Seeking progress while maintaining stability, monthly observation | Make further efforts in the middle of the year to consolidate the good momentum - Observation of economic and social development across the country in June Venture capital | Summer grain | Summer planting
Beijing, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Make another effort to consolidate the good momentum in the middle of the year -- Observations on economic and social development across the country in June
It is mid-year, the height of summer. The fields are bustling with activity, and the workshops are busy. Summer grain is expected to have another bumper harvest, patient capital is accelerating cultivation, and the "elderly care" is more secure... We are currently at a critical juncture that determines the economic trend for the whole year. All parts of the country continue to make efforts to consolidate the upward trend of the economy, and measures to benefit the people are taking effect.
With the roar of the water pump, streams of cool water gushed out from the sprinkler head and sprinkled on the corn field that had just been sown. On June 25, at the corn planting base in Dongdawa Modern Agricultural Park, Gucheng County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province, grain grower Lun Hongchi directed workers to start water-saving sprinklers to irrigate more than 3,000 acres of sown corn.
Hebei has been experiencing continuous high temperatures in recent days, with the highest temperature in some areas exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. A relevant person in charge of the Hebei Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said that in areas with insufficient soil moisture for summer planting, they will work with water conservancy departments to carry out emergency water diversion, water transfer, water lifting, and water delivery, and use high-power water pumps, mobile irrigation equipment and other drought-resistant material reserves to increase drought-resistant water sources and improve the quality of seedlings.
Recently, my country's climate has been characterized by floods in the south and droughts in the north. All localities and departments have stepped up their response in the "three summer" work to minimize losses and impacts.
In the fields of Xuzhou and Suqian in Jiangsu Province, farmers are also busy with sprinkler irrigation to increase soil moisture and protect seedlings in response to the continuous drought. In mid-June, large-scale mechanized wheat harvesting in Jiangsu Province was basically completed, and many places were advancing summer planting and summer management.
While the Huaibei region is doing its best to fight drought, the areas along the Huaihe River and south of the Huaihe River in Jiangsu Province are taking precautions against heavy rainfall and implementing disaster prevention and mitigation measures to ensure a bumper grain harvest throughout the year. According to the agricultural situation dispatch in Jiangsu Province, this year's summer grain production has generally shown a good situation of "three increases" in terms of area increase, yield increase and total output increase.
The controlling water projects in the Yellow River, Huaihe River and Haihe River basins have fully entered drought-resistant scheduling mode, increasing downstream flow and water volume to ensure water demand for summer sowing; Shandong, Hebei and other places have worked hard to expand irrigation areas through measures such as intensified monitoring and early warning, and scientific scheduling of water sources... Many places and departments are taking various measures to fight drought with all their strength to ensure summer sowing and water supply.
The latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs shows that as of 17:00 on June 25, 94.8% of the country's summer grain has been harvested, 0.8 percentage points faster than the same period last year. 79.6% of the country's summer grain has been planted, of which more than 95% of summer corn has been planted, nearly 90% of mid-season rice has been planted, and nearly 80% of summer soybeans have been planted.
[Reporter's observation] Summer grain is the first season of grain production throughout the year. Going all out to ensure summer harvest, summer planting and summer management is crucial to ensuring the food security of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. In the face of extreme weather, the "three summer" production this year has been affected to a certain extent. We must continue to improve agricultural infrastructure, strengthen scientific and technological support, and improve the long-term mechanism for agricultural disaster prevention, mitigation and relief to lay a solid foundation for food security.
Observation 2: Various regions are taking action to cultivate patient capital
Technological innovation requires high investment, a long cycle and high uncertainty, and cannot be separated from the "support" of venture capital and patient capital. In June, relevant policy signals appeared intensively.
On June 7, the State Council executive meeting pointed out that venture capital should give full play to its role in early investment, small investment, and hard technology investment. Recently, the General Office of the State Council issued "Several Policy Measures to Promote the High-Quality Development of Venture Capital", encouraging long-term funds to invest in venture capital.
Patient capital became a high-frequency word at the 2024 Lujiazui Forum held from June 19 to 20. During the forum, China Life Investment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Life Group, signed a cooperation intention agreement on science and technology investment funds with Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Pudong Innovation Investment Development Co., Ltd. to play the role of patient capital in the coordination between the central government and local governments.
"This tripartite cooperation will strengthen the synergy between scientific and technological innovation and financial investment, and further support the high-quality development of Shanghai's three leading industries: integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence," said Yuan Guohua, Party Secretary and Chairman of Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment Co., Ltd.
Looking across the country, in June, various regions have made arrangements to cultivate patient capital to better serve scientific and technological innovation and high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.
The Jiangsu Province Strategic Emerging Industry Fund with a total scale of 50 billion yuan has started operation; the Hainan Free Trade Port Innovation Investment Fund with an initial scale of 1 billion yuan has officially started investment operations; the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone has established a science and technology innovation equity investment fund with an initial scale of 1.001 billion yuan, further playing the guiding role of fiscal funds in promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements...
At present, patient capital is being cultivated at an accelerated pace, providing stable capital support for technological innovation, upgrading of traditional industries, and cultivation of new industries, becoming one of the important engines for accelerating the development of new quality productivity in various places.
[Reporter's observation] Patient capital values the future and invests in value. I believe that as patient capital continues to grow, it will further stimulate the momentum and potential of the development of my country's venture capital industry and contribute more to supporting scientific and technological innovation and high-level scientific and technological self-reliance.
Observation 3: Green “report card” continues to be updated
In June, the land of China is lush and green, full of vitality. June 5 is Environment Day, and a "report card" full of greenery is released.
The "2023 China Ecological Environment Status Bulletin" shows: the sky is bluer, with the average PM2.5 concentration in 339 cities at the prefecture level and above across the country being 30 micrograms per cubic meter; the water is clearer, with 89.4% of the country's surface water sections with good water quality; the mountains are more beautiful, with the national terrestrial ecological protection red line area accounting for more than 30% of the country's land area.
Jilin, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Gansu and other places also disclosed the latest ecological protection situation and the latest ecological protection measures in June.
Comprehensively eliminate the five worst categories of water quality, and ensure stable and safe rural and soil environmental quality... On the eve of Environment Day, the "2023 Jilin Province Ecological Environment Bulletin" was released; in mid-June, Jilin Province issued the "Several Measures to Strengthen Zoning Control of the Ecological Environment."
Zhejiang Province recently issued and implemented the "Zhejiang Province Air Quality Continuous Improvement Action Plan", proposing key governance tasks in optimizing industrial structure, energy structure, and transportation structure. By 2025, the average PM2.5 concentration in cities in the province will reach 24.3 micrograms per cubic meter, and severe pollution weather will be completely eliminated.
"High-level ecological and environmental protection is the prerequisite for high-quality development." A relevant official from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment said that we should deepen the green and low-carbon transformation of industrial, energy, and transportation structures, actively promote large-scale equipment upgrades in the field of ecological environment, and support high-quality development with high-level protection.
June 17 this year is the 30th World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. According to monitoring, in the past 10 years, there have been an average of 9.2 sandstorms in the spring in northern China, which is a trend of decreasing frequency and weakening intensity compared with the average of 12.5 times in the same period of the past 30 years. The improvement of the ecological environment in the sandy areas has driven the development of animal husbandry and forestry and fruit industries, and promoted regional economic development.
[Reporter's observation] Protecting the ecological environment means protecting natural value and increasing the value of natural capital, and protecting the potential and stamina of economic and social development. We must organically integrate development and protection, utilization and restoration, and make green the most distinctive background color of high-quality development.
Observation 4: Better guarantee of “old age care”
"When I retired in 2012, my monthly pension was 1,972 yuan. After several adjustments, it has reached 3,526 yuan by the end of 2023." Mr. Li, 72, is a retired employee of an enterprise in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. Recently, he received the good news that his monthly pension will be increased by more than 100 yuan this year.
In order to better ensure that the elderly have a decent pension, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on June 17, clarifying that from January 1, 2024, the basic pension for those who have retired before the end of 2023 will be increased by 3% per capita. Recently, various provinces have successively announced their specific local adjustment plans.
Pensions are the people's retirement money and are related to the fundamental interests of the insured. Relevant departments are continuously promoting the national coordination of enterprise employee pension insurance and vigorously promoting "cross-provincial handling" and "one-stop service".
In June, the vast rural elderly population also welcomed good news. The Ministry of Civil Affairs and 21 other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Rural Elderly Care Services" and released it to the public on June 13. This is the first overall and systematic deployment made at the national level on the development of rural elderly care services.
Around 10 a.m. every day, the elderly care service station in Ma Ling Village, Heqing Town, Anzhou District, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province is particularly lively, with many elderly people coming here to drink tea and chat. In rural Sichuan, the three-level rural elderly care service network connecting counties, towns and villages is gradually being improved. As of June, 183 county-level nursing homes for disabled and poor people, 638 regional elderly care service centers, and more than 5,000 village-level elderly care service mutual assistance points have been built.
Many places across the country are relying on the three-level rural elderly care service network, introducing professional forces, and vigorously developing new models such as elderly meal assistance, smart elderly care, elderly education, and integrated medical and nursing care to continuously improve the quality of life of the elderly.
[Reporter's observation] Actively responding to population aging is a long-term strategic task for my country. As the aging population intensifies, the national level continues to formulate and improve effective measures, and local governments are also actively exploring. I believe that as the capacity and level of elderly care services improve, the sense of gain, happiness, and security of the elderly group will continue to improve.
