Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news 

Environmental protection investments, research and development expenditures and household disposable incomes are for the first time listed as the Shanghai Municipal Government's economic and social development targets, according to a work report that Mayor Han Zheng delivered to a plenary meeting of the 12th Shanghai People's Congress yesterday.

According to the work report, the local research and development (R&D) expenditures are expected to account for 2.2 percent of the total GDP this year, environmental protection investments to cover more than three percent of the GDP and household disposable income per capita to grow faster than the national average level.

"From the year 2000, the local environmental protection investments have been accounting for more than three percent of the GDP, with the proportion increasing year on year, but it is the first time for it to be included in the government report, said the director with the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau.

Shanghai invested 19.1 billion yuan (US$2.3 billion) in environmental protection last year, accounting for 3.07 percent of GDP, particularly in the treatment of local waterways, auto emissions and various other pollutants.

Invigorating the city with science and education is confirmed as the main strategy of the city's economic and social development, and the local government expects to improve the innovative abilities of the whole society by raising R&D expenditures.

Shanghai plans to set up an R&D public service platform to offer designing, examination and testing services for the R&D work of all the industries.

Both local urban and suburban families' disposable income per capita last year increased by 12 and 7 percent from a year before respectively.

Including per-capita disposable income in the government report indicates that the municipal government is paying much attention to local residents' lives, said Prof. Zhu Ronglin, researcher with the Research and Development Center of the State Council.