XI URGES ALL PARTIES TO WORK TOWARD SOCIALIST GOALS

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called on the country's non-Communist parties to make new contributions to securing the victory of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and fighting poverty on Tuesday.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while attending a gathering to extend Lunar New Year greetings to people from non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and those without party affiliation.

After listening to a speech by a representative of the non-Communist parties, Xi expressed appreciation for the contributions made by non-Communist parties last year.

The non-Communist parties have maintained the authority of the CPC and followed its centralized and unified leadership in the past year, Xi said, adding that they had launched a thematic education campaign on remaining true to their original aspiration and put forward important suggestions on the CPC's governance.

Xi spoke highly of the poverty alleviation efforts made by the non-Communist parties last year, saying that these activities are important in the fulfillment of the country's poverty reduction goal.

Noting that this year is a decisive one in securing the victory of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and fighting poverty, Xi said that the non-Communist parties should make further efforts to achieve these goals.

The system of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation is a new type of political party system originated in China, Xi said, adding that the system has played a special role in achieving consensus, improving decision-making, coordinating relations and maintaining stability.

Xi said that he hoped the non-Communist parties would implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and called on their members to follow the CPC's leadership and uphold socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi pointed out that the wisdom and strength of all Chinese people including people from non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and those without party affiliation are needed to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Xi told them to focus on the CPC's plans, make investigations on these goals, raise suggestions based on facts, and be good advisers to the CPC.

Noting that the CPC is making consistent efforts to build itself up, Xi said that the non-Communist parties should also build themselves up consistently and make new contributions to promote the modernization of the country's system and capacity for governance.

The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce should speed up its reforms and promote the healthy development of non-public businesses, Xi said.

XI'S VISIT WILL CHART NEW COURSE FOR TIES WITH MYANMAR

As traditional friendly neighbors, China and Myanmar are already engaged in mutually beneficial trade and economic relations, and President Xi Jinping's two-day visit to Myanmar from Friday will deepen this engagement and further promote cooperation between the two sides.

Thanks to the vitality of bilateral trade, win-win cooperation between China and Myanmar has been progressing well. Since Myanmar is rich in natural resources and urgently needs infrastructure facilities, Chinese investment has grown rapidly in Myanmar, making China the largest trading partner and the biggest source of investment for Myanmar. By the end of November, 415 Chinese enterprises had earned approval for investing in Myanmar, up from 280 in 2018.

The fact that Chinese enterprises have huge experience and expertise in fields such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure, transportation and power generation will help them meet Myanmar's development needs, and create opportunities for cooperation and investment. In fact, from January to September 2019, Chinese companies signed new projects worth $4.77 billion in Myanmar, an increase of 238 percent year-on-year.

Besides, an oil and gas pipeline from the port of Kyaukpyu in western Myanmar to China's southwestern province of Yunnan, which started operations in 2013, had contributed about $500 million in direct economic revenue to Myanmar by the end of November 2019.

China is also the main foreign market for Myanmar's agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits and rice, and given the popularity of Myanmar rice in China, the Chinese government has raised its import quota from 100,000 tons to 400,000 tons a year.

Yet bilateral agricultural trade was far from smooth in 2019. For example, Myanmar's export of pineapples and sugar to China suffered due to problems such as product quality. Myanmar also halted the export of rare earths to China in late December, seeking "rectification" of mining operations, which affected bilateral relations.

The problems having an impact on cooperation underline the importance of holding regular communication on the basis of mutual respect in order to remove misgivings, preempt misunderstandings and resolve outstanding issues. In this context, the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and the economic corridor connecting Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar are larger trade and economic arrangements that will promote China-Myanmar cooperation.

At the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in April 2019, Myanmar signed cooperation documents with China in various fields, including green development and the CMEC. The two sides also inked a memorandum of understanding outlining a five-year collaboration in trade and economy. And the under-construction railway linking Yunnan province in China with Mandalay in Myanmar, along with the new Yangon industrial city and the Kyaukpyu special economic zone, form the supporting frameworks for the CMEC.

China is also trying to broker an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh on their border and related issues. Especially, China has made increasing efforts to persuade Myanmar and Bangladesh to settle their bilateral issues, so both countries can focus on their respective economic development.

PREMIER SAYS REFORM EFFORTS WILL BE PUSHED

China will push for greater reform, opening-up and innovation to keep the Chinese economy running in a reasonable range for high-quality development this year, Premier Li Keqiang said at a plenary meeting of the State Council on Monday in Beijing.

He said the government is faced with heavy work tasks that also bear great significance, as China will realize its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in 2020.

Greater efforts should be made to improve the business environment, guide public expectations, boost the vitality of market entities, accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and foster new growth drivers, he said.

Li said the government should make coordinated efforts to maintain stable growth, advance reform, make structural adjustments, improve living standards, guard against risks and ensure stability.

Speaking of China's economic growth last year, the premier said the country has reached its major goals and completed its tasks for economic and social development, despite being faced with significant growing risks at home and abroad as well as downward pressure on the economy.

In 2019, the economy ran within a reasonable range, with steadily improving development quality, he said, noting that 13 million new urban jobs were created for the seventh consecutive year and people's livelihoods have been further improved.

These achievements have not come easily, Li said.

He noted that economic performance in the first quarter serves as an indicator for the market in the coming year. Governments at all levels and all departments of the State Council need to make a good start with concrete efforts, he added.

Local authorities should speed up the issuance of local government special-purpose bonds and make good use of them, pushing projects forward, he said.

He also called for greater credit support from financial institutions for the manufacturing industry, private companies and small and medium-size enterprises.

He said preparations should be made to guarantee stable supplies and prices of pork, as well as to ensure that the basic needs of disadvantaged people are met ahead of the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

MINISTRY: EMPLOYMENT REMAINS STABLE, EXCEEDING LAST YEAR'S TARGET

China added 13.52 million new urban jobs last year, with employment remaining stable among college graduates, migrant workers and other groups vulnerable to unemployment, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said on Tuesday.

The urban jobless rate was kept low at 3.62 percent as the Chinese economy maintained a steady pace, ministry spokesman Lu Aihong said at a regular news conference in Beijing.

China exceeded last year's job creation target. In March, it set the 2019 target at 11 million, but by the end of November around 12.79 million new urban jobs had already been created.

The job figures have been bolstered by a host of factors, including the continuous expansion of the service sector and the central government's efforts to cut labor costs, said Zhang Ying, head of the ministry's division of employment promotion.

She said steady economic activity was behind the encouraging figures, and the rapidly expanding services sector and new business models had helped to create job opportunities.

Employment also grew thanks to a number of policies aimed at reducing labor costs, including lowering social security contributions and subsidizing employers who refrained from shedding staff or those who hired laid-off workers, she added.

Zhang said employment would remain stable this year, as China sought quality economic development.

Chinese employers also pay for a proportion of their employees' social security coverage, which includes the pension fund, work injury insurance, jobless insurance, maternity insurance and health insurance.

Figures from the ministry show that covering the costs of employees' social security coverage accounted for 23.45 percent of company payrolls last year, 7.05 percentage points less than in 2015.

Nie Mingjun, who oversees pension funds at the ministry, said China has lowered the combined rate six times since 2015, and last year's reduction was the largest. He said the reduction in social security fees since 2015 had reached almost 1 trillion yuan ($145.2 billion).

Nie said the impact of relieving this burden had been significant for businesses, regardless of their size.

"Many employers said the rate reduction had effectively lowered their labor costs, and the money saved in turn has created further momentum for innovation, or some of it had become financial benefits given to employees, which ultimately enhanced the company's appeal," he added.

Nie said the lowered rate also created a virtuous cycle for pension funds, which had run short of funds in some rapidly aging areas due to the lack of contributors.

The ministry said the national pension fund's balance had reached over 5 trillion yuan, with 319.9 billion yuan received last year, which Nie said was not bad considering the drop in the contribution rate and the increasing benefits that pensioners collected.

MORE FOREIGN-INVESTED BANKS TO GET BOND UNDERWRITING NOD

More foreign-invested banks will be allowed to underwrite bonds issued by the local governments in China, as part of the country's financial sector's further opening-up efforts, experts said.

Allowing foreign-invested banks to participate in the underwriting will not only bring in more overseas investors, but also boost the faster expansion of the country's 20 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion) local government bond market this year.

Local governments are expected to issue 135 bonds worth more than 400 billion yuan this week, the highest issuance in history, according to data released by the China Central Depository and Clearing Co Ltd.

To ensure that enough funds can be raised and used for infrastructure projects, the Ministry of Finance has urged local governments to revise the rules so that fully foreign-funded banks, Sino-foreign joint venture banks and foreign banks' branches in China can all underwrite local government bonds.

Three foreign-invested banks−Fubon Bank, the Bank of East Asia and Deutsche Bank, are already part of the local government bond underwriting groups, said the Ministry of Finance. It means that these banks will now be able to sell the bonds to their clients, including overseas investors.

The new policy, in line with the country's financial sector opening-up strategy, will expand the issuance channels of local government bonds, and promote the diversification of bond investors, said the ministry in a statement. In addition, "it will make the bond issuance sustainable, facilitate the opening of the government bond market, and promote the internationalization of the renminbi."

Yulia Wan, a vice-president and banking analyst at global credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service, said: "We expect more foreign banks to join local government bond underwriting groups, which can help complement current sales channels and diversify investor base for local government bond issuances."

Joining the local government bond underwriting groups can help foreign banks diversify their business in the Chinese market and increase their source of income, Wan told China Daily on Tuesday.

China's foreign exchange regulator, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, also launched new strategies to attract foreign investors to the domestic bond market on Monday. It said that foreign institutions, both banking and non-banking investors, can trade in the interbank foreign exchange market, using financial instruments and derivatives to hedge foreign exchange risks.

The SAFE will continue to push forward the opening-up and reform of the foreign exchange market, and better serve the real economy, according to a statement on the website.

China's bond market may attract more capital inflows than 2019 this year as some major central banks and private sector firms will increase their investment in Chinese bonds, said a research note from China Merchants Securities. Foreign institutions purchased Chinese bonds worth 457.8 billion yuan last year, up 32 percent from 2017, the note said.

XINJIANG AIMS TO LURE MORE TOURISTS

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region plans to attract 300 million visits from tourists this year in an effort to make tourism a pillar industry to support economic development, as the region has effectively curbed the spread of terrorism and religious extremism, local officials said.

Xinjiang, which is famous for its natural beauty and diverse cultures, has always been a top tourist destination. But for a period of time, the region experienced frequent terrorist attacks lead by religious extremists and separatists. Safety concerns have put off many travelers.

After the region implemented a series of measures to fight terrorism and religious extremism, not a single terrorist attack has happened in the region for more than three years. As a result, tourism, which is seen as the indicator of the region's social situation, has boomed. Xinjiang received more than 200 million visits from tourists in 2019, up 41.6 percent year-on-year, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government, said when delivering the government work report on Jan 6.

What's more, the region is also working to ensure that locals can benefit from tourism; for example, they will have the opportunity to boost their income by participating in tourist development, Shohrat said.

In addition, the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, known for its vast grassland in the Ili River valley, drafted a tourism development plan in 2019 to support future development of the industry, which still has huge potential, according to Kurmash Yisjon, head of the prefecture. Ili Kazak received 59.7 million visits from tourists in 2019, up 45 percent year-on-year.

"Tourism has become a driving force in sustainable development of the prefecture," Kurmash said. "We plan to use social media to better promote the unique beauty and experiences in Ili."

The Altay prefecture also saw a 45 percent increase in the number of visits from tourists in 2019. The income brought by tourism reached 36.4 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), up 64.6 percent year-on-year, said Hadan Kabin, commissioner of the prefecture.

"The prefecture, which is rich in snow resources, plans to further boost tourism in the winter, which traditionally is Xinjiang's off-peak season," Hadan said.