Box 11: Measures to Implement the Coordinated Regional Development Strategy

The Western Region	Ÿ Extend the current preferential corporate income tax policy and expand its coverage Ÿ Launch a number of major projects, strengthen transportation infrastructure, and shore up weaknesses in education, medical services, and other areas related to people’s wellbeing Ÿ Step up efforts to develop Yunnan Province into an economic center that helps to spur development and cooperation with countries in south and southeast Asia Ÿ Accelerate development of the Pearl River-Xi River economic belt, the Beibu Bay economic zone, and the Bijie experimental zone Ÿ Promote the protection and development of areas west of the 400-mm isohyet
The Northeast	Ÿ Deepen SOE reform, improve the business environment, and further promote the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure Ÿ Refine policies for the protection and utilization of chernozem soils Ÿ Promote the development of the coastal economic belt in Liaoning Province and of the Changchun-Jilin-Tumenjiang area as a leading zone for development and opening up Ÿ Accelerate implementation of the major projects in the three-year rolling investment plan for the region’s revitalization (2020-2022)
The Central Region	Ÿ Promote cross-provincial cooperation in the boundary areas of different provinces Ÿ Focus on developing advanced manufacturing, integrating science and technology innovation with industry, coordinating urban-rural and regional development, protecting the environment, opening up inland areas, and improving public services Ÿ Support Hubei’s efforts to accelerate economic and social recovery
The Eastern Region	Ÿ Encourage the region to increase its capacity for innovation, improve factor productivity, strengthen international competitiveness, and lead the country’s economic modernization Ÿ Promote further cooperation in the Bohai Sea area Ÿ Commence work on replacing old drivers of growth with new ones in Ji’nan city

 

8. Accelerating green and low-carbon development and strengthening ecological conservation

We will establish sound coordination mechanisms for ecological conservation, define objectives and tasks, and make sustained, targeted efforts. This will enable us to improve the quality of the environment and promote a complete green transformation of economic and social development.

1) We will make solid progress toward reaching peak carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.

We will strengthen top-level design along with overall coordination and planning, and formulate guidelines for reaching peak carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality.

In continuing with energy conservation and emissions reduction, we will improve the system for controlling both the total amount and the intensity of energy consumption, implement the overall work plan for energy conservation and emissions reduction for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, strengthen energy conservation in key areas, and accelerate the establishment of a national market for trading energy use rights. We will take resolute action to curb the shortsighted development of energy-intensive projects with high emissions.

We will vigorously implement the national strategy for responding to climate change, and introduce action plans for achieving peak carbon emissions by 2030 as well as measures for securing our medium- and long-term objectives in responding to climate change. We will establish a national registration and settlement system along with a national trading system for carbon emissions rights, and improve the trading mechanism for voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction. We will expand pilot and demonstration programs for responding to climate change and launch local pilot programs for investing in and financing such endeavors. We will promote multilateral initiatives, international collaboration, and South-South cooperation on climate change.

We will formulate a medium- and long-term energy development plan, and introduce guidelines on the establishment of coordination systems and mechanisms for the growth, absorption, and storage of clean energy. We will step up construction of electricity transmission routes from energy production centers in the western region to other regions, develop hydropower in a systematic and well-conceived manner, actively and efficiently develop wind power, photovoltaic power, waste-to-power, and hydrogen power, and develop nuclear power in an active and orderly manner while ensuring safety, thus increasing non-fossil fuels’ share of total energy consumption. We will increase support for the development of pumped-storage and energy storage, and work to increase the adaptation capacity of power systems.

2) We will intensify the battle against pollution.

In order to consolidate our successes in the initiatives to keep our skies blue, our waters clear, and our land pollution-free, we will step up the coordinated control of varied pollutants, such as fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and ozone (O₃), ensure that clean energy sources based heating accounts for 70% of total heating in northern China, speed up the removal of old and high-emission diesel trucks from roads, intensify regional coordination in air pollution control, protect and improve our beautiful rivers, lakes, and bays with the focus on the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and continue to clean up black, malodorous water bodies in urban and rural areas. We will intensify the prevention and control of soil pollution, ensure the safe use of agricultural land and strengthen risk management of land used for construction, tighten control of agricultural pollution from non-point sources, and encourage reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

In line with the requirements of adopting targeted, scientific, and law-based pollution control measures, we will formulate and put into effect a three-year plan for the establishment of a modern environmental governance system, and push forward the building of a system of institutions for the oversight of fixed pollution sources based on emissions permits. We will step up the prevention and control of plastic pollution, and coordinate efforts to encourage a shift toward increased use of green packaging in the delivery industry.

We will accelerate the development of environmental infrastructure in urban areas and continue to improve our capacity to dispose of hazardous waste. We will work out a “1+N” policy framework for waste water recycling and advance key projects in this area. We will address inadequacies in sewage treatment facilities in urban areas and accelerate waste water treatment and recycling in the Yangtze Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin. We will boost efforts to prevent and control noise pollution, and continue to bring about a shift in freight transportation from highways to railways.

3) We will promote the establishment of eco-friendly modes of production and ways of life.

We will step up the development of national ecological conservation pilot zones. We will work to develop a circular economy and speed up the establishment of a recycling system for waste and used materials. We will expand the catalog of corporate income tax credits for environmental protection and the conservation of water and energy, and promote the development and application of new types of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies, equipment and products as well as the development of energy-saving and environmental protection industries. We will vigorously develop green finance. We will promote green transformation in key industries and important areas, carry out evaluation and certification of clean production, and enhance clean production in key industries and industrial parks. We will also promote the construction of eco-friendly buildings.

We will encourage the economical, intensive, and efficient use of resources, and the comprehensive utilization of massive solid waste. We will continue to identify and address environmental risks deriving from hazardous waste, while stepping up environmental risk assessment and control. We will promote refuse sorting in order to waste less and recycle more, and work steadily to develop waste-free cities. We will develop water-conserving cities, and advance demonstration schemes for scaling up the desalinization and utilization of seawater. We will work to develop eco-friendly communities and foster a culture of practicing frugality and opposing waste.

4) We will improve the quality of ecosystems.

We will formulate measures for the enforcement of ecological conservation redlines, introduce regulations regarding compensation for ecological conservation efforts, and advance the reform of the system of compensation for ecological and environmental damage.

We will improve the national system of ecological security shields, and continue with our holistic approach to the conservation of mountain, river, lake, forest, farmland, and grassland ecosystems. We will launch major projects for the protection and restoration of key ecosystems as well as large-scale greening projects, and promote the comprehensive control of desertification, rock desertification, and soil erosion. We will step up the protection of major wetlands in regions of strategic importance as well as the ecological protection and restoration of coastlines.

We will improve the distribution of national parks, speed up the establishment of a national park-based nature reserve system, and strengthen environmental regulation of nature reserves. We will boost efforts to protect biodiversity and hold the 15th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

9. Further improving public wellbeing and ensuring that our people lead happier, more satisfying, and more secure lives

We will make realizing, safeguarding, and advancing the fundamental interests of our people the ultimate goal of our development efforts, promote well-rounded human development, and take solid steps toward common prosperity.

1) We will continue to increase personal income.

By raising the quality of employment, improving human capital, facilitating social mobility, and invigorating factors of production, we will ensure that all social groups are able to increase their income and create wealth through their own efforts and wisdom. We will coordinate reform in key areas of the income distribution system, further refine the systems of wage guidelines and of salary surveys for enterprises, and increase the intensity and accuracy of redistribution-based adjustment.

We will place greater emphasis on promoting common prosperity for all, meticulously plan top-level design with this aim in mind, advance the development of demonstration zones for realizing common prosperity, and set about formulating plans for expanding the middle-income group during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

2) We will accelerate the development of education.

We will boost public-benefit preschool education resources through multiple measures and improve supporting mechanisms to this end. We will promote the high-quality, well-balanced development and urban-rural integration of compulsory education, and increase the availability of senior secondary education. We will adopt a category-based approach in encouraging the development of first-rate universities and disciplines and of applied undergraduate education, invigorate undergraduate education across the board, and advance the development of new disciplines in engineering, agriculture, medicine, and the liberal arts.

We will bolster the ranks of teachers, and step up teacher training in the central and western regions. We will refine the long-term mechanism for ensuring salary payments for teachers, and improve pay packages for teachers in rural schools. We will ensure that children who live in cities with their migrant worker parents have equal access to compulsory education, and further expand urban compulsory education capacity. We will further the reform for closer integration of industry and education, selecting for the first time a group of enterprises and pilot cities to lead this reform at the national level. We will encourage vocational colleges to improve their teaching standards so that they produce outstanding graduates. We will refine the category-based enrollment system of vocational colleges and improve the system for greater connectivity between regular institutions of higher learning and vocational colleges. We will also launch diverse on-the-job training and continuing education initiatives.

3) We will increase social security efforts.

We will increase the basic pension for retirees and the subsidies and living allowances for entitled groups. We will refine the national unified platform for social insurance public services, bring basic old-age insurance funds under national unified management, develop a multi-tiered, multi-pillar old-age insurance system, and support the development of private pensions as the third pillar. We will promote the provincial-level unified management of unemployment insurance funds and of work-related injury insurance funds. We will fully ensure unified management of basic medical insurance funds at the prefecture level, while encouraging efforts to promote provincial-level unified management where conditions allow.

Government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents will increase by an average of 30 yuan per person, and subsides for basic public health services will increase by 5 yuan per person. We will improve the system of medical insurance and assistance for major diseases, ensure that medical expenses are settled where they are incurred, steadily advance trials of a long-term care insurance system, and actively develop commercial medical insurance. We will develop a sound support mechanism for covering outpatient medical bills, and take gradual steps toward funding the reimbursement of outpatient bills through unified accounts. We will develop a sound list-based system for medical insurance benefits, improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism for the catalog of medicines covered by medical insurance, and make the centralized procurement of medicines a regular, institutional practice.

We will improve the social security system for people in flexible employment, and promote trials of occupational injury insurance for people in new forms of employment. We will refine our work systems and support mechanisms for ex-service members. We will improve the social assistance systems of different types at different levels, establish sound mechanisms for proactively identifying problems and offering assistance, and intensify efforts to help disadvantaged urban residents with the problems they face. We will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women and children, develop sound networks at city, county, and township levels for the assistance and protection of minors, and improve social welfare systems for orphans and people with disabilities.

4) We will strive to meet people’s housing needs.

Upholding the principle that housing is for living in, not for speculation, we will keep the prices of both land and housing as well as market expectations stable. We will address prominent housing issues in large cities. By increasing land supply, earmarking special funds, and carrying out concentrated development schemes, we will increase the supply of government-subsidized rental housing and shared ownership housing. We will make every effort to address housing difficulties, especially those faced by new urban residents and young people.

We will work faster to refine policies on long-term rentals, ensure that over time renters have the same rights to relevant public services as owners, develop the long-term rental market in a well-regulated manner, and cut taxes and fees on rental housing. We will increase financial support for the rental housing market, and support the development of large-scale professional housing rental companies.

5) We will strengthen the system of social public services.

We will formulate a development plan for public services during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, improve mechanisms for ensuring equal access to public services, and advance the implementation of national standards for basic public services.

We will continue to advance the Healthy China initiative. We will work to develop a high-quality, efficient medical and health service system, modernize the disease prevention and control system, strengthen and regulate the development of mental health services, and develop comprehensive, lifecycle health services. We will promote the development of national medical centers and step up trials of regional medical centers, in an accelerated effort to ensure that high-quality medical resources become more broadly available and are distributed in a more balanced manner. We will launch demonstration projects for the provision of medical services, while ensuring that these services become increasingly standardized, procedure-based, and sophisticated. We will develop robust medical and health service networks in both rural areas and urban communities to ensure better provision of these services. We will support both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and a major project will be launched to promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine.

We will implement the national strategy on addressing population aging, make our childbirth policy more inclusive, and strive to reduce the costs of child-bearing, rearing, and education. We will develop public-benefit elderly care services and mutual-aid elderly care, build a system for the provision of elderly care at home, through communities, and by institutions that meets different medical and health care needs, improve the overall regulation system of elderly care services, speed up the development of the elderly care industry, and coordinate efforts to develop such services in rural areas. We will develop a public-benefit childcare service system. We will expand the “pacesetter” initiative in the domestic service sector, foster contract worker-based domestic service companies, and ensure that communities have better access to domestic services.

We will promote the development of the Great Wall, Grand Canal, Long March, and Yellow River national cultural parks, in a bid to preserve the major symbols of Chinese culture. We will implement projects for preserving, passing on, and utilizing our culture, redouble efforts to protect and utilize major cultural heritage and major natural heritage sites such as national parks, and advance the construction of major cultural facilities such as the northern section of the Palace Museum and the National Art Museum of China. We will ensure that philosophy and the social sciences flourish.

We will promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, and develop world-class tourist attractions and resorts as well as national-level tourist and leisure cities and areas. We will formulate and put into effect a national tourism and recreation development program (2021-2035), and promote the implementation of the system of paid vacations. We will step up preparations for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics. We will formulate guidelines for the development of a higher-level service system for promoting general fitness and exercise, and create public sports venues that are close to nature and convenient for use.

We will carry out projects for meeting the basic needs of social service facilities, support the construction of facilities for child welfare as well as rehabilitation and care facilities for people with disabilities, and further shore up weaknesses in infrastructure for demobilized military personnel in order to better meet people’s basic needs. We will strengthen social governance and develop new ways to conduct it, and improve the governance and service systems for urban and rural communities. The public legal service system will be improved. We will improve and enforce the accountability system for workplace safety, and strengthen oversight and law enforcement in this regard.

We will enhance biosafety and biosecurity and intensify efforts to develop national biological data centers and high-level biosecurity laboratories. We will better ensure food and drug safety, strengthen oversight and supervision over the safety of food items sold online, and launch the construction of key laboratories for assessing food safety risks and establishing standards. We will strengthen our emergency rescue capacity and disaster prevention, mitigation, response, and relief capabilities. We will make solid efforts to protect against floods, droughts, forest and grassland fires, geological disasters, and earthquakes, and provide quality meteorological services.