Page 19 - REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT

in urban communities, and the express delivery system in rural areas was
improved. We also provided support for the tourism sector.

We expanded effective investment to shore up weak links, promote structural
adjustments, and sustain growth momentum. Innovations were made in
investment and financing systems and mechanisms, and nongovernmental
investment increased several times over under the guidance and drive of central

government budgetary investment. We increased the scale of local government
special-purpose bonds, with a high priority given to the development of sectors
such as transportation, water conservancy, energy, information, and other
infrastructure as well as projects for the people’s wellbeing. We also encouraged

nongovernmental capital to participate in the construction and operation of such
projects, and this stimulated investment from nongovernmental sources.
We achieved more balanced and coordinated regional development. We took
coordinated steps to promote large-scale development of the western region, the
full revitalization of northeast China, the rise of the central region, and trailblazing

development in the eastern region. Overall, the central and western regions
outpaced the eastern region in terms of economic growth rate.
We stepped up support for old revolutionary base areas, areas with large
ethnic minority populations, and border areas, with central government transfer

payments to these areas rising by 66.8 percent over these five years.
We promoted coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,
the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt, the integrated development of the
Yangtze River Delta, and ecological conservation and high-quality development in

the Yellow River basin. The building of Xiong’an New Area was advanced
according to high standards and quality requirements.
Development of the marine economy was promoted. We supported regions
facing economic difficulty in pursuing development, promoted the economic

transformation of resource-depleted areas, encouraged regions with favorable
conditions to lead the way in development, and fostered more growth poles and
growth belts.
We continued to advance people-centered new urbanization. China is still in
the process of urbanization, with ten million plus rural people moving to urban

areas each year. We improved the functions of cities and particularly county seats
to increase their overall carrying capacity.
Restrictions on permanent urban residency were eased or removed on a

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