Wen: Domestic demand stressed to drive growth

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-10 21:06

China's Premier Wen Jiabao delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum meeting, in China's port city Dalian, September 10, 2009. [Agencies]

DALIAN - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Thursday the country would take the adjustment of economic structure as a major task and attach greater importance to driving economic growth via domestic demand.

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"We should focus on restructuring the economy, and make greater effort to enhance the role of domestic demand, especially final consumption in spurring growth," Wen said in his speech delivered to the opening ceremony of the Summer Davos forum in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

"To boost domestic demand is a long-term strategic policy for China's economic growth and the way for us to tackle the financial crisis and stave off external risks," he added.

In particular, the country must increase the share of consumption in domestic demand, raise urban and rural income, improve consumer expectations, and enhance people's willingness and capacity to spend, said the premier.

China will maintain rational growth of investment and optimize investment structure, Wen said.

"We will speed up the development of the service sector and make it a key link in our restructuring effort, a priority task in boosting domestic demand, and an important factor in promoting balanced growth of supply and demand," Wen added.

"We should deepen reform and opening-up, the fundamental force in driving development, and make greater effort to build vibrant institutions and mechanisms," Wen said.

China will "deepen reform of fiscal, taxation and financial systems, upgrade the capital market and banking system and improve the RMB exchange rate regime", he said.

"We will firmly implement the win-win strategy of opening-up and work hard to raise the level of the open economy," the premier said.

"To overcome the severe international financial crisis, we must rely more on science and technology in making breakthroughs and boosting development," he said.

The country will accelerate the development of a low carbon economy and green economy so as to gain an advantageous position in the international industrial competition, according to Wen.

"We will, at the same time, speed up the upgrading of traditional industries through new and high technologies and advanced applicable technologies and substantially increase the level of modernization in agriculture, manufacturing and the traditional service sector," the premier said.

China should "take it as a strategic priority to pursue balanced development between urban and rural areas and among various regions and promote urbanization, and make greater effort to expand new areas of growth", he said.

"To balance urban and rural development and development among various regions provides a strong internal force that supports China's long-term fast economic growth," We said.

"Our ultimate goal in overcoming the global financial crisis is to build a strong country while improving the livelihood of the people, meet the people's ever-growing material and cultural needs and bring about a better life for the people," he noted.

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