II. Goals for the Next Five Years and Tasks for 2008

The Seventeenth National Party Congress held high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, made comprehensive arrangements for continuing to promote reform, opening up and socialist modernization and realizing the grand goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and defined the path and orientation for work in the capital. The next five years in Beijing will be a period of accelerated urbanization, IT application, market development and internationalization. There will be unprecedented opportunities as well as unprecedented challenges, but the opportunities will be greater than the challenges. Building from the foundation of a successful hosting of a unique and high-level Olympics, we need to fully implement the Eleventh Five-Year Plan and make the capital a place of bustling development that is civilized and harmonious and a great place to live. In accordance with the arrangements made at the Tenth Municipal Party Congress, the following goals and major tasks have been defined for overall municipal economic and social development for the next five years:
– Striving to bring about sound and rapid development of the capital's economy. We need to enlarge the basic role of the market in allocating resources and establish sound, dynamic, highly efficient and more open institutions and mechanisms. We need to make substantial progress in changing the pattern of development, and further improve the industrial structure, with tertiary industry accounting for 74% or more. We need to improve the overall quality and competitiveness of modern manufacturing industries and energetically develop modern urban agriculture. We need to become a leader in the country in conserving energy and resources. We need to make substantial progress in strengthening our capacity for independent innovation and basically make the capital an innovative city. We should accelerate urban renewal efforts in the southern and western parts of the city, promote overall development in the southwestern part of the city, see substantial results in efforts to build a new countryside and new cities and make economic and social development of urban and rural areas more integrated. We need to increase the annual GRD by an average of about 9% and bring the average per capita GRD up to at least $10,000.
– Constantly increasing the level of civility in the city. We need to strongly promote the development of advanced socialist culture, further improve the system of public cultural services covering both urban and rural areas and constantly strengthen the city's function as a cultural center. We will appropriately protect Beijing's ancient sites. We will fully promote balanced development of compulsory education, constantly raise the quality of educational development, basically modernize education in the capital and encourage the city's population to constantly study. We need to thoroughly implement the basic strategy of rule of law, increase awareness of the legal system throughout society, make further progress in developing a law-based government and further improve the system of democracy at the community and village level. We will continue to improve the long-term mechanism for improving the cultural, ideological and intellectual level of the people, make the capital a more civilized place and greatly enhance the overall quality of the people of the city.
 – Promoting all aspects of a harmonious society in the capital. We need to have a high employment rate and basically complete establishment of a social safety net that covers both urban and rural areas. Concentrating on setting up a basic medical and public health system in the capital, we will gradually reach the point where everyone in the capital has access to basic medical and health care services. We will make the level of public services basically the same throughout the city. We will promote the basic formation of a reasonable and orderly income distribution pattern and improve the economic situation of most urban and rural households. We will streamline the channels for the masses to express their interests and improve the institutions and mechanisms for resolving social tensions at the community and village level to make the society of the capital more peaceful and orderly.
 – Accelerating efforts to make the capital a modern city and a good place to live. We will actively seek effective policies, means and methods to regulate the population size, and work hard to improve the overall quality of the population. We need to vigorously promote a culture of conservation, and establish an industrial structure, growth model and consumption pattern suitable for sustainable development. We need to increase the carrying capacity of our infrastructure and create a comprehensive modern municipal transportation system and modern systems for supplying power and water. We will step up efforts to protect the ecology and improve the environment by gradually setting up a modern system for dealing with rubbish and wastewater so that environmental quality in the capital basically meets state standards.

The year 2008 will be the first year for the implementation of the guidelines set out at the Seventeenth National Party Congress and the year Beijing will host the Olympics, and in the year we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the reform and opening up policy. We have an extremely heavy responsibility to do our government work well this year. It is now only 201 days until the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and this is the most crucial time for all preparations and service guarantee work. The Olympics is imminent and time waits for no one; we must successfully overcome all obstacles to hosting the Olympics. We must increase our sense of urgency, sense of responsibility and sense of mission, make full use of everyone's enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and ensure we can successfully host a unique, high-level Olympics! We must maintain the good momentum of economic and social development, constantly consolidate the fruits of cultural progress, and strive to create good circumstances for economic development and social accord. Let us realize the strategic concept of "New Beijing, Great Olympics!"

The general requirements for the work of the government this year are as follows: We must fully comply with the guidelines set out at the Seventeenth National Party Congress, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, take Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents as our guide, and thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development. In addition, we must work hard to successfully host unique, high-level Olympic and Paralympic Games, deepen reform and opening up, promote independent innovation, centering efforts on changing the pattern of economic development and improving the socialist market economy. Finally, we must concentrate on improving the economic structure and the quality of economic growth, effectively reduce energy consumption and pollution discharge, and strengthen protection of the ecosystem, constantly work to modernize the city and raise the level of services and management, attach greater importance to improving the well-being of the people and promoting social harmony, and adopt a new starting point for promoting sound and rapid economic and social development in the capital.
The major targets for overall economic and social development in the city are as follows: The consumption of energy per 10,000 yuan of GRD should be reduced by 5% and consumption of water by 4%. COD should be cut by 4% and sulfur dioxide emissions by 10%. We should strive to realize a level of 70% of days in the capital with air quality of level 1 or 2. Registered unemployment in urban areas should be kept below 2.3%, and the consumer price index should be lower than the country's average and be kept around 103.5%. Government revenue should increase by 15% and income for urban and rural residents should experience a real increase of 7%. GRD should increase by 9%, and the GRD per capita should top $8,000.