Delivered at the Third Session of the Thirteenth Beijing Municipal People's Congress on January 25, 2010

Guo Jinlong, Mayor of Beijing

Fellow Deputies,

On behalf of the Beijing Municipal People's Government, I submit to you a report on the government's work for your deliberation and approval, and invite the members of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to provide comments and suggestions.

I. Review of the Past Year's Work

The year 2009 was an extraordinary year in the course of the capital's development. Under the firm leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the State Council and the Beijing CPC Municipal Committee, the people of the entire city strengthened their confidence, united in struggle, overcame difficulties, blazed new trails, and completed the aims and tasks of winning a tough fight against the global financial crisis and accomplishing the important mission of celebrating the 60th anniversary of New China.

– We achieved remarkable results in coping with the global financial crisis. Preliminary estimates suggest Beijing's gross regional product (GRP) was 1.18659 trillion yuan, over 10.1% higher than the previous year; per capita GRP was over US$ 10,000; and total local fiscal revenue was 202.6 billion yuan, an increase of 10.3%. The registered urban unemployment rate was 1.44%. The disposable income of urban residents was 26,738 yuan, an increase of 9.7% in real terms, and the per capita net income of farmers was 11,986 yuan, an increase of 13.4% in real terms.

– The National Day activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China were a complete success. They met the general requirements of being “grand, happy, economical and harmonious,” won high praise and widespread acclaim both at home and abroad, and were given high grades by the Central Committee, the State Council and the people of the entire country.

Over the past year, we earnestly implemented the resolutions of the Second Session of the Thirteenth Beijing Municipal People's Congress in the following work.

1. We spared no effort to organize National Day celebrations.

Organizing the National Day activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of New China was another magnificent and glorious task entrusted to the city of Beijing by the Central Committee following the Beijing Olympic Games and the Paralympics. Under the leadership of the Central Leading Group for National Day Celebrations and the Beijing Municipal Preparatory Committee for National Day Celebrations, we made full use of our Olympic experience, established a sound organizational and command system and operation control mechanism to ensure coordinated progress in all our work and reach a successful conclusion.

Carefully organizing celebration activities. The various headquarters comprehensively established the “double-duty” work system in which people from districts, counties and departments were enlisted to help with the work, carefully designed plans for the event, scientifically scheduled training rehearsals, and achieved the goal of being “high quality and innovative.” One hundred thousand people participated in the National Day parade and 80,000 students took part as background performers on Tiananmen Square. We made use of high-tech methods and refrained from traditional displays to present a creative and original evening party with a clear theme. Reserves and the female militia, representing the national militia and reserve forces, were presented for inspection. A rich and colorful celebration was launched, and the Seventh Chinese Flower Exposition was successfully held. Thanks to the existing management system and integrated command and control, there were no errors during site operations and no accidents inside or outside the event. Participants trained assiduously, and many touching stories emerged which fully expressed the participants' love for the great motherland.

Guaranteeing overall good service. We maintained “close service, integrated service, and active service” and promptly helped troops presented for inspection to overcome difficulties. Establishing a multi-level, multi-dimensional and seamless security network ensured complete safety for the National Day celebrations. Optimized transport organization methods ensured traffic during celebration activities and social traffic operated harmoniously. No effort was spared in meteorology, electricity, water supply, sanitation, communications, medicine, food supply and other logistics work for the smooth and orderly running of the city. The overhaul of Chang'an Avenue and the renovation projects along the avenue were completed to a high standard. Environmental improvements and landscape construction were completed conscientiously, and the urban and rural environment was clean, tidy and beautiful.

Creating a civilized and harmonious social atmosphere. The activities of “welcoming in National Day, emphasizing culture, and promoting new practices” were carried out extensively, education activities with patriotic themes such as lectures by the people were organized, and over 240 performances of 130 artistic programs were staged. News coverage was rich and colorful and sang the main themes of the times, with a panoramic display of the grand celebrations. Some 950,000 volunteers participated enthusiastically and provided warm and attentive security, traffic and other services during the celebrations. Measures such as traffic restrictions were announced in advance with attention paid to minimizing the impact of preparation work on residents' lives. The people of the entire city served the overall cause, gave their full support, strived to contribute and united as a powerful force for successfully holding the National Day celebrations.

2. We vigorously ensured stable and rapid development of the capital's economy.

At the beginning of the year, due to the serious impact of the global financial crisis, the economy was clearly on a downward trend and we were under immense pressure to maintain economic growth. Under extremely difficult conditions we resolutely implemented the central leadership's rescue package, formulated and implemented a series of specific measures in light of the particular conditions, reversed the adverse situation of declining economic growth, and achieved all our main economic targets for the year.

Promoting rapid growth in investment. First, we have worked hard to bring into play the leading role of government investment, make overall plans and rapidly implement 30.9 billion yuan of municipal government investment, carry out the responsibility system of investing in major projects, and speed up the landing of projects. Second, we created new work ideas, implemented government land reserves on a large scale, and finished first-level land development investment of 116.5 billion yuan, which has laid a good foundation for controlling land supply, improving the urban and rural environment, and promoting development of projects. Third, we made innovation in the mechanism of green examination and approval channels, efficiently approved 1,040 key projects, shortened approval times by approximately 50%, and completed investments that represent 37.5% of the entire city's investments. Fourth, we created new demolition and resettlement compensation methods, introduced market mechanisms for evaluating prices, increased efforts aimed at recovery in kind, and coordinated efforts to solve difficult problems such as land requisition and demolition. Fifth, we accelerated the development of an investment and financing platform, set up a municipal state capital operation management center, established an agricultural bonds company and a high-end manufacturing guarantee compensation fund, and moved forward with developing the role of the specialist investment and financing platform. May marked the end of nine consecutive months of negative growth in total fixed asset investment, and the total for the year was 485.84 billion yuan, an increase of 26.2%.

Maintaining prosperous development in the consumer market. We implemented the state's policies and measures to promote consumption, paid 370 million yuan in subsidies, and carried out the work of selling home appliances and automobiles in the countryside and swapping old for new. The total area of commercial residences sold rose 82.3%. Vehicle sales increased 30.8%. We also widely launched promotional activities under various titles and pushed forward the upgrading of special commercial areas. We accelerated the establishment of a rural circulation market. We achieved a 72% coverage rate of “one village, one market.” We implemented the post-Olympics tourism development strategy, and total tourist revenue reached 244.21 billion yuan, an increase of 10%. Last year the total volume of retail sales of consumer goods was 530.99 billion yuan, an increase of 15.7%.

Promoting stable development of foreign trade. Faced with serious decline in demand in the international market, we clearly set the work target of “no decrease in the city's foreign trade rating and volume in the country,” increased the foreign trade development fund, and supported enterprises in expanding international markets. The decline in Beijing's imports and exports gradually narrowed, and exports reached $48.36 billion, retaining the same proportion as the city had in the country's total in the previous year. We formulated and implemented policies to promote trade in services and promote service outsourcing, and accelerated the development of a service outsourcing demonstration city. The Tianzhu Comprehensive Bonded Area went into operation. We developed and implemented policies on multinational companies' regional headquarters, improved the investment promotion system, established 15 new investment companies, achieved increases in contracted and utilized foreign investment, and increased the number of overseas-invested enterprises to 140. We strengthened Beijing's exchanges with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, successfully held the High-Tech Expo, the International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo, the China Trade in Services Congress, and the International Copyright Fair.

Increasing our assistance to enterprises. We simultaneously assisted with operations and development, and promptly formulated and implemented 66 assistance measures. Through measures such as cutting the rate of social safety net contributions and adjusting the payment cycle, enterprises and workers paid 9.73 billion yuan less than they otherwise would. We provided job position subsidies and social insurance subsidies worth 550 million yuan, and helped enterprises to stabilize 730,000 jobs. We created multi-channel arrangement funding worth 5 billion yuan, and supported the stable production and operations of enterprises. We implemented a policy of structural tax cuts, and reduced the burden on businesses and residents by 17.15 billion yuan. We established a support agency which helped solve 1,594 difficulties and problems for businesses. We paid attention to the role played by financial institutions, adopted a number of industrial and commercial administration measures, and helped companies to solve financing problems. The production and operation of the city's enterprises basically remained stable. A number of key enterprises bucked the trend however and increased capital and expanded production, and large industrial enterprises' value-added increased 9.1%.

We gave our full support to the recovery and reconstruction work in Shifang, Sichuan, implemented the requirement for “completing three years of tasks in two years,” provided a total of 5.26 billion yuan in construction aid, and completed 80% of our construction aid projects.

3. We vigorously promoted economic structural adjustments.

We persevered in integrating growth and restructuring, announced and implemented plans for restructuring and revitalizing six major industries, and further enhanced the coordination and sustainability of the capital's development.

Accelerating technological innovation. We formulated and implemented guidelines on developing the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, forcefully pushed forward innovative reforms, 202 entities applied for inclusion in pilot projects to introduce equity-based incentives. In the reform of the core area administrative approval system, 17 municipal-level examination and approval items were delegated. We integrated the capital's innovation resources, established platforms in four areas including bio-medicine and new materials, established 12 R&D and experiment service centers with the cooperation of central government entities, and promoted the establishment of 30 industrial technology alliances. We actively assisted enterprises in their application for status as new- and high-technology enterprises, purchased 3.31 billion yuan of independent innovation products, and successfully listed 9 technology companies on the ChiNext market. We improved the service system of intellectual property rights. The number of authorized patents in the city increased 29.1%, and completed technology contracts rose 20.4%. We actively supported the development of a future sci-tech city, implemented a project for attracting human resources from overseas and the human resources project for attracting high-end leaders to Zhongguancun, and made new progress in the work of attracting human resources.

Making great efforts to develop high-end industry. We strengthened cooperation with central government ministries and commissions as well as enterprises and institutions, signed strategic cooperation agreements with 24 of them, established overall service platforms, and made every effort to coordinate with and provide service for them. We conscientiously secured the landing of the BOE eighth-generation LCD panel line, the Beijing Linkong Economic Functional Zone Aviation Industrial Park and other major industrial projects, actively promoted the development of industrial centers for new petrochemical materials, digital televisions, and mobile phones. We implemented acquisition projects for Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Delphi automotive parts, and Saab automotive technology. We formulated development guidelines for the financial sector and the software and information service industries, accelerated development of the Lize Financial Business District, and started to work on the extension of the Central Business District and Financial Street. We invested 1.3 billion yuan to support the development of cultural and creative, sports, tourism and other industries. We improved policies and measures for promoting the development of film, television, animation, online games, and other industries, and established an alliance in cultural and creative industries. The producer services increased 9.8%, and cultural and creative industries, 11.2%, and the proportion of tertiary industries reached 75.8%.

Working hard to complete all projects to conserve energy and reduce emissions. We strengthened controls on motor vehicle pollution, removed another 106,000 high-emission cars from the roads, supported the formation of a “green fleet” for cargo, and purchased 1,000 energy-saving environmentally friendly buses. We completed the transformation of 3.92 million square meters of urban energy-saving buildings and made 16,000 rural houses better heated and energy-saving. We launched a pilot project to replace coal-fired heating boilers at and above 20 steam tons with clean-energy furnaces, finished a project to replace the heating pipe network in 179 old residential quarters and ventilation in old residential buildings housing 100,000 families, and completed the switch from coal to electricity in cultural heritage conservation areas. We distributed 13.7 million high efficiency lighting products. We created a new 667-hectare water-saving irrigation area and built 166 water-saving entities and residential quarters. We eliminated 62 enterprises that consumed high levels of energy or water, or that were heavy polluters. Our work of conserving energy and reducing emissions continued to be in the first rank of the entire country.

Promoting urban and rural integrated development. We introduced an action plan to promote accelerated development in the city's southern area and the Yongding River greenbelt zone plan, and accelerated the implementation of guidelines on developing new cities and ecological conservation areas. Breakthroughs were achieved in the pilot reform to integrate urban and rural areas in Beiwu and Dawangjing villages. We formulated and implemented the modern urban agriculture base and comprehensive development plan, and added 2,867 hectares of protected agriculture. We promulgated guidelines on developing the processing industry for agricultural products, and implemented the project to transform and elevate rural tourism. Agricultural garden sightseeing and folk tourism further developed. We instituted a plan for developing small cities and towns and guidelines on implementing it, and finished drawing up 1,674 additional plans for developing villages. We raised more than 8 billion yuan to support rural projects to ensure safe drinking water, alleviate congestion on neighborhood roads, improve waste disposal, renovate toilet facilities, and upgrade wastewater treatment as well as to provide electricity to “light up,” supply heating to “warm up,” and make sustainable use of agricultural resources to “recycle up,” which will cover more than 1,700 administrative villages and benefit 1.2 million rural residents. We relocated 6,811 people from mountainous regions, and continued to remediate abandoned mines and make small watersheds cleaner and more ecological.

4. We accelerated the reform of major areas and key links.

Increasing the intensity of reforms in the administrative system. We completed the reform of municipal and district (county) government agencies, adjusted and optimized 19 municipal government departments, and scaled down 27 municipal government departments for discussing and coordinating affairs and ad hoc agencies. We proposed the requirements of “speeding up, simplifying, delegating, canceling, and coordinating,” deepened reform of the administrative approval system, canceled 24 approval items of departments, and delegated 103 items of administrative approval authority.

Making every effort to push forward rural reforms. We established information platforms at the municipal and district (county) levels on the transfer of agricultural land and launched the pilot reform of the system of collective forest rights. We comprehensively implemented agricultural subsidy policies, established a mechanism for helping low-income rural households increase their incomes. We completed the reform of the property system in the rural collective economy for 346 entities. We formulated implementation measures for the Law on Specialized Farmer Cooperatives, and registered 1,270 additional cooperatives.

Vigorously driving financial reforms and innovations. We started development of the experimental area for the comprehensive reform of rural finances, established an agricultural industry investment fund, and established an agricultural reinsurance system. We approved the establishment of 21 micro-credit companies and four county banks. We successfully secured pilot projects to set up real estate investment trusts, consumer finance companies and provincial investment and financing platforms. Six commercial banks set up specialist structures for small and medium-sized high-tech companies at Zhongguancun. Exchanges for technology, forest rights, copyright and foodstuffs opened, and the factor market constantly improved.

Promoting the reform of state-owned enterprises. We successfully implemented six large restructuring projects, including the Beijing Tourism Group and the Capital Agribusiness Group, and reduced the number of enterprises directly invested by the city's state-owned assets departments to 46. We completed the work of closing down or reorganizing 125 failing enterprises. We put effort into promoting the restructuring and listing of state-owned enterprises, with seven newly listed companies. We further strengthened supervision and administration of state-owned assets, and the profit from municipal state-owned enterprises increased 59.5%.

5. We made vigorous efforts to solve the practical problems of vital interest to the masses.

Strengthening work on employment and the social safety net. We promulgated 15 policies for promoting employment of college graduates, implemented the plan of hiring college graduates as village leaders and social workers, and established an additional 10,000 entry-level positions in social management administration, public services and teaching and research, and 96.4% of college graduates found employment. We established an equal employment system for urban and rural areas, and helped 108,000 people looking for work find employment and 102,000 rural workers change employment. We dynamically eliminated zero employment in families. We set up an enterprise redundancy reporting system and a mediation mechanism, and labor relations remained harmonious and stable. We began to issue social safety net cards, and 192 designated medical institutions achieved the immediate settlement of medical treatment. We established an old-age insurance system for urban and rural residents, and became the first in China to achieve an integrated old-age security system for urban and rural residents. We implemented 11 preferential policies for the elderly, and gave 15,800 new beds to them. We promulgated the “nine provisions policy” of providing services to the elderly in their homes and helping the disabled. We accelerated the implementation of the low-income housing project, allocated an accumulative of 19,000 units of low-cost housing, repaired 24,500 families' homes in the old city, finished repairing 1,052 families' dilapidated homes, and relocated more than 8,000 households from three shantytowns at Mencheng, Mentougou District; Nanyuan, Fengtai District; and Shangying, Tongzhou District. We rebuilt and repaired 6,500 houses for households in extreme difficulty in the countryside and families entitled to preferential government treatment. We started building and purchased 9.379 million square meters of policy-related homes, and completed 2.295 million square meters.

Accelerating the development of social programs. We completed the standardization of 200 primary schools, renovated teachers' dormitories in 300 rural primary and secondary schools, and started safety works in primary and secondary schools. We steadily implemented the performance-based pay reform for compulsory education school teachers. We promulgated guidelines on strengthening the ranks of teachers in rural areas, and guided the transfer of high-quality educational resources to rural areas. We formulated and implemented the “healthy Beijingers” decade action program. We increased the fund-raising standard to 420 yuan per person covered by the new type of rural cooperative medical care system, and the participation rate reached 95.7%. We standardized management of medical institutions, started a pilot project for reform of the basic medical insurance of people with access to socialized medicine, promoted convenient medical care for the people, and implemented a system of making appointments at 49 level 3 hospitals. We vigorously implemented cultural projects that benefit the people, achieved full coverage of administrative villages for cultural activity centers and digital cinemas, built 1,020 new rural libraries, and extended cable digital television coverage to 15 districts and counties and 2.3 million homes. We completed the site investigations in Beijing for the third national cultural relics census and published the third municipal intangible cultural heritage directory. We thoroughly developed mass sports activities and successfully held 15 international sports competitions.

Continually increasing the level of urban development management. Subway line 4 was opened smoothly, the rail transit operating distance reached 228 kilometers, and another 280.2 kilometers are being built. The Sixth Ring Road and the Beijing-Chengde Expressway were completed, bringing the total course of expressways to 884 kilometers. We optimized the public transport network and transfer environments. The number of annual passengers using public transport came to 6.59 billion, meaning the proportion of public transport users increased 38.9%. We conscientiously implemented air pollution control measures. The number of the days of the year with air quality at or above level 2 in the city reached 78.1%.We comprehensively promoted the work of disposing of household waste, and the amount of urban household waste produced over the year decreased for the first time, with the rate of harmless treatment for urban household waste reaching 95.8%. We made steady progress with the comprehensive improvement of the northern Grand Canal system, and accelerated the upgrading of sewage treatment plants. The urban and suburban treatment rate reached 94% and 51% respectively, and 650 million cubic meters of recycled water was used. We carried out activities to build eco-friendly districts and counties, beautiful township and town environments, and eco-friendly villages. We built 19 rural parks, and promoted development of the projects to control the sources of dust storms affecting Beijing and Tianjin, develop the northwest-north-northeast China networks of shelterbelts, and afforest Taihang Mountains. The city's afforestation rate reached 52.6%, and its green park space increased to 14.5 square meters per capita. We worked to transform the way urban development is managed and further digitized and refined urban services management.

6. We resolutely safeguarded the harmony and stability of the capital.

Making steady progress with social development. We promulgated seven supporting policies for strengthening social development. We made innovation in service management models for new economic and social organizations, and set up 650 community work stations in commercial buildings. We actively developed “hub-style” social organizations, and established “one-stop” approval services for them. We carried out development standardization pilot projects in 600 communities, and improved office and service space conditions in 350 communities. We instituted new conscription policies, implemented the project for supporting the army and giving preferential treatment for families of servicemen, and further consolidated relations between the army and the government as well as the army and the people. Beijing-based PLA units and Armed Police officers and enlisted personnel made important contributions to organizing National Day celebrations. We firmly carried out population and family planning work. We developed sound programs for women, children and the elderly. We further raised the level of social protection for persons with disabilities, and fully developed programs for them. We thoroughly developed activities to build ethnic unity and progress, persisted with religious work, and conscientiously implemented measures that benefit overseas Chinese. We continued to strengthen publicity of and education in the rule of law, and vigorously promoted the establishment of a pro bono legal services system. We successfully completed the election of the seventh community resident committees, and democratic self-governing capabilities further improved at the primary level.

Comprehensively promoting the development of a “peaceful Beijing.” We strengthened the prevention and control of public order, persisted in combining the efforts of experts and the masses and using mass prevention and mass treatment, launched a special crackdown on crime, won in the three battles to maintain security and stability, firmly prevented social stability from being disrupted in four respects, and maintained good public order. We strengthened standards for safety in production and the safety responsibility system, carried out city-wide safety inspections, identified and rectified hazards, and did all we could to bring down the number of every type of production safety accidents. We improved the food and drug safety supervision network, and the pass rates of both checks and random checks exceeded 98% respectively. We deepened the emergency management system, strengthened urban risk assessment and control, and further increased our capacity to handle emergencies. We established a diverse dispute resolution system, and launched the year of solving the backlog of longstanding complaints. Both the total number of letters and visits and the number of group complaints fell. We allocated 880 million yuan of special funding to implement responsibility for local governments, departments, entities and individuals, give free vaccines, strengthen the treatment of critically ill patients, develop the role of traditional Chinese medicine, effectively prevent and control the outbreak of influenza A (H1N1), and guarantee people's peace of mind and maintain social stability.

Fellow Deputies,

Over the past year, we conscientiously launched the in-depth study and implementation of the Scientific Outlook on Development, implemented the arrangements to improve the work style of leading cadres, and further intensified government self-improvement. The municipal government and its departments comprehensively carried out the resolutions and decisions of the Municipal People's Congress and its standing committee, consciously accepted their oversight and reported its work. We consciously accepted the democratic oversight of the CPPCC, and listened earnestly to the suggestions of the democratic parties, people's organizations and people from all walks of life. Over the year, we handled a total of 1,678 proposals and suggestions from the national and municipal people's congresses and 1,425 proposals and suggestions from CPPCC committees. We strengthened government legislation, submitted four new local laws and regulations for the consideration of the Municipal People's Congress, and formulated and amended eight government regulations. We completed the second economic census. We invested 12.56 billion yuan, and completed 57 important tasks related to the lives of the masses. We effectively streamlined meetings, reducing the number of municipal government executive meetings and workshops by 23%. We strictly controlled general expenses, and cut expenses for traveling abroad, purchasing and operating vehicles, official receptions, etc. by 52.928 million yuan. We implemented the performance management system regarding work performance, management efficiency, service effectiveness, and innovation and excellence, intensified inspections and evaluations, bolstered administrative and auditing supervision, strengthened efforts to promote clean government and combat corruption, and both administrative efficiency and service levels reached new highs.

Fellow Deputies,

Looking back over the year's work, we have the deep sense that results were certainly not achieved easily. These results were the product of the strong leadership of the Central Committee, the State Council and the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee. They were the product of the oversight, support and common efforts of the Municipal People's Congress, the Municipal Committee of the CPPCC and all sectors of society. They were the product of solid work by all districts, counties and departments and the concerted efforts of the city's masses. Here, on behalf of the Municipal People's Government, I would like to express my highest respects and heartfelt thanks to the entire city's residents and workers from across the country who work hard on all fronts and in all positions, to the deputies of the People's Congress and the members of the CPPCC Committee, to the democratic parties, people's organizations and people from all walks of life, to the central government departments and our sister provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, to Beijing-based PLA units and Armed Police officers and enlisted personnel, to our compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan and overseas Chinese, and to our international friends who care about and support the capital's development.

At the same time as we look at our achievements, we must also be keenly aware that there are still a number of difficulties and problems facing the capital's economic and social development. First, there are many uncertainties in the domestic and international economic environment, considerable difficulties still exist in achieving export recovery and growth, and nongovernmental investment is inadequate. Second, the problems between population, resources and the environment are extremely serious, and the requirements of accelerating the transformation of our development method and economic restructuring are more pressing. Third, the gap in development between urban and rural areas and between regions are still large, many difficulties exist in rebuilding and redeveloping the urban-rural fringe, and the task of planning and promoting coordinated regional development is massive. Fourth, our independent innovation capabilities are still too weak. The capital's scientific and technological advantages have still not been fully exploited, and we need to accelerate the development of emerging industries. Fifth, systems and mechanisms affecting the capital's scientific development have still not been completely eliminated, and we need faster breakthroughs in the reform of key areas and links. Sixth, many problems still exist in areas that have a bearing on the vital interests of the people, such as employment, education, medical care, housing and transportation, and we must apply ourselves more vigorously to protecting and improving the people's livelihood. Seventh, we must further improve the government's work style and efficacy, and greater efforts are needed to build a government dedicated to service. We must attach great importance to these issues and take more effective measures to solve them.