Posts tagged ‘State Council of the People’s Republic of China’

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02/10/2012

* China to build more high-speed railways

When these plans have been implemented, China will be the only country to have separate passenger and freight lines. That, in theory, should speed up both types of traffic.

China Daily: “China is aiming to build separate passenger and freight networks within its railway system, one of the world’s busiest. It may come true on some bustling lines in 2015, when a high-speed passenger transport network is expected to become fully operational.

According to a five-year plan on China’s transport system recently approved by the State Council, China’s cabinet, China will create a high-speed railway backbone network featuring four east-west lines and four north-south lines by the end of 2015.

The Ministry of Railways said that the total milage of high-speed railway will reach some 18,000 km by then.

China’s high-speed lines, which should have an average speed of over 200 km per hour, stood at 6,894 km in August, fewer than last year as a speed cut was executed after the Wenzhou accident, according to the ministry.

Railway expert Wang Mengshu said that as new high-speed lines open, transportation capacity will be released from conventional lines, which will gradually turn into freight lines.

“Putting passenger and freight on separate tracks will greatly increase traffic volume,” said Wang, also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. “The plan indicates that China will continue to develop high-speed trains to address its transportation bottleneck.”

The plan is long-awaited as China’s high-speed railway development has been set back by the Wenzhou collision last July that left 40 dead.

The crash seriously dented China’s enthusiasm for high-speed rail. China halted work on new lines and conducted nationwide safety checks. A total of 54 people, including minister-level officials, were punished following the accident. Local railway bureaus and stations have been ordered to improve train scheduling and management, as well as conduct more intensive work safety training.

A railway ministry report released in July says that signaling and lightning diffusion equipment has been checked and reinforced at more than 1,000 railway stations.

The changes were in response to the two major causes of the Wenzhou accident, management failure and faulty signaling equipment.

via China to build more high-speed railways |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

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31/08/2012

* Insurance to cover serious illnesses

China Daily: “China on Thursday announced a decision to expand the coverage of the country’s healthcare insurance system to include the treatment of critical illnesses, aiming to prevent patients from being reduced to poverty by necessary healthcare costs.

The new arrangement will further increase the level of protection that China’s healthcare insurance system can offer, according to a document co-issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and five other central government departments.

Sun Zhigang, head of the health reform office under the State Council, said it aims to ensure that each patient’s total medical expenditure is no more than the “household expenditure for healthcare,” which is set at the level of the regional annual per capita disposable or net income.

In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, Sun said when patients’ medical bills for necessary treatments under the existing basic healthcare insurance system exceed that level, they will be reimbursed by the newly launched critical illness insurance project.

Though around 1.3 billion people, or more than 95 percent of China’s population, were covered by the healthcare insurance system by the end of last year, medical expenditure burdens incurred by patients with severe medical conditions remain heavy, Sun said.

“The new move targets the widely recognized problem of ‘people falling into poverty because of illnesses’, and aims to ensure that most people won’t become impoverished because of diseases,” Sun said.”

via Insurance to cover serious illnesses |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

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20/07/2012

* China’s health reforms for all

China Daily: “Vice-Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday urged the country to push forward with medical reform.

The basic public health insurance system has covered both urban and rural areas, but the system to insure people with acute diseases and serious chronological diseases has not yet been established, Li said. He said a person who suffers from such an illness is likely to impose a major financial burden on their whole family.

Li asked medical reformers to cover such diseases under the current public health insurance system.

He also suggested that the insurance industry and the government work together to help people combat such diseases. He said government, individuals and insurance companies can together share the burden of chronic disease.

China is set to build a “relatively sound” public service system and achieve “equalization” in public service supply by 2020, according to the country’s first national plan for public services.

The State Council issued the plan, which covers the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), on Thursday. It specifies the scope of public services and defines standards and operating mechanisms for the provision of services.

The basic public services listed cover eight major sectors — public education, labor and employment services, social security, social services, healthcare, population and family planning services, and housing services, as well as culture and sports.

“It establishes a future trend that each Chinese citizen, regardless of gender, social status, wealth or place of residence, is equally entitled to basic social services, which will be detached as an ultimate goal from the household registration system,” Hu Zucai, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference.

Also, “it will help accelerate the transformation of the country’s economic growth pattern and boost domestic consumption”, he said.

“Promoting the equalization of basic public services is necessary to build a harmonious society and safeguard social fairness and justice,” he said.

At present, there are huge gaps in public service supply and access between urban and rural areas, different population groups and regions, Hu said.

For instance, the number of doctors serving every 1,000 people in urban areas is more than twice that in rural areas, according to the Ministry of Health.

To address discrepancies, the government will channel more social resources toward rural areas, poor regions and vulnerable social groups in order to ensure that all people have equal access to basic public services, Hu said.”

via China’s health reforms for all |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Health, Inequalities, Social & cultural | 1 Comment »

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10/07/2012

* 5m greener vehicles on the Chinese streets by 2020

China Daily: “China has set a target of producing and selling 500,000 energy-efficient and alternative-energy vehicles a year by 2015, and five million vehicles by 2020.

The blueprint, announced by the State Council on Monday, has outlined generous subsidies to consumers and producers of the new generation of greener vehicles, as it aims to ease the country’s heavy dependence on imported oil, cut emissions, and speed up the restructuring of its automobile sector into a more environmentally sustainable model.

According to the details, there will be heavy government investment in the core technology needed to build a strong and globally competitive new-energy vehicle industry.

The short-term emphasis will be on developing pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as wider usage of hybrid vehicles and energy-saving combustion engine automobiles.

The world’s largest auto market has set an accumulated production and sales target of 500,000 units of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2015, and that will be increased tenfold to more than 5 million units by 2020.”

via 5m greener vehicles on the streets by 2020 |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn.

Continuing on the path to a ‘greener’ China – https://chindia-alert.org/economic-factors/greening-of-china/

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10/07/2012

* New rule to rein in Chinese govt spending

China Daily: “Officials face removal from their posts if they are found overspending on vehicles, receptions and overseas trips, according to new regulation released on Monday.

The regulation issued by the State Council are the first legal documents that ask authorities above county level to include spending on the three items in budgets. The rules will take effect from Oct 1.

The regulation is the latest in a series of moves the central government has taken in recent years to promote transparency and fight abuse of taxpayers’ money amid public complaints.”

via New rule to rein in govt spending |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

More and more steps are being taken to rein in excesses of party cadres and officials. Is this because of the 10-year leadership change or a desire to be more retrained with the public becoming more aware and assertive?

See also:

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04/07/2012

* China vows to improve food safety in 3 years

China Daily: “The State Council on Tuesday announced a decision to markedly improve food safety, aiming to effectively solve prominent problems in three years.

According to a State Council statement posted online, the government also aims to establish a better regulation mechanism, legal and standard system as well as technical support for food safety and improve the overall food safety management level of the food industry in around five years.

Food safety will become a measure of local governments’ performance in their annual assessment for the first time, the statement said.

A database of food safety records of food companies will be established and those on the black list will be disclosed and punished, it said.

Authorities must prevent expired food products from returning to the market, while consumers will be rewarded in cash for reporting illegal acts.

The Chinese public has become increasingly concerned over food safety after a slew of scares — from melamine-tainted baby formula products to pork contaminated with clenbuterol — exposed the vulnerability of the country’s food sector.

Authorities detected 15,000 cases of substandard food and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses during their inspections on food businesses across the country since the beginning of 2012, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce said last month.

Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted during the inspections.”

via China vows to improve food safety in 3 years |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

See also: Social tensions and human rights issues, incl food safety

This follows on from the defeat of the Chinese volleyball team due to having to subsist on vegetarian dishes due to concerns about tainted meat: http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=158271eb42848310VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=HK+%26+China&s=Sport

Posted in China alert, Food safety, Good news | 1 Comment »

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14/06/2012

* Chinese State Council improves food safety

China Daily: “The State Council laid out measures to improve food safety on Wednesday, including tighter supervision and harsher punishment for violators.

“It is an onerous task for the government to ensure food safety,” as China’s food industry is still suffering from nonstandard management and many hidden safety risks, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Police officers examine decayed beans at an illegal food processing plant in Cangshan county, East China’s Shandong province, on June 1. The plant has been shut down. Initial investigation found its products, fried beans and peanuts, were mainly sold to rural market. [Zhu Wutao / For China Daily]

The government should enhance supervision by setting up an efficient mechanism that covers all links in the food industry and a rigid food recall system for destroying defective products, the statement said.

The State Council has vowed a “vigous crackdown” on those who endanger food safety.

Meanwhile, policies, laws and regulations should be revised to increase costs for violators, according to the statement.

The country will intensify a series of food safety supervisions, including strengthening enterprises’ accountability for their food products and streamlining current food quality testing standards .

The country will establish credit profiles for food enterprises, releasing quality information to the public in time, the statement said.

Also, the country will give prizes to people who expose substandard food products, it said.

China is facing increasing risks on food safety as some food enterprises have put too much emphasis on profits, negatively affecting sales, Pu Changcheng, deputy director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said at a news conference on Monday.”

via State Council improves food safety |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.

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04/05/2012

* China pledges more support for small, micro-sized firms

Xinhua: “The State Council, or China’s Cabinet, announced on Thursday a slew of measures to enhance the fiscal, financial and taxation support for small and micro-sized enterprises in a bid to ensure their sound development.

China’s small and micro-sized firms are facing increasing operational pressures and rising production costs amid a complicated and uncertain economic situation, and financing difficulties and heavy taxation are adding more pains. Therefore, the State Council issued a document to boost the healthy development of small and micro-sized firms as they play an irreplaceable role in creating jobs and promoting the real economy. The document, including 29 measures in eight aspects, required local authorities to enhance fiscal and tax support for the small and micro-sized firms, relieve their financing difficulties and create a favorable environment for their development.”

via China pledges more support for small, micro-sized firms – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, Economics | 2 Comments »

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