Hu calls for boosting domestic needs

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-01 08:36

BEIJING -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for creating more domestic needs to keep stability of the country's financial market and economic growth.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R, front), chats with local farmers about the corn output in Xiaojihan Village during his two-day visit to Yulin City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Oct. 29, 2008. [Xinhua]

Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remark during his visit to Yulin city in northwest China's Shaanxi Province from October 28 to 29.

He told the accompanying provincial Party chief Zhao Leji and governor Yuan Chunqing that the basic situation of China's economic development was still fine amid the international financial tsunami and the world economy's slowdown.

Government at all levels and the public should have firm confidence and be revivified to strive, the President told local officials. And government should make more efforts to create domestic needs, especially the consuming needs.

It also should intensify the fundamental status of agriculture in the country's economy, improve the economic growth methods and deepen the opening up and reform policy, he said.

President Hu made the visit soon after the 17th CPC Central Committee ended its third Plenary Session which had announced favorable measures for farmers, a move to inspect local implementation by himself.

In visiting a village of Yulin, the President promised to local corn planters that the government would gradually increase subsidies to croppers and raise the minimum prices of crops purchased from farmers.

Hu Jintao told the farmers to fully trust the rural land policy, to lease their contracted farmland or transfer their land-use right, which was just adopted by the CPC's session.

The new policy was expected to boost the scale of operation for farm production and provide funds for farmers to start new businesses.

Hu Jintao stressed that the transfer of the land-use must accord with farmer's own will.

In another village Hu Jintao told livestock breeders to rely on science and technology to expand their business and increase incomes.

Yulin city is rich in coal and a major producing base of carbinol and coal products.

During his visit to a coal mine, President Hu urged workers and administrators to increase their productivity and give more attention to the safety of production.

In the neighboring coal-fired power plant, Hu Jintao said that building a power plant close to the mine could reduce transport costs and pollution.

He encouraged the plant's workers to make all-out efforts to produce more power to be transferred to the country's eastern part, making more contribution to relieving the power shortage.

President Hu also visited a carbinol company in the city, which produces the fuel substitute, by refining coal. He hoped the company could initiate more independent innovations and create more use for the coal to diversify the country's energy consumption.

In the outskirts of the city, which borders a desert on China's Loess Plateau, Hu inspected one of the four forest walls planted to break sand storms and prevent soil erosion.