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Xinhua (Beijing), February 25 — The Political Bureau [Politburo] of the Chinese Communist Party of China (CCP) Central Committee convened a meeting on February 25. It discussed the draft Government Work Report that the State Council is proposing for submission to the [upcoming] Fifth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress [commencing March 5] for deliberation. The [Politburo] also deliberated the Comprehensive Report on the Eighth Round of Inspection Tours of the 19th Central Committee and the Report on the 2021 Priority Work of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work. The General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee, Xi Jinping, presided over the meeting.

The meeting deemed [2021] to be a milestone year in the history of the Party and the state. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core united and led the whole Party and people of all ethnic groups of the country to:

— celebrate the centenary of the CCP’s founding grandly;

— convene the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party successfully;

— formulate the Party’s third resolution on history;

— win the battle against [absolute] poverty as scheduled;

— realize the first centenary goal by completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled, and

— embark on a new journey towards the second centenary goal to fully build a modern socialist [China].

Over the past year, in the face of complex and severe domestic and foreign developments and many risks and challenges, the whole nation has worked together to plan and coordinate [Covid-19] epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development. The main goals and tasks of [2021] have been completed relatively well, and we have realized a good start to the 14th Five-Year Plan [2021-2025]. New major achievements have been made in [China’s] development.

The meeting stressed that this year is significant to the development process of the Party and the state’s cause, given that the 20th CCP National Congress will be convened [late] this year. To perform government work well, [we] must be under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide. [We] must:

— comprehensively implement the spirit of the 19th CCP National Congress and its plenary sessions;

— promote the great Party-building spirit;

— adhere to the fundamental of seeking progress while maintaining stability;

— completely, accurately and comprehensively implement the New Development Concept;

— accelerate the construction of a new development paradigm;

— comprehensively deepen reform and opening up

—  adhere to innovation-driven development

— promote high-quality development;

— adhere to the main line of supply-side structural reform

— coordinate and plan the prevention and control of the [Covid-19] epidemic with economic and social development;

— coordinate and plan development and security;

— continue to do well the ‘Six Stabilities’ and the ‘Six Guarantees’ work [that is, stable employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, investment and expectations, and guarantees for employment, basic livelihoods, economic entities, grain and energy security, industry supply chains and operations at the grassroots];

— continue to improve the livelihood of the people;

— focus on stabilizing the macro-economic situation;

— maintain the operation of the economy within reasonable parameters;

— maintain general social stability; and

— welcome the successful convening of the Party’s 20th National Congress.

The meeting pointed out that this year’s work shall prioritize stability while seeking progress, and we must:

— increase the implementation efforts of macroeconomic policies to stabilize the economic situation;

— unwaveringly deepen reform to stimulate the vitality of market entities;

— deeply implement the innovation-driven development strategy;

— firmly implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, and promote inter-region coordinated development and new-type urbanization;

— firmly grasp agricultural production and promote the comprehensive revitalization of the countryside;

— expand high-level openness to the outside world to promote the steady development of foreign trade and foreign investment;

— continuously improve the ecological environment and promote green and low-carbon development;

— guard against and resolve financial risks, and hold the bottom line of no systemic [financial] risks;

— earnestly guarantee and improve the people’s livelihood, and strengthen and innovate on social governance; and

— strengthen the government’s self-construction, strictly prevent and eliminate formalism and bureaucratism, and strive to complete the annual economic and social development goals and tasks.

The meeting pointed out that the Eighth Round of Inspection Tours of the 19th Central Committee has effectively played a role in political supervision. Since the 19th Party Congress [in October 2017], the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core:

— adhered to and strengthened centralized and unified leadership over financial work;

— made comprehensive plans for deepening financial reform;

— insisted that finance [must] serve the real economy;

— severely punished financial sector corruption; and

— effectively neutralized major financial risks.

New achievements have been made to develop [China’s] financial sector. But at the same time, [the eighth round of] inspection tours have found that in the course of financial work units’ implementation work, including to comprehensive Party leadership, strengthening Party construction, and full and strict governance over the Party, there remain many salient problems. Some of these problems are common in nature and must be earnestly addressed. We must concretize and reform the responsibilities of [these] entities, strengthen and reform day-to-day supervision, and solve one problem after another.

The meeting stressed the need to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over financial work and unswervingly follow the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics. We must:

— strengthen the prevention and control of financial risks, and resolutely maintain overall financial stability;

— strengthen the atmosphere of the full and strict governance over the Party; implement the ‘Two Responsibility’ [Party committee has the main responsibility while the commission for discipline inspection is responsible for supervision]; strengthen the supervision of the ‘Number Ones’ [the top cadres in their respective organizations] and leading teams; conduct targeted rectifications to address typical problems such as the violation of the spirit of the Central Committee’s eight-point decision [on improving Party and government conduct] and ‘revolving doors’ between politics and business; and conduct anti-corruption in an integrated manner so that [officials] dare not, can not and do not want to be corrupt;

— innovate and improve the system of supervision and the system of discipline and law enforcement, so that punishing corruption in the financial sector and the handling of financial risks are advanced simultaneously, pursuing responsibility, and the recovering of what is stolen and lost can be advanced simultaneously, and establishing systems and strengthening their implementation can be advanced simultaneously;

— thoroughly implement the Party’s organizational line in the new era and strengthen the construction of leadership teams; and

— promote in-depth reform of the financial sector and continuously modernize the financial governance system and capacity.

The meeting fully affirmed the work in 2021 of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work and agreed with its work arrangements for 2022. The meeting stressed the need to:

— deeply understand the decisive significance of the “Two Establishments”, enhance the “Four Consciousnesses”, firm up the “Four Confidences” and achieve the “Two Safeguards”;

— fully implement the policy on inspection tour work, consolidate and deepen political inspection tours, and highlight the political and people’s nature of inspection tour work;

— highlight problem-orientedness, maintain that there is no forbidden zone for supervision within the Party, and firmly complete the task of ensuring that inspection tours [work] have full coverage;

— earnestly implement the [Party Central Committee’s] opinions on inspection tours [work] reform and the application of their outcomes, and improve the reform mechanism and reinforce the responsibilities for reform

— continue to deepen the inspection tours [work] pattern that links [activities] at different levels [central, provincial and local], and give full play to the role of integrated inspection;

— earnestly summarize the 19th [Central Committee’s] inspection tour work, and make this work more scientific and effective.

The meeting also considered other issues.