Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai expects to continue its double-digit economic growth this year while slightly reducing its unemployment rate, Mayor Han Zheng announced yesterday.

Han was speaking to more than 800 deputies to the Shanghai People's Congress as they began their five-day annual plenary meeting at Shanghai Exhibition Center.

He also said the government plans to control the city's unemployment rate around 4.6 percent, down slightly from last year's rate of 4.9 percent.

"Opportunities and challenges will be co-existing for the city's future development," the mayor said.

Han's 32-page government report, which sums up last year's work before devoting much space to a plan for 2004, will be reviewed by congress deputies before they vote on ratifying it on Friday.

In his speech, Han cited several key initiatives for this year, including optimizing the city's structure of foreign exports, better utilization of foreign direct investment, accelerating infrastructure construction and furthering the reform of state-run enterprises.

"The city should strongly push ahead its development of the service trade and foreign exports," Han said.

The mayor also said he wants the city to improve its customs efficiency and attract multinational companies to set up their regional headquarters in the city.

In urban construction, the mayor said the city will kick off a batch of key projects including a gigantic sea-crossing project between the city's downtown and Chongming Island.

The Pudong-Chongming connection, with its overall investment of 12.3 billion yuan (US$1.48 billion), will be a combination of tunnel and bridge covering a distance of 25 kilometers.

The city will also move quickly in its efforts to improve environmental protection this year, particularly in the treatment of local waterways, auto emissions and various other pollutants.

Following Han's report, Jiang Yingshi, director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, proposed a plan for the city's social and economic development.

He informed the assembly that Shanghai's economy was estimated to have grown by 11.8 percent in 2003 from a year earlier to 624 billion yuan, the fastest growth since 1998.

The Shanghai Development and Reform Commission reported to the People's Congress that Shanghai's economy was stronger than expected in 2003. The commission said the city's GDP is expected to grow by at least 10 percent next year.

It also said that industrial added value increased by 17.5 percent year-on-year last year to reach 285 billion yuan. In 2004, it is expected to grow by 12 percent.

Last year, fixed asset investment grew by 12 percent from a year earlier to 245 billion yuan. This year, the investment should top 245 billion yuan, it forecast.