China's premier urges continued growth

www.billingsgazette.com Thursday, March 6, 2003

BEIJING -- In his final report as head of China's government, Premier Zhu Rongji on Wednesday called for continued high economic growth and bureaucratic streamlining while warning of the widening gap between rich and poor. Speaking to the annual session of China's legislature, Zhu outlined his accomplishments that made China the world's top recipient of foreign investment, the sixth largest economy and fifth largest exporter while pulling millions of Chinese out of poverty. Zhu set a target of 7 percent growth this year, just under last year's 8 percent increase in gross domestic product, the fastest among the world's major economies.

"We should continue to take developing agriculture and the rural economy and increasing farmers' income as the top priority of our economic work," Zhu told the 3,000 delegates. He made it clear that Beijing's spending spree on water works, roads and airports, funded by domestic treasury bonds, would continue this year. The congress is due to ratify a new generation of Communist Party leaders as heads of state and government, finalizing decisions made at the 16th Party Congress in November.