Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed in Ottawa Thursday
that economic development and prosperity will continue to be the
primary target of the Chinese government.?
At a luncheon held by the Canada-China Business Council, Wen
said that China is a developing country with a large population and
a vulnerable economic foundation. "We are faced with many
difficulties and problems on our road to progress," he said.
However, China is determined to "build a well-off society in an
all-round way during the first two decades of this century," he
said.
By 2020, China's GDP, calculated at current exchange rate, will
have quadrupled that of 2000, reaching US$4 trillion.
"By then, China will have a more developed economy, a more
complete democracy, a more advanced science and education system, a
more thriving culture, a more harmonious society and a more
affluent life for its people."
Wen stressed that the Chinese government will "continue to place
the interests of our people above anything else," and manage to
balance "the development in both urban and rural areas, the
development among different regions, and the development between
the economic and social undertakings."
The premier said China will deepen its ongoing economic reform
and improve its system of a socialist market economy by way of
giving "greater play to the basic role of the market in the
allocation of resources, lending powerful impetus to the rapid and
sound development of the national economy."
He added that China will make efforts in implementing the
open-up policy by "building a more open economic system."
As to the implementation of trade rules of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), Wen said that China will fully honor its WTO
commitments.
Two years after China entered the WTO in November 2001, China
has revised or amended nearly 3,000 laws and sets of administrative
regulations, increased transparency of policies, laws and
administrative regulations, stepped up legislation and law
enforcement for intellectual property rights protection, and made
its service market more accessible, said the Chinese premier.
(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2003)