China will continue to boost the development of the country’s less-developed western and northeastern regions， said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council on January 9， reported Xinhua.

The meeting， presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao， has approved guidelines for the development program of China’s west and the revitalization of the northeast old industrial bases in the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15)， according to the statement. The two regions

have been at a new starting point in history， said the statement. The vast western

region is still a “short plate” in the country’s regional development， and achieving its prosperity is an important but difficult task in the building of an all-round well-off society， it said.

Priority should be given to the implementation of the strategy of large-scale development of the western region in the country’s overall regional development scheme， to maintain its continued stable and rapid economic and social development， said the statement.

Efforts should be undertaken to keep the growth of the regional GDP and the residents’ income higher than the national average in the five-year period， it said.

More emphasis should be put on the construction of “development priority zones” with their own development focus and priority according to their environmental features， natural resources， current development stage and development potential， according to the statement.

The State Council also underscored the importance of infrastructure construction， environment protection， promotion of advanced industries and agriculture， and the development of small towns and villages， education and opening-up.

The statement said that there were still unsolved systematic and structural problems that have restricted the development of China’s northeastern region， and that local governments should continue to deepen reform and accelerate transformation of development pattern in the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

The State Council urged those involved to make vigorous efforts to promote agricultural development， further perfect modern industries， and optimize regional development strategy in the northeastern provinces.

Local governments should also work to ensure sustainable development of resourcerich cities， improve infrastructures， enhance environmental protection， boost employment and affordable housing construction， and deepen reforms of state-owned enterprises while accelerating the growth of the private sector.

The more developed eastern and central provinces should offer better assistance to the development of these regions， the statement said.

China to support SMEs via govt purchasing

The country’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced that the nation’s government departments will allocate at least 30 percent of their purchasing quota to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) from the start of 2012， according to Xinhua.

Meanwhile， 60 percent of the allocated quota will be reserved for small and micro-sized businesses， according to a new guideline jointly issued by the MOF and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， a statement on the MOF website said.

The guideline urges relevant units to step up making plans to buy from SMEs in 2012. It also forbids any institution or any individual from impeding or restricting SMEs’ access to the government purchasing market， the statement said.

Furthermore， in regards to projects that are not especially oriented to SMEs， the government purchaser or purchasing agency should first implement a 6-10 percent cut in product prices as reported by SMEs， and use the reduced pricing for bidding in order to give them advantages.

The latest policy by the government came after the State Council， or China’s Cabinet， in October pledged stronger fiscal support for small and micro-sized businesses， which includes raising the tax threshold for levying corporate， value-added taxes and business taxes.

The MOF also announced last month that the country will scrap the collection of up to 22 items of administrative fees from small and micro-sized companies during the January 1， 2012- December 31， 2014 period. Such fees include charges for companies’ registrations and tax invoice purchases.

Figures

8.3%

China’s economy will grow 8.3 percent this year， according to a report by the Deutsche Bank.

11.7%

China’s power consumption rose 11.7 percent year-on-year to 4.7 trillion kilowatt hours in 2011， the State Electricity Regulatory Commission(SERC) said on Jan. 10.

8%

Shanghai， China’s economic center， aims to increase its gross domestic product (GDP) by 8 percent year-on-year in 2012， a government official said on Jan. 11.

37%

China’s land supply went up 37 percent year-on-year in 2011 amid the government’s tightening measure on commercial property market， according to the Ministry of Land and Resources(MLR) on Jan. 7.

1.43t

Insurance companies in Chinareaped 1.43 trillion yuan (226.4 billion U.S. dollars) of premiums last year， up 10.4 percent year-on-year， according to data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) on Jan. 7.

175.1b

China’s central bank said on Jan. 30 that banks lent 175.1 billion yuan ($27.77 billion) to support the construction of low-income housing in 2011.

13%

Land sales in 130 major Chinese cities dropped 13 percent year-on-year in 2011， as property market curbs continued to bite the realty industry， according to the China Index Academy.

49.88m

China’s crude steel output posted its first yearly decline in November 2011 to 49.88 million tonnes， according to latest data provided by the country’s top economic planner.