Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday delivered the government work report on behalf of the State Council as the second session of the 14th National People's Congress kicked off at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. What are the highlights of the year and how will these efforts impact the lives of Hangzhou residents? Let's find out together.

Economic and consumption growth

The main expected targets for development this year are a GDP growth of around 5%, the creation of over 12 million urban jobs, and a grain output of over 695.41 million tons.

The country is actively promoting the development of the private economy, intensively addressing outstanding issues related to market access, factor acquisition, fair law enforcement, and the protection of rights and interests.

Lang Jinhuan, Director of the Institute of Macroeconomic Research at the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Planning Research Institute, believes that currently, the private economy is still the main force in creating new industries, models, demands, and scenarios. It is driving the creative combination and innovative transformation of various production factors and is becoming the pioneer, practitioner, and contributor to the development of new quality productive forces, which were mentioned during the Central Economic Work Conference held in December last year, and have recently become a buzzword, and sparked widespread discussions.

China will work to develop new consumption growth points such as smart homes, sports events, domestic products and China-chic goods. In March and April, Hangzhou will host a concert almost every weekend. In addition, big international sports events like the 2024 BWF World Tour Finals will attract a lot of attention and generate significant profits.

New quality productive forces

China aims to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces and actively build new growth engines such as bio-manufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low-altitude economy.

Hangzhou is already progressing in this direction. With the government's support and the efforts of innovative enterprises, universities, research institutions, and talents, it is emerging as a leader in shaping new development advantages through technological innovation. Westlake University in the city, for instance, has established a Research Centre for Industries of the Future. To make it more exciting, Hangzhou will soon launch driverless taxi services.

New urbanization

China is adapting to the trend of new urbanization and the changing supply and demand relationship in the real estate market, accelerating the establishment of new models for real estate development. It is implementing urban renewal actions, promoting the construction of public infrastructure and the transformation of urban villages.

Professor Wu Weiqiang from Zhejiang University of Technology states that "new urbanization" can also be understood as "metropolitan areas". Currently, the radius of the Hangzhou metropolitan area is about 33 kilometers. Wu predicts that this radius will need to be expanded to 50 kilometers to maintain an adequate land reserve and supply, and the real estate industry will also rapidly develop within a 30-50 kilometer radius.

This year, Hangzhou plans to construct 6,000 new units of distribution-based affordable housing and secure 60,000 units of affordable rental housing. The city will undertake 59 urban village transformation projects and complete the renovation of 200 old residential communities, while also actively exploring a new model of demolition and renovation that features self-initiated updates.

Zhang Weiwen, Dean of the Institute for China's New Urbanization Studies at Zhejiang University, believes that the essence of the urbanization of the agricultural transferred population is the process of equalization of public services and social rights: "The key to high-quality urbanization lies in treating everyone equally, including access to affordable housing, education, and medical insurance. Moreover, greater inclusiveness should be granted towards the agricultural population, helping them integrate into urban life."

Talent and employment

China is accelerating the construction of a national strategic talent pool, striving to cultivate more outstanding talents and innovative teams.

This year, the number of college graduates in China is expected to exceed 11.7 million. To address the challenges in youth employment, the government aims to optimize guidance services for employment and entrepreneurship.

The government work report also proposes that more than 12 million new urban jobs will be created in the year, with an urban surveyed unemployment rate of around 5.5%. Multiple measures are also introduced to stabilize employment, especially for the stability of youth employment. Regarding Hangzhou, the plan includes the introduction of over 350,000 university graduates under the age of 35, with a target of creating over 250,000 new urban jobs.

Enhancement in education

The government aims to enhance support for childbirth, optimize maternity leave systems, improve mechanisms for reasonably sharing the costs of employing entities, and increase the supply of childcare services.

Expanding the availability of childcare services is considered essential. For instance, Hangzhou's Wangjiang Sub-district currently has seven childcare centers, with plans underway to establish more in the future.

In Hangzhou Kaiyuan Business Vocational School, students are taught to understand both online and offline operations and domestic and international trade, reflecting the country's effort to promote inclusive development in preschool education, strengthen the construction of ordinary high schools in counties, improve the quality of vocational education and develop digital education.

Healthcare and pension insurance

China is implementing measures to increase the per capita fiscal subsidy standard for residents' health insurance and the minimum monthly standard for basic pensions.

It is understood that this year, the per capita fiscal subsidy standard for residents' health insurance has been increased by 30 yuan. The minimum monthly standard for the basic pension received by more than 170 million elderly people nationwide has been increased by 20 yuan, which is a 19.4% increase.

In Hangzhou, a more flexible insurance payment method has been adopted: within a payment year, insured individuals can change their payment tier once. The higher the tier and the longer the payment duration, the more government subsidies will be received, resulting in a larger accumulation of funds in personal accounts.