The Second Session of the 12th Hebei Provincial People's Congress opened at Hebei Hall on Jan 8 in Shijiazhuang, capital of the province in North China.

More than 700 delegates from across the province attended the meeting to discuss matters of vital importance concerning the development of the province and its residents.

Governor Zhang Qingwei delivered a report on government work, which summarized the achievements in 2013 and major tasks in 2014.

Zhang said the province fulfilled major objectives and tasks set at the First Session of the 12th Hebei Provincial People's Congress. Hebei’s GDP rose 8.5 percent year-on-year to 2.83 trillion yuan ($462.4 billion). Government revenue reached 229.35 billion yuan, up 11.2 percent over the previous year.

The governor indicated that the past year saw the province further accelerate transformation of its economic development pattern. The province has yielded big harvests for 10 successive years.

The efforts in environmental protection were unprecedented, and the development of some key areas saw great breakthroughs, according to Zhang.

The balanced development between rural and urban areas has brought a new look to the province. Hebei has made significant progress in reform and opening-up, as well in infrastructure construction and local resident livelihood. The government also further improved its management capacity, said Zhang.

The GDP growth rate is expected to reach 8 percent, and fiscal revenue is expected to grow by 9 percent. The province should increase annual fixed asset investment by 17 percent. Total annual retail sales of consumer goods will grow by 13 percent, according to Zhang's report.

Hebei plans to raise the total import and export value by 5 percent, as well as the province’s actual paid-in foreign capital.

The government seeks to cut the energy use per unit of GDP by 3 percent. The emissions of chemical oxygen demand (which measures the amount of organic compounds in water), ammonia nitrogen, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are expected to fall by 1.2 percent, 2.7 percent, 1.2 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively. The amount of PM2.5 should be cut by 4 percent.

Both per capita disposable income of urban residents and per capita net income of rural residents should rise 8.5 percent. The consumer price index (CPI) will edge up by 3.5 percent year-on-year, and the registered urban unemployment rate up by 4.5 percent. The population will grow no more than 7.6 percent.

By Liao Wei