Highlights of Chinese government work report for 2015

Following are highlights of the Chinese government work report distributed Thursday morning to the press ahead of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

-- Increase GDP by approximately 7 percent

-- Keep increase in CPI at around 3 percent

-- Create over 10 million jobs in urban areas

-- Ensure registered urban unemployment rate not to exceed 4.5 percent

-- Increase imports and exports by around 6 percent

-- Cut energy intensity by 3.1 percent

-- Continue to implement proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy

-- Proactive fiscal policy must sustain the momentum of economic growth and increase economic returns, monetary policy must be prudent and balanced

-- Annual government budget deficit is projected to be 1.62 trillion yuan

-- Deficit to GDP ratio will rise from last year's 2.1 percent to 2.3 percent

-- M2 money supply is forecasted to grow by around 12 percent, but actual supply may be slightly higher

-- Encourage popular entrepreneurship and mass innovation

-- Draw up a negative list for market access

-- Greatly relax market access for private investment and encourage the use of private capital to set up equity funds

-- Actively promote models of cooperation between government and nongovernmental capital in developing infrastructure and public utilities

-- Take timely action to accelerate price reform

-- Encourage qualified private investors to establish, in accordance with law, small and medium-sized banks and other financial institutions

-- Keep the RMB exchange rate at an appropriate and balanced level and allow it to float more freely

-- Launch the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect on a trial basis at an appropriate time

-- Halve the number of industries in which foreign investment is restricted

-- Move faster to strengthen infrastructure connectivity with neighboring countries

-- Work for progress in talks on free trade zones with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Israel

-- Keep housing consumption stable

-- Launch a number of major new projects

-- The central government will increase its budgetary investment to 477.6 billion yuan

-- Over 800 billion yuan will be invested in railway construction and open over 8,000 km of railways to traffic

-- Over 800 billion yuan will be invested in the major water conservancy projects

-- Build an additional 7.4 million units of government-subsidized housing

-- Reduce the poor rural population by more than 10 million

-- Keep grain output above 550 million metric tons

-- Strive for zero-growth in the consumption of coal in key areas

-- Cut the intensity of carbon dioxide by at least 3.1 percent

-- Renovate 3.66 million dilapidated rural houses, an increase of 1 million over the renovated last year

-- Draw up and implement a strategic maritime plan

-- Implement the "Made in China 2025" strategy

-- Develop the "Internet Plus" action plan to integrate the mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing

-- Work toward putting in a strong bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics

-- Uphold the fundamental principle of the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China over the armed forces

-- Strengthen efforts in all areas in a coordinated way to maintain military preparedness

-- Strengthen efforts to modernize the armed police forces

-- Oppose the independence of Taiwan and keep cross-Strait relations on the right course in peaceful development

-- Work together with other members of the international community to uphold the victory of World War II and international justice. Endi