Report on China's Central, Local Budgets
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A total of 42.02 billion yuan of employment assistance has been earmarked to support our vigorous employment policy, an increase of 16.812 billion yuan or 66.7%. We will give full play to the role government spending and major public projects play in creating jobs for migrant workers and substitute work for relief through government financing of public works projects in agriculture, forestry and water conservancy. Employment assistance will increase, focusing on finding employment for persons who have real difficulty finding it, zero-employment families and workers in disaster-hit regions, and policy support will be provided for migrant workers returning to the countryside to set up businesses. A favorable government policy will be instituted to encourage college graduates to work in urban and rural community-level organizations, the central and western regions and small and medium-sized enterprises. Support will be provided to make more training available to improve the vocational abilities of laid-off and unemployed persons and migrant workers, a special training program will be instituted, and enterprises will be encouraged to provide on-the-job training. We will support small and medium-sized enterprises and service industries in providing more employment opportunities, and encourage people to start up their own businesses or find jobs on their own through a fiscal policy of reducing or exempting taxes and fees, and providing guaranteed, small-sum, low-interest loans, social security allowances, allowances for public service work and subsidies for vocational training.
5) Expenditures to build low-income housing will total 49.301 billion yuan, an increase of 31.111 billion yuan or 171%. Greater financial support will go to building low-rent housing and upgrading shantytowns, and the amount of subsidies will be appropriately raised for the central and western regions. The problem of finding housing for the 2.6 million low-income urban families and relocating, repairing or upgrading housing for the 800,000 families living in shantytowns in forest areas, wasteland areas and adjacent to coalmines will be addressed mainly by providing housing, coupled with rent subsidies. Efforts to upgrade dangerously dilapidated rural housing will be intensified and projects to build permanent housing for pastoral nomads in ethnic minority areas implemented.
6) Spending on cultural programs will total 27.975 billion yuan, an increase of 2.694 billion yuan or 10.7%. Cultural programs of a public service nature will be vigorously developed to open up more areas of consumption. Support will be forthcoming to provide free admission to public museums, memorial halls and national patriotic education demonstration bases under cultural and relics departments at all levels across the country. Projects will be carried out to protect major cultural and historical sites to strengthen protection of the country's important national heritage. Support will go to extending coverage of national wireless radio and television programs in rural areas, expanding sharing of cultural information and resources across the country, promoting digital movie displays in rural areas, developing small rural reading rooms and carrying out other cultural projects that benefit the people. We will promote reform of the culture system, promote the conversion of profit-making cultural institutions into enterprises, and develop the culture industry.
7) A total of 178.045 billion yuan will be spent on grain, edible oil and materials reserves, an increase of 67.535 billion yuan or 61.1%. Nineteen billion yuan has been set aside for direct subsidies to grain producers, an increase of 25.8%. In order to stimulate domestic demand, 78.341 billion yuan has been earmarked to expand reserves of important materials such as grain, edible oil, petroleum, nonferrous metals and specialty steel products and develop storage facilities. We will support a large increase in the minimum grain purchase prices and make allocations in full and on time for the purchase and storing of grain and associated expenses and interests. A subsidy of 13% of the purchase price will be granted to rural residents buying motorcycles and home appliances such as color TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, cell phones, computers, water heaters and air-conditioners, for which 20 billion yuan has been set aside, a 9-fold increase. Five billion yuan has been allocated in one-time government subsidies for rural residents who scrap their three-wheeled vehicles and slow-speed trucks for light-duty trucks and those who buy passenger vehicles with engine displacements at or under 1.3L. A total of 7.4 billion yuan will be used to improve logistics and develop modern services in rural areas.