Ready, Aim, Fire

By+Yin+Pumin

Since January 7， provincial regions and cities in China have started holding annual conferences of law makers and political advisers. By February 5， 28 out of the 31 provincial regions had concluded two sessions of local peoples congresses and committees of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference.

Without exception， all the provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities have put their working emphases on guaranteeing development quality and how economic growth can bring real benefits to the well-being of residents.

Closer targets

With downward pressure on Chinas economy， 26 out of the 28 provincial regions， which have held the annual local meetings， have lowered their GDP growth targets for 2015.

Among the 28 regions that have revealed their GDP targets， only Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China kept its new target equal with that of last year at 12 percent. Shanghai， the nations largest business center with a per-capita income of more than $10，000 a year， forwent setting a GDP target for the first time despite the municipalitys GDP expanding by 7 percent last year.

The city will continue to optimize its economic structure and change its growth model from investment-driven to innovation-driven， Mayor Yang Xiong revealed in the government work report at the annual meeting of the municipal legislature on January 25.

The report showed Shanghais ambition to become an international center for technological innovation. Research and development expenditure was given 3.6 percent of the citys GDP in 2015. Aircraft engines， neuroscience and artificial intelligence will be the main focus.

Beijing lowered its growth target to 7 percent， from 7.5 percent of last year. The biggest cut was by 3 percentage points， coming from northeast Chinas Liaoning Province， north Chinas Shanxi Province and northwest Chinas Gansu Province.

Li Zuojun， a senior member of the State Council Development Research Center， a Central Government think tank， sees the slashing of GDP targets by provincial planners as part of the transition to the countrys new development mode， which is generally called the “new normal.”

According to a statement released after the Central Economic Work Conference， which ended on December 11 last year， the “new normal” means a slower growth but higher quality， with China striving to keep economic growth and policies steady in 2015.

After a long period of record growth， Chinas economic progress began to moderate last year， with GDP growth of 7.4 percent， the lowest since 1990.

Many provinces missed their targets for 2014. Shanxis 2014 growth was 4.9 percent， nearly half of its forecast of 9 percent； and Liaonings GDP increased by 5.8 percent， also much lower than its target of 9 percent in 2014.

Last year， east Chinas Shandongs economy grew at an annual rate of 8.7 percent， similarly failing to meet the provinces 9-percent target.

Like many other parts of the country， Shandong faces a great deal of downward pressure on its economy， with lower-end manufacturers and heavy industries struggling and it， along with other regions， finding it hard to cope with local government debt.

At the annual meeting of the provincial legislature on January 27， Shandong Governor Guo Shuqing said that the provinces annual GDP growth target would be lowered to 8.5 percent for 2015.

Local authorities will continue to help ease excess capacity， relocate high-polluting factories in urban areas and encourage innovative policy to bolster the economy， Guo said.

The breakneck growth of the past three decades was often achieved at the cost of the deterioration of environment， increasingly a source of public outcry. Over the past few years， measures have been taken to achieve quality growth while tackling pollution.

Last year， Shandongs average density of PM2.5， a major pollution indicator， fell 16.3 percent year on year， according to Guo.

The provincial regions move to lower the GDP growth targets actively adapts to the “new normal，” as Chinas economy shifts from high-speed development to a moderate speed， Li said.

“The slowdown is a good opportunity for China to adjust its economic structure，” said Li.“In order to further curb the blind pursuit of GDP growth in the past， central authorities need to change the way they evaluate provincial leaders and make reform and structural adjustment a more important index than GDP.”

“By setting lower GDP growth targets， provincial governments are able to invest more in programs that benefit people in the long run， instead of in those bringing returns mostly in the short term，” said Bai Pengming， a researcher on the macroeconomy at China Investment Consulting.

New business models

In a government work report for the local peoples congress on February 2， Chen Jianhua， Mayor of Guangzhou in south Chinas Guangdong Province， said the city will continue to develop new business models to boost its foreign trade. He said priority sectors to benefit from the new models would include cross-border e-commerce， leasing and duty-free logistics.

“We will also provide one-stop services for international trade by integrating services from customs and inspection as well as the quarantine authorities for customs declaration， inspection and clearance，” said Chen.

The capital of Guangdong Provinces foreign trade surged 9.8 percent year on year to $130.6 billion in 2014， compared to 1.5 percent in 2013 and 0.8 percent in 2012， thanks to an improved trading environment and efforts at building closer links with countries and regions along the ancient Maritime Silk Road， Chen said.

The citys total export value also grew rapidly， by 15.8 percent year on year to $72.7 billion in 2014， according to the government work report.

“New business models have been playing a growing role in trade growth， given that the citys traditional trade markets have been experiencing drops in demand，” Chen said.

The citys cross-border e-commerce trade reached 1.31 billion yuan （$213 million） in 2014， according to the report.

Guangzhou was joined in 2013 by the major trade cities of Zhengzhou， Shanghai， Chongqing， Hangzhou and Ningbo as pilot cities to introduce cross-border e-commerce services.

After Guangzhous rebound in foreign trade， the city has set a 10-percent target for import and export growth for 2015.

“We will expand the export of advanced equipment， key components and bulk commodities，” Chen said.

The establishment of a free trade zone in the citys Nansha District is also expected to help boost its foreign trade.

“The zone will create a series of preferential policies for trade， which will benefit local exporters，” said Jiang Weikai， President of Golden Sea Professional Equipment Ltd.， a major provider of professional lighting equipment based in Guangzhou， which experienced a 20-percent increase in trade last year.

The free trade zone of Nansha， part of Guangdongs Free Trade Zone that also includes Hengqin in Zhuhai and Qianhai in Shenzhen， was approved by the Central Government at the end of last year.

Jiang， also a deputy to the local peoples congress， said a healthy trade environment for local exporters should also be created.

Caring for the elderly

On January 29， the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Peoples Congress passed a regulation on home-based old-age care， stipulating that grown-up children are obligated to support their aging parents.

The regulation， scheduled to take effect on May 1， is the countrys first local legislation on home-based senior care.

Under the regulation， children and other caregivers should offer economic and practical support as well as “spiritual consolation”to the elderly.

It also stipulates that the government should offer subsidies and senior service facilities for the elderly with special difficulties， such as those living on a low income， suffering from disability or who have lost their only child.

The legislation defines the scope of responsibilities for the family and the government. It also includes provisions concerning such areas as construction of old-age service facilities in communities and medical and health services.

Communities will be asked to provide dining rooms for elderly people and a door-to-door food service for those unable to go out. The regulation also proposes introducing emergency contact devices for the incapacitated or elderly living alone at home.

Health administrations in each district should establish a health record for the aging in order to better provide medical care.

Liu Jigang， Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Peoples Congress， said the citys homebased old-age care suffers from various problems， such as lack of facilities and trained personnel as well as inadequate supply of pension services.

Liu said Beijings aging population has great- ly increased since 1990. The elderly population in the city is expanding by 6 percent annually. The number exceeded 3 million by the end of 2014， and it is expected to surpass 4 million by 2020.

In 2013， Beijing had 2.92 million elderly residents—474，000 were over 80 and 450，000 were unable to look after themselves.

A recent survey by the legislature found that 96 percent of the elderly prefer home-based care to living in a nursing home that makes dining， healthcare and emergency rescue priorities.

China now has about 200 million people aged 60 and over. The number accounts for some 14 percent of the total population and is expected to surge to 400 million in 2050. Over 90 percent of senior citizens choose homebased pension support nationwide.

With the issuing of the capital regulations， deputies urged the government to take supporting measures to ensure its effectiveness.

Yang Jiefu， a political adviser and Director of the Heart Center at Beijing Hospital， said it is necessary to ask a third-party institute to evaluate the home-based care or nursing services for the elderly.

“The third-party system can supervise how homecare assistants work and whether services are effective or not， which improves the quality of nursing institutes，” Yang added.

Zhu Jianyue， a deputy and lawyer from the Xicheng District， agreed and suggested the government provide subsidies for the third-party system to educate homecare assistants and set up a database for them.

“If someone is unqualified or the source of complaints by the elderly or their families， his or her next job will be affected，” Zhu said.

“Meanwhile， we can establish housekeeper unions in communities. As most of them are from other provinces， they also need a sense of belonging. Itll help migrant workers better settle in the city，” he added.