Expressway Beijing section is now completed and in service. We implemented Enhanced Measures for Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and led the effort to form a coordinating mechanism for the three localities and neighboring regions in water pollution prevention and control. We supported the building of Zhangjiakou-Chengde Ecological Function Zone, added another 100,000 mu (6,667 hectares) to the Beijing-Hebei watershed protection forests, and increased forest coverage by 197,000 mu (13,133 hectares) as part of the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Phase Two Project. We launched 35 Beijing-related projects in Caofeidian Demonstration Area for Coordinated Development and the initial phase construction of Tianjin Binhai-Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park. The Baoding-Zhongguancun Innovation Center now houses 45 Beijing enterprises or institutions, and 53 Beijing bio-pharmaceutical enterprises have settled in Cangzhou, Hebei Province. Also in Cangzhou, Beijing Hyundai Motor Company opened its fourth manufacturing plant. The main structure of Beijing’s new airport and its supporting facilities are under full-scale construction, and the plan for the new airport economic zone has been approved.

We worked hard to build a community for collaborative innovation. We implemented the Program for Reform and Experiments in Systemically Facilitating Innovation in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and launched the Action Plan for Building a Zhongguancun Science Park Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Community for Collaborative Innovation. We facilitated the building of innovation intermediaries like Zhangbei Cloud Computing Industrial Base, and constructed a number of cross-regional service platforms for innovation and entrepreneurship.

We made solid progress in preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Preparatory organizations were set up, and plans were made for the overall arrangement and division of labor. We launched the planning and design of Olympic venues, and the invitation for bids for the design of National Speed Skating Oval went well. Series of Games-related cultural and sports activities were organized, igniting people’s passion for winter sports.

Construction of gardens for the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition got underway; transport facilities and other infrastructure were under construction; and encouraging progress was made in inviting participation.

We did solid work in one-on-one support and collaborative assistance, with 4.265 billion yuan invested and 661 assistance projects completed. We established a paired-assistance mechanism and deepened cooperation between Beijing and Hebei Province in one-on-one assistance.

2. We deepened reform and opening-up at all fronts.

We fulfilled tasks in deepening reforms, and made breakthroughs in certain key areas. We continued to “streamline administration and delegate powers, balance decentralization with proper management, and improve services”. We eliminated 77 administrative approval procedures, ended the non-administrative licensing approval, and abolished or adjusted 74 items subject to community-level administrative certification. We launched the new registration system under which “five permits” (including business license, organization code certificate, tax registration certificate, social security registration certificate, and statistics registration certificate) were simplified to one business license, and the time needed for business registration was shortened to two to four workdays. The pilot scheme to reform approval procedures for construction of public service projects has produced tangible results. The online investment project approval and supervision system, managed by the Beijing Municipal Administrative Service Center, is now in operation. We published the list of powers and duties of government departments.

We advanced reforms in key sectors, adopted policies and measures encouraging private investment, and continued to carry forward demonstration projects of public-private partnership. We implemented the new-edition government pricing catalogue, and created a new pricing system for non-residential use of water, electricity, gas and heating, featuring differentiated pricing between districts. We developed implementation plans for state-owned assets and SOE reforms, pressed ahead with 15 pilot reforms, and closed 55 “zombie companies”. Municipal-owned enterprises maintained steady profit growth.

We carried out a comprehensive pilot project of further opening up the service sector with 80% of the work completed. We developed eight replicable institutional innovations, and created ten new business formats. The total volume of trade in services grew by more than 10%. Exports from enterprises with both proprietary brands and intellectual property continued to increase as a share of total exports. We actualized 13 billion US dollars of foreign investment and invested 15.5 billion US dollars overseas. We successfully held the 4th China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

3. We continued to foster new drivers for growth.

We laid out plans for supply-side structural reforms. We worked hard to relocate non-essential institutions, improve resource allocation, and create an economic structure based on high-end, precision and sophisticated technologies. We endeavored to de-leverage, reduce overcapacity and excess inventory, lower costs, and shore up weak links. We reached ahead of schedule the yearly coal production capacity reduction target of 1.8 million tons set by the state. The pilot reform of replacing business tax with value-added tax in the service sector was in full swing, and additional tax cuts reached 17.57 billion yuan. We lowered the social insurance contribution rate, and reduced tax burden for enterprises by 5 billion yuan.

We implemented the master plan to make Beijing a national center for scientific discovery and technological innovation; formulated 28 reform measures for R&D projects and funding management; carried out 20 policies on border entry and exit by foreign talent; and put into action the “Internet Plus” initiative. The Public Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative continued to thrive; new technologies, original products, novel business formats and models were emerging; and the number of newly-established technology companies grew by 22.4%. The gross revenue of Zhongguancun Science Park (Z-Park) grew by over 12%, the transaction value of technology contracts for the entire city increased by 14.1%, and technology contributed over 60% of economic growth.

High-end industries maintained a good momentum for growth. Financial service, information and technology service greatly supported economic growth. The service sector contributed over 80% of GRP. Cultural and creative industries continued to flourish, and gross revenue of companies in the sector went up by more than 8%. We implemented “Made in China 2025” Beijing Platform for Action, and value added generated by modern manufacturing rose by over 10%.

4. We took solid steps in urban management.

We formulated measures for comprehensively deepening reform and upgrading urban planning, construction and management. We established the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and Land Resources and Beijing Municipal Commission of City Management, through reorganizing related institutions. We started to prepare a municipal master plan, which is to be combined with Beijing’s land-use plan.

Urban management was enhanced. We demolished over 30 million square meters of illegal constructions, and cleared over 1400 plus underground living spaces, rectified the illegal renting of 15,600 partitioned rooms, and closed 33,000 business operations without a permit or license. We improved the environment of side streets and back lanes and in neighborhoods, and undergrounded 100 kilometers of overhead cables in the six urban districts. We drafted measures for reforming the system of household registration, adopted a residence permit system and a score-based registration policy. Both the growth and the growth rate of the city’s permanent population continued to drop, and permanent population of the six urban districts reached the turning point of decline.

We remained dedicated to air pollution prevention and control. We replaced coal with clean energy for boilers with a total capacity of 8,480 tons of steam per hour and for heating facilities in 663 villages; cut coal consumption by 2 million tons, making the total coal consumption fall below 10 million tons. We eliminated 440,000 obsolete automobiles, and closed and rectified 4,470 “scattered, disorderly and polluting” enterprises. We strengthened pollution control. The daily household waste disposal capacity was increased by 5,350 tons, and the recycling rate was raised to 56%. Sewage treatment rate reached 90%, and the use of recycled water amounted to 1 billion cubic meters. We completed the South-North Water Diversion Project Tongzhou Branch and its supporting water works, and the yearly water diversion volume through the middle route exceeded 1.1 billion cubic meters. The water storage in Miyun Reservoir surpassed 1.6 billion cubic meters. We ensured oversight of the entire ecological forestry on the flatland, and improved policies for compensation on such forestry in hilly areas. We added another 408 hectares to green space, and completed afforestation of 190,000 mu (12,667 hectares). The green coverage ratio was brought to 59.3%.

We took solid steps in easing traffic congestion. Key new roads including the second phase of Guangqu Road were completed and in service. The north section of Subway Line 16 went into smooth operation. We increased 20 kilometers of rail transit lines, making the total mileage in operation 574 kilometers. We increased bus lanes by 100 kilometers, and improved 300 kilometers of cycle tracks. The ratio of green commuting reached 71% in downtown.

5. We further enhanced urban-rural integrated development.

A pilot reform project was launched in Daxing District to make collectively-owned rural land available for commercial constructions through market transaction, and the first parcel of such land was up for sale. We developed a comprehensive plan for deepening rural reforms, basically completed the village-level reforms in rural collective property rights, and carried through reforms in state-owned forest farms. The implementation plan for the pilot project of Beijing Great Wall National Park System was approved. We developed plans for implementing the national pilot project of new-type urbanization in Tongzhou, Fangshan and Daxing districts of Beijing, and coordinated the development of 42 priority towns. Urban residency was granted in one go to all rural residents of the first group of townships in the “First Greenbelt” pilot project, and 90% of the relocation tasks were completed.

We implemented the measures for developing high-efficiency and water-saving agriculture through restructuring and transformation, and downsized the land devoted to food production to 1.1 million mu (73,333 hectares). We initiated the project of renovating and upgrading six rural infrastructure networks (water supply, drainage, waste disposal, power grids, road networks, and the Internet), and reinforced 76,000 rural homes to resist earthquake and be energy-efficient. We provided targeted assistance to low-income villages and rural households, and the per capita disposal income for low-income rural households grew faster than that of the average rural residents.

6. We continued to improve people’s life.

We implemented 28 projects pertinent to people’s well-being, promoted employment and business creation, and 428,000 new jobs were created in the urban area. We advanced the integration of medical care systems for urban and rural residents, and unified standards for the maximum costs of outpatient and inpatient treatment and the critical illness insurance benefits. We basically completed the reform in pension schemes for government agencies and public institutions. Assistance was offered to eligible families impoverished by medical bills. We provided allowances for poor people with disabilities and nursing care allowances for those with severe disabilities. We promoted the implementation of regulations on home-based elderly care service, adopted ten supporting measures for it, and set up 53 sub-district and town/township eldercare centers and 150 community eldercare service stations. We built and upgraded 1,700 convenience stores. We issued eight measures regulating the real estate market, so as to ensure its steady and sound development. We started construction of another 56,000 units of government-subsidized housing, and completed construction of 64,000 units. We renovated buildings for 39,000 homes in run-down areas. We made our city more livable by building parks, green spaces, cultural and sports centers, parking lots, and other public facilities on areas reclaimed through relocation of institutions and demolition of illegal buildings.

We improved our capacity in delivering basic public services. We rolled out plans for deepening the reform in the entrance examination systems for high school and college education, adopted a job rotation system for principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools, and increased the proportion of children receiving compulsory education at near-home schools through open enrollment. We carried out the second phase of Three-Year Pre-School Education Action Plan and created 15,000 more places in pre-school education. We issued plans for comprehensively reforming public hospitals in urban areas, and increased transparency in pharmaceutical procurement. Municipal-owned hospitals adopted a mechanism that required all patients seeking non-emergency treatment to make outpatient appointments in advance. We optimized the hierarchical diagnosis system, drew up basic standards for the two-way referral of cases of four chronic diseases between medical institutions at the community level, and set up ten more regional health alliances. We established a national demonstration area for public cultural service systems, carried out the National Fitness Program, and public cultural and sporting activities flourished.

We strengthened and innovated in social management, and stepped up efforts to build exemplary areas for integrating city management with public service and public security. We held elections of new village committees. We promoted social programs for women and children, and intensified our work related to ethnic groups, religion, Taiwan and overseas Chinese. We further promoted national defense mobilization, strengthened mutual support between the government, the military and the people, and thus fostered greater solidarity. We took solid steps to ensure workplace safety, executed the Three-Year Action Plan for Food and Drug Safety and achieved stable situations on both fronts. We maintained harmony and stability in Beijing through our efforts to identify and resolve social disputes, transform and upgrade the public security system, improve our counter-terrorism capability, and crack down on all kinds of illegal acts and criminal activities.

Over the past year, we saw new progress in the government’s self-improvement. We fully implemented the guidelines set at the 6th Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee. We heightened our awareness of political ideology, overall interests, the core leadership, and compliance, in particular the latter two. We strictly observed political discipline and rules. We conducted the education campaign that calls on Party members to study the CPC Constitution and important speeches by the General Secretary and to be a qualified member worthy of the Party’s name. We implemented resolutions and decisions by the Municipal People’s Congress and its standing committee, and subjected our performance and legal compliance to the supervision by the Municipal People’s Congress and Municipal CPPCC Committee. We listened to comments and suggestions from various non-ruling parties, associations of industry and commerce, individuals without political affiliations, as well as people’s groups. We processed in total four motions (yi’an) and 1,049 suggestions (jianyi) made by deputies of the Municipal People’s Congress, and 938 proposals (ti’an) offered by the Municipal CPPCC Committee members. We devoted earnest efforts to government’s legislation work; submitted four local regulations to the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress for approval; and formulated, revised or abolished 11 administrative rules. We strictly implemented the Eight-Point Decision made by the CPC Central Committee on improving the Party and government conduct; continued to rectify four forms of misconduct within the Party, i.e. formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance; and took targeted measures against inaction, negligence and the abuse of power by officials. We strengthened administrative supervision and auditing, performance-based management, as well as administrative accountability. We adopted the mechanism of “dual responsibility for one post”, promoted government integrity and combated corruption, focusing on cases of bad practice and corruption that ordinary people feel strongly about, and investigated and prosecuted violations of the law and breaches of discipline.

Fellow deputies,

Last year’s achievements were made possible by the firm leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and by the concerted effort of the entire city led by the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee. For this and on behalf of the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality, I would like to express our gratitude to all people in our city, to deputies of the Municipal People’s Congress and members of the Municipal CPPCC Committee, to all non-ruling parties, to people’s groups and personages from different walks of life, to all CPC central organizations, central government provinces, autonomous regions and other municipalities, to officers and men and women in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police Force based in Beijing, and to our compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, overseas Chinese and international friends who have cared for and given support to the capital’s development.

Meanwhile, we are keenly aware of the tensions and problems in economic and social development as well as drawbacks and shortcomings in the work of the government. We face major difficulties in controlling the population size and tackling resource and environmental constraints. We have a long way to go to control air pollution, ease traffic congestion, treat wastes and sewage, and deal with “big city syndromes”. We are under great pressure to ensure steady growth. The resources for technological innovation are yet to be fully tapped, and the growth of emerging industries is not solidly buttressed. There is still room for improving the social services important to people’s well-being, and the undersupply as well as unbalanced distribution of quality public services exists side by side. We need to improve urban management mechanisms and refine management. Government functions are not fully transformed, and we are lagging behind in regulation methods. There is a lack of public-service mentality and efficiency in certain government departments. Inaction, abuse of power, violations of the law and breaches of discipline still occur from time to time. In this regard, we will hold ourselves accountable to the Party and to our people and address these issues head on in days to come.