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Chinese premier unveils 'green' plan

Smog in Guangzhou
Pollution is a growing problem as China's economic development continues at breakneck speed  

In this story:

Economy to double

Water shortages hinder development

'Hostile forces'

RELATED STORIES, SITES Downward pointing arrow


BEIJING, China -- Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has announced a series of measures aimed at tackling China's mounting environmental problems as part of the country's tenth five year economic plan.

In his opening address to China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), Monday Zhu addressed a wide range of environmental issues including water shortage, desertification in Northern China, and forest protection in Tibet.

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The announcement came as Zhu set out a cautious blueprint for Chinese economic growth over the next five years, balancing economic reform with concerns for social stability.

Setting a relatively modest economic growth target of around 7 percent a year, the Chinese premier's speech focused heavily on the destabilizing side-effects of breakneck development, warning of rising joblessness, unpaid pensions, and rampant corruption.

Over the past five years growth rates have averaged a blistering 8.3 percent per year.

Nonetheless Zhu said China remains committed to wide-ranging economic reforms and continued rapid development.

He promised continued state spending to bolster economic growth, a cleaner environment and close attention to improving the quality of growth and addressing social security issues.

Economy to double

With China's imminent accession to the World Trade Organization, Zhu pledged that reforms in the legal, financial, labor and other sectors would be made to ensure the speedy integration of the economy with the international marketplace.

Addressing more than 2,900 parliamentarians from across China in the Beijing's Great Hall of the People Zhu pledged that the country's economy would double in size over the next decade.

Much of the new development will take place in the neglected western provinces -- and the premier has pledged government finances for a series of unprecedented infrastructure projects.

For the short term, Zhu said, China would continue heavy state infrastructure spending and try to spur consumption.

However, CNN's Senior China analyst, Willy Lam, says question marks remain over whether Beijing has enough funds to underwrite the ambitious growth programs.

He says opposition from sectors which will lose out in the course of the reforms will be ferocious.

Water shortages hinder development

Outlining his environmental objectives Zhu called for Chinese industries to recycle 60 percent of the water they use by 2005, and pledged to increase usable water resources by 40 billion cubic meters by then.

"Lack of water resources is a serious limitation on the economic and social development of our country," Zhu said on Monday.

More than two decades of industrial development has dried up wells and springs, turned lakes to dust and polluted 80 per cent of China's rivers and streams.

Of China's 668 cities, 400 suffer from water shortage. Some 700 million Chinese people drink contaminated water. Riots have broken out as farmers battle for water.

In tacking the growing problem of unemployment Zhu said the government would focus on creating jobs for those who suffer from mass lay-offs in the state sector.

In the "tenth five-year" plan, China aims to create 80 million jobs by 2005 in order to keep the unemployment rate below five percent.

Urban jobless stood at 3.1 percent at the end of 2000, but foreign analysts say the figure is way below the real unemployment figure.

While China is estimated to report a budget deficit of $30 billion in 2001, Zhu said China would issue another 150 billion yuan in long-term bonds this year to finance infrastructure projects, especially in western provinces

The projects include railways in Tibet and Qinghai regions, dozens of new airports and highways, as well as schemes to transfer water from southern to northern China.

'Hostile forces'

In other areas of policy Zhu reiterated China's hard line stance against the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement.

He also repeated the government's blunt rejection of international concern over religious and civil rights violations associated with Beijing's efforts to wipe out what it has called "an evil cult'. Zhu said the group had become "a tool for domestic and overseas forces hostile to our socialist government." Delegates remained silent during his comments on the Falun Gong but burst into applause at Zhu's vow to "resolutely put a stop to any separatist attempt" by Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.

The premier called for dialogue leading to reunification with Taiwan, but presented no new ideas on how to get talks going.

Since Chen Shui-bian was elected Taiwan president a year ago, China has shunned him because of his pro-independence past.

Of the 2,978 appointed deputies attending the NPC, 13 were purportedly representing Taiwan.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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