The scientific concept of development proposed by the new generation of Chinese leadership featuring humanistic governance and comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of the economy and society will be crucial to the country's modernization drive in the future.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made the remarks at a high-level seminar on the new concept of development held at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for provincial and ministerial level officials on Feb. 21. The full text of Wen's speech was released here Sunday.

The scientific concept of development, with the goal of building a well-off society by 2020 and the modernization of China by 2050, calls for "people-centered development, which is comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable, for the promotion of overall harmonic development of economy, society and human beings."

It also stresses "coordinated development between urban and rural areas, among different regions and between economic and social development, harmony between human beings and nature and coordination of domestic development and opening to the outside world" as means of pushing forward reform and progress.

"The new concept, created by the CPC Central Committee with Hu Jintao as its general secretary, has been a new development of China's modernization theory on the basis of relevant theories developed by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin," heads of China's first, second and third generation of leadership, respectively, and "has been a new development of Marxism in pace with the times," Wen said.

Correct implementation of the scientific concept of development will be crucial for solving contradictions and problems in the course of China's rapid economic development over the years, such as the widening gap between urban and rural areas, among different regions, the pressure of higher unemployment rate and lack of a sound social security network, according to the premier.

Such issues have further been compounded by population expansion, escalation of conflicts between economic development and ecological environment and natural resources, a backward mode of economic growth, poor performance and low competitiveness of the overall economy, he said.

"Now China's per capita value of gross domestic product has reached 1,000 US dollars, and is expected to hit 3,000 by 2020," Wen noted, stressing that the first 20 years of this century, a crucial period of time in China's modernization process, will see fundamental changes in the country's economic and social structures.

It has been vindicated by the experiences of many countries in the world that such a process usually leads to two directions: one is smooth economic and social development and easy transition to industrialization and modernization, and the other plagued by an aggravated gap between the rich and the poor, high jobless rate, greater social and economic conflicts and even social upheavals and retrogresses.

"The scientific concept of development is the only way out for China in solving its problems in this process," Wen stressed.

Wen went on to call for fully understanding and seriously implementing the scientific concept of development, saying it is rich in meaning and involves various fields including economy, politics, culture, and social development.

Firstly, Wen called for adherence to the principle of centering on economic development. He cited Marxism as saying that the development of productivity is the final, decisive force for the social development of human beings. As a major developing power, China should maintain a long-term development with a relatively high speed, but it should not solely stress the speed of economic development.

The premier described this year's key issues concerning macro-economic control as adhering to a scientific concept of development, which is comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable; having appropriate control over the general scale of investment by readjusting and optimizing the industrial structure; stepping up readjustment of economic operation to ease the supply of energy and major materials; and paying great attention to preventing inflation to curb price hikes in general.

Secondly, the premier called for a coordinated development of economy and society, confessing that China faces the problem of imbalance between economic and social development, though the country has achieved remarkable progress in both areas. Last year's outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) exposed the problem in a typical way, he noted.

Great efforts should be made to develop the undertakings of education, science and technology, culture, health and sports, in a bid to accelerate social development, Wen said. He called for efforts to quicken the pace of social development by increasing investment, deepening reforms, and improving policies.

Thirdly, the premier stressed the need to achieve a coordinated development between urban and rural areas and to resolve issues concerning agriculture, farmers and rural areas.

Wen called for reforms to increase assistance and protection for agriculture, to speed up urbanization, to let cities play a bigger role in promoting the development of rural areas and to coordinate the development of urban and rural areas, by unifying the management of issues like labor, family, compulsory education, and taxation.

Fourthly, he called for coordinated development among different regions, among which, in a vast country like China, there remains an imbalance in development. Wen called it a major political issue, which may affect the general situation of the ongoing modernization drive, as well as the long-term stability of the country.

Fifthly, Wen called for a sustainable development, by coordinating a harmonious development between human beings and the nature. To realize it, China has to maintain its present fundamental policies on family planning, environmental protection, and resources protection, he emphasized.

Sixthly, China should adhere to its reform and opening drive, Wen said. It is imperative to firmly push forward reforms in a bid to improve the country's socialist market economy and develop a well-off society in a comprehensive way, he said.

Noting that China's reforms have entered into a decisive period, he called for persistence in ideological emancipation and being bold in innovation. An integration of domestic development and opening up to the outside world is a major part of the efforts to implement a scientific concept of development, he said.

Seventhly, the premier highlighted the principle of centering on people, stressing it is the nature and kernel of a scientific concept of development, which means to center every work on the interests of the people, in order to meet the various demands of the people and achieve an all-around development of human beings.

The great cause of building socialism with China's own characteristics must be centered on the people, namely to work for the people and rely on the people, according to the premier.

On the part of government bodies at various levels, Wen said the new scientific concept of development means correct handling of macro-economic adjustment goals, comprehensive fulfillment of government functions, a complete set of quotas system for the assessment of officials' performance, and new concrete policy guidelines.

The goal of marco-economic control is to promote a relatively rapid economic growth, to lower the unemployment rate, to avoid price hiking and to achieve the balance of international payments, Wen said.

Government functions must be swiftly switched to economic adjustment, instead of intervention, and to market supervision and management to ensure a nationwide unified, open, competitive and orderly market, to management of social affairs and organizations to safeguard social justice and public security, and to public services, Wen said.

The current assessment system of officials' performances has been based solely on economic figures, according to the premier, so a new assessment system for officials must be set up mainly on the basis of the public opinions of the broad mass of people.

Finally, Wen said the current financial, taxation, investment and distribution policies should be adjusted to facilitate comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, and relevant laws and regulations should also be revised in this regard.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2004)