AsiaNet  84138

BEIJING, May 25, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivered the government work report to the third

session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing on Friday.

The report reviews the achievement China has made in 2019 on all fronts:

achieving stable economic growth, boosting people's living standards, breaking

new ground in science and technology innovations, and playing an active role in

the development of the global governance system.

China is reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected

more than 5 million people worldwide. The work report fully acknowledged the

difficulties China faced this year when Premier Li cautioned that "we must

redouble our efforts to minimize the losses resulting from the virus and

fulfill the targets and tasks for economic and social development this year."

China did not set a specific target for its economic growth in 2020. According

to Premier Li, this is because of uncertainties brought by the COVID-19

pandemic and the unpredictable global economic and trade environment. However,

other key targets for job creation, fiscal deficit and consumption are outlined

in the government work report.

CGTN sketched out a quick snapshot of this year's government work report in

graphics.

https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200525/2812338-1-a

The first graphic compares China's 2019 goals and achievements with the targets

set for 2020. In 2019, China's GPD increased by 6.1 percent, within the

official growth target range of 6 percent to 6.5 percent. No economic growth

target has been set for this year.

Stabilizing employment is a priority this year, with over 9 million new urban

jobs set for 2020 compared to last year's target of 11 million. China met and

surpassed its 2019 goal by creating 13.52 million new jobs.

Poverty reduction tops the agenda of Chinese policymakers this year. China is

en route to achieving its target of eradicating poverty in rural areas and

eliminating regional poverty. Official data shows 5.51 million Chinese living

in poverty as of 2019; the goal set for this year is to lift all of them out of

poverty.

https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200525/2812338-1-b

The second graphic illustrates key words for this year's government work

report. Using the text from the speech, we generated a tree map that highlights

words that appeared most frequently in the report.

The frequency of word choices makes it clear that development is of paramount

importance in this year's government work report, along with stabilizing

employment and battling the epidemic. The word "development" appeared 76 times

in Premier Li's speech, while the word "employment" showed up 39 times and

"epidemic" 34 times.

The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to industries and a focus on

the economy is evident in Premier Li's frequent references to enterprises,

economy, and reform. In his speech, Premier Li laid out a series of measures

for companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which are among

those hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

Poverty alleviation, the first of the three key battles for the government to

fight, also features heavily in the 2020 government work report. China has

reduced the number of rural poor population by 11.09 million, according to the

report, and greater efforts would be made to eliminate poverty in all remaining

poor counties and villages.

https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200525/2812338-1-c

The third graphic highlights keywords that appeared for the first time in the

government work report this year, among which most are related to battling the

coronavirus, including keywords like "epidemic," "public health" and "COVID-19."

One of the key messages of Premier Li's speech for this year is that China must

recover from the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, with the recognition

that "China will face challenges like never before." In his speech, Premier Li

noted efforts that central and local governments have taken to boost the

resumption of work, production and business activities.

"Six guarantees" – ensuring security in employment, basic living needs,

operations of market entities, food and energy, stable industrial and supply

chains, and the normal function of primary-level governments – is among the key

words that appeared first in the government work report this year. It reflects

the Chinese leadership's resolve to advance epidemic control and economic and

social development in parallel.

Original article:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-05-22/Graphics-Key-targets-for-2020-in-China-s-government-work-report--QHipLRgnny/index.html

SOURCE  CGTN

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=364115

   Caption: China's goals for 2020 and achievements in 2019

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=364117

   Caption: Keywords in 2020 government work report

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=364118

   Caption: What's new in 2020 government work report (vs. 2019)?