Fellow Deputies,

On behalf of the People’s Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, I now present to you the report on the work of the government for your deliberation, and I welcome comments on my report from members of the Ningxia Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and other nonvoting delegates.

I. Maintaining Good Momentum of Sound Economic and Social Development by Overcoming Difficulties

Last year, in the face of unprecedented pressures and arduous tasks, under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the State Council and the Ningxia Autonomous Regional Committee of the CPC, we adhered to the general work guideline of making progress while maintaining stability, stuck to the “4+1” innovative work mechanism and implemented the policy of “focusing on main projects, tasks, festivals and deepening reform.” We worked to maintain stable growth, carry out reform, make structural adjustments and improve people’s livelihood, achieving the main tasks set at the third session of 11th Ningxia People’s Congress.

The economy was stable in general. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Ningxia reached 275 billion yuan, an increase of 8% over the previous year, 0.6 percentage point higher than the national average growth speed. The primary, secondary and tertiary industries rose by 5.6%, 9.2% and 6.9% respectively. The local government budgetary revenue totaled 33.98 billion yuan, up 10.2% compared with the previous year. The investments in fixed assets amounted to 320.1 billion yuan, a yearly increase of 19.4%. The total retail sales of consumer goods reached 67.32 billion yuan, up 10.3% year on year.

We accelerated structural readjustment. The ratio of six energy guzzling industries decreased by 1 percentage point. The ratio of light industry rose by 1.5 percentage points, with both its production and efficiency improved. The year’s grain yield came to 3.779 million tons, a new record high. The development of agriculture with distinctive local characteristics maintained good momentum, with its output accounting for 85.7% of the total agricultural production. The finance, tourism and e-commerce all kept a growth rate of over 15%. Total imports and exports in the whole region increased by 69%, ranking at the forefront across China.

The development of environment kept improving. We abolished or delegated to lower-level governments 422 items previously subject to examination at the autonomous regional level for approval, a decrease of 39.2%. The examination and approval period in the investment sector was shortened by 50%. The administrative fees were either canceled or exempted, thus reducing the burden on businesses by 360 million yuan. The energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP was deducted by 4.2%. A total of 25 leisure forest parks started construction. The ecological restoration area totaled 48,467 hectares in the migrant emigration area. We curbed water loss and soil erosion in a total area of 1,000 square kilometers. The forest coverage rate increased to 13.8%.

The people’s livelihood continued to improve. The disposable incomes of urban and rural residents reached 23,285 yuan and 8,410 yuan, up 8.4% and 10.7% respectively. The RMB savings deposit and loan balance totaled 420.9 billion yuan and 457.8 billion yuan respectively. The registered urban unemployment rate was 4.02%. The rise in the consumer price index (CPI) was kept at 1.9%. The natural population growth rate was controlled within 9%.