Wen delivered an ambitious set of goals for China to accomplish this year. Among the targets:

• An 8 percent increase in the country's gross domestic product;
• 9 million new jobs for urban residents;
• Controlling the registered urban unemployment rate at 4.6 percent or below;
• Keeping the rise in the consumer price index to no more than 4 percent;
• Holding international payments in basic balance;
• Bringing down the central budget deficit to 300 billion yuan (US$36.2 billion), 19.8 billion yuan less than in 2004;
• Issuing 80 billion yuan worth of long-term treasury bonds, 30 billion yuan less than last year;
• Rescinding the agricultural tax in 592 key counties that are included under the national plan for poverty alleviation through development;
• Allocating some 10.9 billion yuan to assist reemployment programs, 2.6 billion yuan more than last year;
• Earmarking 3 billion yuan to support technical upgrades to improve the safety of state-owned coal mines across the nation.