More highlights of the Government Work Report

COVID-19 control

To prevent inbound cases and domestic resurgences, we need to constantly refine epidemic containment measures, strengthen epidemic controls in port-of-entry cities, step up efforts to study and protect against virus variants, accelerate R&D of vaccines and effective medicines, and continue implementing vaccination programs. Occurrences of local cases must be handled in a scientific and targeted manner, and the normal order of work and life must be ensured.

Innovation

We need to promote scientific and technological innovation, so as to upgrade our industries, eliminate the bottlenecks in supply, and realize high-quality development through innovation. We will press ahead with the 10-year action plan on basic research to ensure stable support over the long term. We will implement a three-year action plan to reform the science and technology management system, reinforce China's strategic science and technology capabilities, leverage the strengths of national laboratories and key national laboratories, advance the reform of research institutes, and improve the approval procedures for major science and technology projects and their management. We will enhance the policy on granting additional tax deductions for R&D costs, raising the deduction coverage for small and medium sci-tech enterprises from 75 percent to 100 percent.

Agriculture and rural revitalization

We will refine and strengthen policies in support of agriculture, continue promoting development in areas lifted out of poverty, ensure good harvests, and promote growth in rural incomes. We will step up efforts to ensure stable production and sufficient supply of grain and other important agricultural products. To ensure the area of farmland remains above the redline of 120 million hectares, we will designate a sufficient amount of good land as permanent basic cropland, and firmly stop any attempts to use cropland for any purpose other than agriculture and specifically grain production. We will implement better monitoring and assistance mechanisms to prevent people from slipping back into poverty and see that people do not return to impoverishment in large numbers.

Environment

We will work harder to address pollution and protect and restore ecosystems. We will promote development while also reducing emissions, and ensure greater harmony between humanity and nature. We will take holistic steps to improve the environment. We will work to make solid gains in the battle against pollution. We will take well-ordered steps to achieve peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. The action plan for peaking carbon emissions will be put into effect. To advance China's energy revolution and ensure energy supply, we will, based on our resource endowment, push forward the transformation toward low-carbon development, in accordance with overall planning and the principle of establishing the new before abolishing the old.

Education

We will improve the fairness and quality of education. We will promote high-quality, well-balanced development and urban-rural integration of compulsory education, allocate educational resources according to the size of the residential population, and see that school-age children can enroll in nearby schools. We will ensure that compulsory education teachers receive their pay packages in full and strengthen targeted training programs, on-the-job training, and salary guarantees for rural teachers. We will continue our efforts to reduce the burden on students in compulsory education.

Aging

We will proactively respond to population aging, improve elderly care in urban and rural areas, support private entities in providing elderly care services such as day care, assistance with meals and cleaning, and rehabilitation care, and encourage mutualassistance elderly care in rural areas. We will promote high-quality development of both elderly care programs and the elderly care sector.

Child birth policy

We will improve the supporting measures for the three-child policy, make care expenses for children under the age of 3 part of the special additional deductions for individual income tax, and develop public-interest childcare services to ease the burden of raising a family.

Social governance

We will crack down hard on the trafficking of women and children and protect their lawful rights and interests. The system for supporting and caring for senior citizens and people with disabilities will also be improved.