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Speakers:

Yuan Jiajun, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhejiang Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Zhejiang Province

Zheng Shanjie, deputy secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province

Zhu Guoxian, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee

Chairperson:

Chen Wenjun, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Date:

April 26, 2021

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the press conference held by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). One hundred years ago, the CPC embarked on its century-long journey on a red boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang province. A century later, Zhejiang is carrying forward the "red boat spirit" while integrating the characteristics of the new era. With practical action and the courage to stand at the forefront, Zhejiang is becoming an important window for demonstrating the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. As the CPC embraces its centenary, we have invited Mr. Yuan Jiajun, secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Zhejiang Province, to this press conference. He will brief you on preserving the Party's "red roots" and making Zhejiang "an important window of China," and answer your questions. With us, we also have Mr. Zheng Shanjie, deputy secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang Province; and Mr. Zhu Guoxian, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee.

Next, I will give the floor to Mr. Yuan.

Yuan Jiajun:

Good morning, everyone. It is a great pleasure to meet you all at this crucial juncture of the centenary of the CPC. Various media outlets have produced numerous reports on Zhejiang, and friends from the media have paid much attention to the work in the province. So, on behalf of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to you all.

I would like to introduce Zhejiang using four key phrases.

The first key phrase is "red roots." As Mr. Chen said, 100 years ago, the CPC embarked on its century-long journey on the red boat on Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing. Zhejiang is also the place from which the red boat of the Chinese revolution set sail. Aboard the red boat in Jiaxing, the 1st CPC National Congress concluded, and delegates announced the founding of the CPC. As such, the "red roots" are located here. Meanwhile, Zhejiang is also a province in which General Secretary Xi Jinping served, and an important birthplace of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. During his time in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the "Double-Eight Strategy." The strategy identifies eight strengths Zhejiang possesses in terms of economic structure, geological position, industries, coordinated development of urban and rural areas, ecology, mountain and ocean resources, environment, and culture, as well as eight measures the province is taking to take further advantage of these strengths. Under the guidance of the strategy, Zhejiang has been taking practical action with a pioneering spirit and bravely standing at the forefront. As the location of the "red roots," Zhejiang is a typical place that embodies the CPC's century-long struggle.

The second key phrase is "an important window." Last spring, at the most critical moment for the epidemic control and the resumption of work, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Zhejiang and gave the province a new goal and new positioning of striving to become "an important window for comprehensively demonstrating the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era," which we call "an important window" for short. The new goal and positioning require Zhejiang to become a window showcasing and an example of practicing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. They are of great political, fundamental and international significance.

The third key phrase is "common prosperity." This year's "two sessions" marked the start of a new journey toward socialist modernization. According to the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) unveiled during the meetings, China will support Zhejiang province in building a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development. This is a new mission given to Zhejiang in the new stage of development. To that end, we will focus on reducing regional disparities and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas, rich and poor. In particular, we will promote a series of social reforms centered on reforming the income distribution system. We will launch pilot trials in improving access to quality public services, innovating policies to encourage those who have become prosperous to inspire others to follow their example, and building basic units of modernization featuring common prosperity.

The fourth key phrase is "a pioneering province of socialist modernization." During the 14th Five-Year Plan period and in the longer term through 2035, Zhejiang's goal is to strive to build a pioneering province of socialist modernization. More specifically, Zhejiang aims to become a pioneer of modernization in 10 aspects: people-centered modernization, digital empowerment, industrial system, scientific and technological innovation, agriculture and rural areas, opening-up, provincial governance, cultural development, eco-environmental development, and public services. For each aspect, we have set specific targets and introduced concrete measures. Through these four key phrases, I think you can understand Zhejiang's new position in the new development stage.

Zhejiang is the place from which the red boat of the Chinese revolution set sail. Over the past 100 years, under the CPC's strong leadership, the people of Zhejiang have worked hard with practical action and great fortitude. In particular, since the implementation of the "Double-Eight Strategy" in 2003, Zhejiang has achieved profound changes and significant improvements. The province has gone from having a relatively advanced economy to strong economic growth, from opening up both internally and externally to deeply integrating into global development, and from basic prosperity to a high-level of moderate prosperity in all respects.

Specifically, profound changes have taken place in six aspects:

First, through one hundred years of sustained work, Zhejiang province has seen rapid high-quality development. We have implemented strategies to build a strong province in talent and innovation, boosted the construction of the three highlands for "internet+," life and health and new materials, and promoted the construction of the Hangzhou West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor with hopes of it becoming a pioneer in scientific and technological innovation. We have stepped up efforts to build the world's leading manufacturing bases, accelerated transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and carried out digital reforms to upgrade mobile platforms to deliver government services, handle office work and carry out e-governance. 

In 2020, Zhejiang's GDP reached 6.46 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.6% year on year. Under the very special circumstances of last year's pandemic prevention and control, the general financial revenue and public budget were 1.24 trillion yuan and 724.8 billion yuan, up 1.2% and 2.8%, respectively. Core sectors of the digital economy realized an added value of 702 billion yuan, up 13% year on year. Meanwhile, exports reached 2.5 trillion yuan, up 9.1%, accounting for 14% of the country's total.  

Zhejiang province also enjoys considerable advantages in terms of its private economy. Zhejiang is home to 96 of China's top 500 private giants, ranking first among all provincial-level regions for 22 consecutive years. According to statistics from the first quarter of this year, Zhejiang's GDP increased by 19.5%, the value-added output of industrial enterprises above the designated size rose by 34.1%, and exports surged by 39%. Urban and rural residential income, something which everyone is concerned about, increased by 16.5% and 18.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, Zhejiang province has also seen sound momentum in its high-quality development. Its fiscal revenue grew 27.5%, with tax revenue rising by 26.8%, accounting for 84.9% of the total. All of these indicators match the GDP dynamics well, and the momentum for high-quality development is obvious.

Second, through one hundred years of sustained work, Zhejiang province has made great progress in the spheres of democracy and the rule of law. We have established and improved the system and mechanism in which the Party exercises overall leadership and coordinates work in all areas, strengthened the rule of law in Zhejiang, constructed the comprehensive and integrated law enforcement system, deepened reform of the judicial system, enhanced our governance capability in resolving disputes at the source, built a system for law-based governance of cyberspace, and set up an efficient and coordinated model for grassroots governance. In the face of the COVID-19 outbreak last year, Zhejiang province took the lead in activating a Level 1 public health emergency response and establishing a sophisticated smart monitoring mechanism. Our health code system has also been applied across the country. The province has delivered a good performance in coordinating pandemic prevention and control with economic and social development. In this process, we have a much deeper understanding of the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

Third, through one hundred years of sustained work, Zhejiang province has built an influential highland of culture. We have accelerated the building of a major cultural province and carried forward the Red Boat Spirit and Zhejiang Spirit. We have launched the Zhejiang Culture Research Project and built the Grand Canal Cultural Belt and Zhejiang Cultural Industry Belt. We also built the Hengdian Film and Television Culture Industry Demonstration Zone, where two-thirds of the country's film and television works are produced. We continue to expand the influence of our brands, including the Most Beautiful Zhejiang People. All of the 11 cities with subordinate districts in the province were named the National Civilized City. It also ranks among the top provinces in terms of the number of world cultural heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage, national key cultural relic protection sites, and historical and cultural cities, towns and villages. 

Fourth, through one hundred years of sustained work, Zhejiang has become one of China's provincial-level regions where people have a greater sense of happiness and security. We have improved the long-term mechanism for doing practical work for the people, and promoted social advancement focusing on people's wellbeing. We are striving to build a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development and effectively promoting construction of the demonstration zone for the Peaceful China initiative. Zhejiang has become the only provincial-level region in the country where the per capita income of all its cities with subordinate districts exceeds the national average. The province has fulfilled the goals of developing a basically balanced compulsory education system in all counties, building public kindergartens in all townships and towns, enhancing food safety, and providing better medical insurance programs for outpatient chronic disease care. All these public services and social security measures are well arranged. In Zhejiang, the number of criminal cases, workplace accidents, and public complaints has been declining year by year. In 2020, per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents reached 62,600 yuan and 31,900 yuan, up 4.2% and 6.9%, respectively, ranking top in the country for 20 and 36 consecutive years, respectively. Additionally, the urban-to-rural income ratio has shrunk to 1.96:1, and the minimum subsistence allowances has been raised to 886 yuan per month. The public's satisfaction ratio in terms of sense of security in Zhejiang rose to 97.25%, according to one poll. 

Fifth, through one hundred years of sustained work, Zhejiang province has built itself into a big beautiful garden. We have earnestly practiced the philosophy of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," and vigorously promoted the building of a Beautiful Zhejiang. We have constructed a normalized gross ecosystem product (GEP) accounting system, scientifically formulated and started the implementation of a plan for peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, and boosted the construction of a province with a blue sky, lucid water, beautiful islands, green recycling, and a green, picturesque and livable environment. The beautiful countryside is Zhejiang's calling card. In 2018, the "Thousand Villages Demonstration and Ten Thousand Villages Renovation" project won the UN Champions of the Earth award. In 2020, the province was the first to pass the national ecological inspection. The forest coverage rate of the province reached 61.15%, while all six indicators for air quality in cities above county level reached the standard, the province's PM2.5 concentration was 25 micrograms per cubic meter, and 94.6% of the provincial-level monitoring stations saw quality of water above Grade III. We can say then that Zhejiang is a modern version of the Chinese landscape painting, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.

Sixth, after 100 years of hard work, Zhejiang has built a holistic smart governance system which takes enhancing the Party's political building as the overarching principle. We continue to make sweeping efforts to strengthen overall Party leadership and Party building, and always give top priority to the political work of the Party. We are endeavoring to improve the political quality, level of theoretical knowledge, specialized expertise, and the practical problem-solving capabilities of officials at all levels. We have established and improved the virtuous interactive mechanism called "two responsibilities," under which officials take on their work responsibilities, and Party organizations stand behind officials who live up to their responsibilities. We have established mechanisms to allow for and address mistakes, and accept clarification and justification. We have been actively fostering a team culture which stresses a pioneering spirit, pragmatism, and achieving good outcomes through scientific measures. We have intensified our work to build a clean government, and taken coordinated action to make government employees not dare, not able, and not want to commit corruption. We have been working ceaselessly to strictly implement the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving work conduct and its relevant regulations. Efforts have also been made to address the practice of formalities for formalities' sake and bureaucratism. As a result, we have seen a strong improvement in the political ecosystem.

Looking back on the past, the CPC's century-long struggle and its great achievements in Zhejiang epitomize its great vigor and dynamism, as well as the strong vitality and advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the compelling power of truth and strength in practice of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Looking ahead, Zhejiang will uphold Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its guide, and make all-out efforts to preserve and safeguard the Party's "red roots." The province will strictly implement the "Double-Eight Strategy" to develop itself into the "Prime Window," and strive to create more new accomplishments in making itself a pioneer province in the country's socialist modernization drive. In doing so, it will take more responsibilities and heavier tasks. It will demonstrate "China's Governance" through the "Window of Zhejiang" and celebrate the CPC's centenary with outstanding achievements.

That's all for my introduction. Thank you. 

Chen Wenjun:

Now the floor is open for questions. Please state the name of your news outlet before asking questions.

CCTV:

Just now, you mentioned that General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward many important strategic deployments when he was working in Zhejiang province, and the most important one – the "Double-Eight Strategy"– has brought a significant, far-reaching and positive impact on the province's economic and social development. What new measures will Zhejiang take to further implement the "Double-Eight Strategy"? Thank you. 

Yuan Jiajun: 

Thank you very much for your question. This question you care about is indeed the secret behind Zhejiang's development. General Secretary Xi Jinping worked in the province for six years and made a series of deployments for its development, the most important one being the "Double-Eight Strategy." He carried out extensive and in-depth investigations and research for about half a year, and worked out this overall strategy for Zhejiang in the light of its development features and actual conditions at that time.

First, the "Double-Eight Strategy" is an overall strategy that General Secretary Xi Jinping deployed in a systematic way at the provincial level to promote the province's high-quality development. It is a set of theories and a general program of action as well.

Second, the "Double-Eight Strategy" is a process and an open system. In 2003, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the strategy at the fourth plenary session of the 11th CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee. The CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee usually holds two plenary sessions every year, with each meeting focusing on a theme that involves in-depth interpretations in certain fields, and our understanding of certain fields improves with a cycle of repeating practice and knowledge. Therefore, we say that the "Double-Eight Strategy" is continuously improved in practice, and in the process of its improvement, it is especially important to stimulate the pioneering spirit of those working at the primary level. Zhejiang is a pioneer in China's reform and opening-up, and grassroots organizations across the province are very active. The "Double-Eight Strategy" is an open system, so we have been summarizing and refining the trailblazing experience to dynamically upgrade it.

Third, the "Double-Eight Strategy" has seen fruitful outcomes thanks to the continuous efforts of successive provincial Party committees and provincial governments to deepen its implementation. As I mentioned just now, Zhejiang has achieved leapfrog development by upgrading itself from a large provincial economy to a strong provincial economy, from opening up to the outside to deeply integrating into the world, and from a generally well-off standard of living to a high-level moderately prosperous society in all respects. These facts prove that the strategy is powerful, truthful and strong in practice.

Fourth, the "Double-Eight Strategy" is a very important starting point for the initiation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The strategy is a product of theoretical and practical innovation at the provincial level. Therefore, it serves as a general program of action to guide Zhejiang's development. We are continuing to uphold, enrich and improve it.

I think there are two keywords for Zhejiang's implementation of the "Double-Eight Strategy". The first one is "loyalty." We must demonstrate loyalty, love and support for General Secretary Xi Jinping, who once worked in Zhejiang and forged a deep friendship with local cadres and people. We should unswervingly promote and implement the strategy which will lead Zhejiang to a brighter future. The second is ""working in a down-to-earth manner." The "Double-Eight Strategy" underlines the importance of the manner. When he was working in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that only by working in a down-to-earth manner can we take the lead. Therefore, it is important to work hard and deliver a good performance in what we do, so as to showcase the strategy's strength in practice.

In promoting the "Double-Eight Strategy," we have taken the following considerations into account. The year 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the "Double-Eight Strategy." Over time, the theory and general arrangements will show greater power in practice and more theoretical value. Therefore, on the 20th anniversary, the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee will deepen the strategy, specify and improve the target, work, policy and appraisal systems. We will perfect the annual appraisal mechanism, put the theories into practice, and summarize the practical experiences into theories which will then again be put into practice, thus striving for the transformation and upgrading of the "Double-Eight Strategy." 

More specifically, we will deliver in five aspects:

First, a third-party appraisal should be established. The process and problems in implementing the "Double-Eight Strategy" will be assessed in a systematic manner through general, regional and professional appraisals, to foster strengths and make up for weaknesses in applying the strategy. 

Second, we should specify and quantify the platforms and methods in the work. In carrying out the "Double-Eight Strategy," General Secretary Xi Jinping told us to find work platforms. For example, the project to "build 1,000 model villages and renovate 10,000 villages" is a platform and method to improve living environments in rural areas and beautify the countryside. In our work, we should stick to good methods and find new approaches and platforms according to the needs of the new era and the expectations of the people. 

Third, we should set up specialized groups to advance key tasks. The "Double-Eight Strategy" provides us with a methodology for solving problems through reforms. We have established specialized groups across various departments and sectors to analyze problems at regular intervals. In terms of some particularly difficult issues, we should address them through concerted group efforts and the participation of the whole of society. 

Fourth, we should encourage a spirit of innovation at the primary level. The implementation of the "Double-Eight Strategy" concerns all people in Zhejiang who wish to advance the development of the province. Therefore, we should build mechanisms for striving to be first and excellent, and make improvements in areas concerning reform breakthroughs, service quality, and risk prevention and control.

Fifth, the result of the "Double-Eight Strategy" is to cultivate hallmarks of development. The "Double-Eight Strategy" proposed advantages and measures in eight aspects, among which the core is the advantages. We should give full play to the advantages of Zhejiang, and create hallmarks of development. 

From these aforementioned aspects, Zhejiang will constantly deepen and better apply the "Double-Eight Strategy" in its high-quality development and modernization drive. Thank you. 

People's Daily:

Mr. Yuan mentioned several times the need to preserve the "red roots." We all know that Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, is the birthplace of the CPC. Nowadays, Zhejiang has proposed stepping up the building of an integrated intelligent governance system guided by Party building. Can you elaborate on that? Thank you. 

Yuan Jiajun:

Thank you for your question. The "red roots" is indeed a distinct feature of Zhejiang, where the "red boat" of revolution set sail. When visiting the sites of the first National Congress of the CPC in Shanghai and the site of the "red boat" in Jiaxing, General Secretary Xi Jinping said, "this is where the roots of the Party are." Therefore, we call them the "red roots." During the important centenary of the founding of the CPC, Zhejiang is responsible for undertaking the task of preserving the "red roots." As the inheritor and protector of the "red roots," Zhejiang will strengthen the overall Party leadership and Party building, and build an integrated intelligent governance system guided by Party building, to ensure that the high-quality Party building leads high-quality development, and showcases that the 100-year Party is in its prime through the Party leadership of Zhejiang. 

Specifically, we will promote the integrated intelligent governance guided by Party building from the three perspectives of system, governance and intelligence. 

First, in terms of system, there are two keywords. The first is enhancing the overall Party leadership. We will improve the leading and working mechanisms, working structures and systems in which the Party provides overall leadership and coordinates the efforts of all involved. We will consolidate the organizational system that allows communication between higher and lower levels and ensure the work is carried out in a firm manner, and enhance Party building in all sectors and stages, to promote the overall Party leadership in urban and rural areas, and primary level areas.

The second is to build a mechanism for constantly improving the Party leadership according to the lists of issues. The Party leadership should keep abreast of the times. We should make full use of the lists of issues, and focus on solving problems, meeting targets and achieving results. We have seven lists of issues, including major issues in inspections, supervision and auditing. For example, a new round of central inspections was just completed. Other examples include the supervision of the State Council, the central supervision of environmental protection, and annual auditing at the national level. Other lists of issues are related to major security, production safety, natural disasters, major online public opinion, and major public complaints. We and other functional departments sorted through the problems exposed in the work and formulated the seven lists of issues. When reporting their work, the Party organizations should refer to the seven lists of issues rather than merely stating their work achievements, to examine their Party building and Party leadership. If their work is done well, there will be fewer problems and no major problems. Through advancing Party building by solving problems and referring to the seven lists of issues, we will foster an innovative and hard-working atmosphere that features Party building as the lead, integrated intelligent governance, and "practicing values of loyalty and honesty, and daring to break through difficulties."

Second, in terms of governance, we have two key phrases. The first is, "striving to be advanced and creating excellence." Party-building means to motivate the spirit of Party officials of all levels, cultivate their sense of responsibility and foster their ability to shoulder responsibility. We should continue to cultivate the team culture which stresses pioneering spirit, pragmatism, and achieving good outcomes through scientific measure. Institutions should be established to encourage pioneering spirit in such fields as making breakthrough in reform, raising quality in service sector and risk prevention and control. We also need to improve the virtuous interactive mechanism of "two responsibilities," under which officials take on their work responsibilities, and the Party organizations stand behind those who live up to their responsibilities. We have improved the performance assessment and evaluation system for officials and strengthened closed cycle of management for listed problems so as to give full play to the enthusiasm and creativity of Party members and officials. For example, we convene a quarterly meeting attended by county-level Party secretaries from all the 90 counties, cities and districts in the province, focusing on a certain topic every meeting. At each meeting, ten Party secretaries, who have made achievements during the period, will share their experience in a bid to motivate more and more officials to seek excellence in their performances.

The second key phrase is, "be both strict and caring." One must be strict when leading a team and so is our Party-building. We need to strengthen the supervision at every point in the process, establish a sound mechanism for procedure-based exercise of power, in particular, continue our efforts to address the practice of formalities for formalities' sake, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extravagance. We need to strictly fight against corruption and take coordinated actions to make Party members and officials not dare, not able, and not want to commit corruption. Meanwhile, we also need to improve the decision-making system relating to major decisions, appointment and dismissal of key officials, major project arrangements and the use of large amounts of funds. We have taken the lead in exploring the introduction of synchronous economic responsibility audits of chief Party and government officials at the city and county levels so as to encourage officials to get on honestly with their jobs. Meanwhile, we need to improve the mechanisms to allow for and address errors, clarify facts and provide protection for officials and ensure that they are free from unnecessary restrictions and excessive burdens. In this way, those who work hard can be provided with more opportunities and a wider stage.

Third, in terms of smart. As we are entering a new development stage, in particular the digital era, we'll focus on two more key phrases. The first is, "digital empowerment." Any organization or relevant people will have to excise digital means during Party-building, adopting digital thinking, digital cognition and digital technology. We will use big data to conduct comprehensive studies and analysis. Therefore, we'll have a complete and accurate evaluation for organizations and officials' performance.

The second key phrase is "capability of driving modernization." We have embarked on a new journey of modernization, but modernization is first and foremost to achieve modernity of people, especially the modernity of Party members and officials, which is also a main concern of our work. During this year's elections at the city, county and township levels, we will view the ability to apply digital reform as an important criterion when evaluating officials' ability to study and advance modernization, so as to create pressure for them to broaden vision, cultivate innovative way of thinking and improve their scientific ability. In this way, we will enhance officials' capacity for execution, build their abilities to advance the modernization drive. Thank you.

Economic Daily:

General Secretary Xi Jinping showed great concern about the business environment when he was working in Zhejiang, and incorporated further harnessing the province's strengths in this regard as a significant content of the "Double-Eight Strategy." Could you introduce the measures Zhejiang has taken to improve its business environment? Thank you.

Yuan Jiajun:

Mr. Zheng will answer this question.

Zheng Shanjie:

Thank you for your question. This is a common concern from the whole society, especially from enterprises and the general public. General Secretary Xi Jinping once said a very vivid analogy, "Investment environment is like air; only fresh air attracts more investment from the outside." We can notice the significance of the business environment from the "air" analogy. Over the years, Zhejiang has attached great importance to the construction of the business environment, and has strived to create a first-class business environment against the highest and most advanced standards, which is based on market principles, governed by law and up to international standards. We follow a philosophy that states that "everyone represents the business environment, and everything is related to the business environment," and work to improve the business environment among the whole province and in an all-round way. Leveraging digital reform and starting with solving real problems, we have carried out redesigning of procedures and systems and developed specific application scenarios that are effective and easy to use. We have required government departments to give priority to market entities and people, providing them with convenient services as much as possible while in accordance with laws and regulations. 

In general, we have strived to achieve "three improvements": making it easier for enterprises to get things done, making it more convenient for the public to get things done, and making government supervision more efficient. First, to make it easier for enterprises to get things done, we have adopted two approaches. One is to provide faster services to enterprises. For instance, we have simplified procedures for starting up a business. Now, it only takes one working day on one single website at zero cost to complete all the procedures for starting up a business. The proportion of businesses completing their start-up procedures online has reached 98.4% in the province. I want to present some data here: by the end of March, Zhejiang has 8.16 million various market entities, among which 3 million are enterprises and 5 million self-employed individuals. Considering Zhejiang's permanent resident population, this means one out of eight people in Zhejiang is a business owner. Data from the first quarter of this year shows that the number of business registrations has been more than twice that of business cancellations, and the number of self-employment registrations also greatly exceeds that of cancellations. This shows that the vitality of enterprises has been further boosted, and it is increasingly easy for enterprises to get things done. The other approach is to provide more targeted services to enterprises. After the outbreak of the epidemic last year, a series of preferential policies were introduced for enterprises at the national, provincial, city, and county levels. In order to accurately and quickly put these policies in place, we have developed "enterprise code" for enterprises to submit their demands online and have their demands handled in a closed loop. Up until now, accumulatively, nearly 3 million enterprises have applied for the "enterprise code," and policy-based funds of nearly 20 billion yuan have been made available, not including funds for reducing enterprises' cost and burden and subsidies directly given to cities and enterprises to directly benefit enterprises and people.

Second, it's more convenient for the public to get things done. We have worked from the needs of the public and turned what they wanted into what government departments should provide. As such, we have integrated services that were previously scattered across multiple departments into one single service as seen by the public. I will give you two examples, both of which involve frequently needed services by the public. The first relates to vehicle inspection services. In the past, vehicle inspection was an annoying errand for the public with long lines, poor environment, and cumbersome procedures. People's calls for an improvement were very high. After our reform, vehicle owners can now leave their vehicles to inspection station staff members to complete the whole inspection process. Vehicle owners do not have to come back to pay for the service, get a new certificate and pick up their vehicles until the inspection is completed. Besides, the time needed for inspection has been shortened from 90 minutes to approximately 30 minutes. The second example relates to newborn babies. As everyone knows, there are many certificates to apply for and procedures to complete when a baby is born. Through reform we have integrated several services previous offered at different places, such as public security service, social security service, medical insurance service, and banking service, into one place either at hospitals or administrative service centers so that people can enjoy one-stop services. The services can also be accessed at the official app for Zhejiang's administrative services. The new measure can benefit more than 400,000 families every year and has been highly welcomed by the public. The two measures above are for enterprises and the public.

Third, government supervision has become more efficient. The government should know its place and not go beyond its responsibilities, on the one hand, and fulfill, instead of avoiding, its responsibilities on the other hand. In other words, the government should refrain from doing what it is not supposed to do and give full play to the role of the market. Meanwhile, the government should not be absent for what it should do. Just as we usually put it, the government should do its jobs well and the market should play its role well. At the same time, we have increased inspections for enterprises with bad credit and reduced inspections for those with good credit and improved operational and post-operational supervision. I would like to introduce to you two innovative new measures: one is the "internet plus law enforcement supervision." We have carried out joint law enforcement to ensure various inspections for one enterprise can be done by multiple agencies at the same time. We also upheld the concept of "not disturbing enterprises when they are faring well and offering help to them when they have difficulties" to minimize disturbance over their operation. The other measure is for regulating the platform economy. Resolutely implementing the major decisions and deployments of the central government and to address monopoly and unfair competition in the platform economy, we have taken the national lead to release twenty instructions for supervising the platform economy. Also, we have established China's first digital supervision system for platform economy and optimized the full, closed-loop supervision system. We have taken a series of comprehensive measures to promote the standard, healthy and sustainable development of the platform economy.

Improvement of the business environment is an on-going process, and there is always room for things to become better. We will continue to pursue the most advanced and highest standards and evaluate and improve our performances from the perspectives of market entities and the people. We will strengthen institutional building and comprehensively improve Zhejiang's business environment with high standards and refined measures to make the province a better place for living and working. Thank you.

Xinhua News Agency:

As we all know, Zhejiang is a big and strong cultural province. In recent years, what efforts has Zhejiang made regarding cultural construction and what results have been achieved? What are your next measures and plans? Thank you.

Zhu Guoxian:

Thank you for your attention to Zhejiang's cultural development. Culture is like an endless river, running from ancient times, through to today, and towards the future. It is our duty and mission to continue the five thousand years of Chinese culture and continue to write a new chapter of Zhejiang culture in the new era. Over the years, Zhejiang has conscientiously implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important expositions on cultural construction and the CPC Central Committee's decisions and deployments, keeping to the right path, while making innovations and breakthroughs, so as to setting new standards to strongly promote cultural reform and development. Here, I want to use the phrase "four cultures" to summarize:

The first is to create a blueprint for cultural development. During his previous local governing work in Zhejiang, General Secretary Xi Jinping regarded cultural construction as an important part of the "Double-Eight Strategy" and tailored a strategic framework system for Zhejiang to build it into a cultural province. Over the years, Zhejiang has persisted in completing this blueprint, with efforts made by one leadership term after another. The "Eight Projects" of cultural construction that General Secretary Xi Jinping personally planned back then have become more and more brilliant. At present, the achievements of Zhejiang's cultural construction are the blossom and fruit of the Double-Eight Strategy and the Eight Projects of cultural construction.

The second is nurturing culture with the Chinese revolutionary spirit. Mr. Yuan described just now how the Chinese Revolutionary Red Boat set sail from Nanhu Lake, the birthplace of our Party. At the same time, Zhejiang is an important birthplace of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We will make full use of the resource advantages of China's red roots, continue to inherit the Chinese revolutionary spirit, and strive to be the vanguard of learning, comprehending, and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Through theoretical education and efforts in maintaining our original aspiration, the officials and people in Zhejiang have a more sincere feeling and deeper understanding of protecting the Chinese revolutionary spirit.

The third is integrating urban and rural areas to facilitate cultural development. We have always followed the principle of "integration of urban and rural areas, comprehensive coverage, joint contributions, and shared benefits," so that the achievements of cultural development will benefit a wider range of people. The standardization of basic public cultural services in Zhejiang province has taken the lead for realization. In recent years, the Grand Canal Cultural Cluster, the Hangzhou branch of the China Archives of Publications, the Hengdian film and television cultural industry cluster, and the Zhijiang Cultural Center have been built. The China Academy of Art and the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music also sit next to Zhijiang Cultural Center, which forms the city's west art corridor and brilliantly pairs with the Hangzhou West Science and Innovation Corridor, as Mr. Yuan mentioned just now. Zhejiang has vigorously carried out publicity activities that are popular among citizens, especially young ones, such as the Theoretic Publicity Group for the New Era formed by people born in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The Zhejiang government also promotes the Party's innovative theories, which access millions of households. Zhejiang has become the first province where all cities under its jurisdiction were awarded as national civilized cities. The building of civilized cities has expanded from individual cases to a broader range, incentivizing every Zhejiang citizen to become an ambassador for this civilization.

The fourth is empowering a strong culture through reform. In as early as 2003, Zhejiang, as the country's pilot province for comprehensive reform of its cultural system, pioneered exploration in cultural reform, and the results of these reforms have continuously transformed into development achievements over the years. High-quality TV series such as "Diplomatic Situation," "Feather Flies to the Sky," "Family on the Go," "Wang Yangming," and "Top Secret Mission," all produced in Zhejiang, have generated great social influence, while the four poetry road cultural belts -- the East Zhejiang Tang-Dynasty Poetry Road, Qiantang River Poetry Road, the Grand Canal Poetry Road, and Oujiang River Poetry Road -- have become important iconic landmarks. The comprehensive index for Zhejiang's cultural industry development has ranked second in China for three consecutive years. Currently, Zhejiang is leading, leveraging, and empowering cultural construction with digital reforms.

Recently, the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee carried out intensive inspection on cultural construction, made special plans, and put forward the overall requirements and key tasks for building a cultural highland in a new era both in the immediate future and for some time to come. We will strive to build Zhejiang into a pioneering province in China by continuing to deepen the Eight Projects. In accordance with the overall goal of "building a culturally-advanced province, enhancing the soft power of culture, fostering people through culture, and leading the new trend of society," we will also comprehensively implement Zhejiang's cultural projects in the new era as leverage, exert efforts to enlighten people through theoretical education, build morality with the Chinese revolution spirit, shape personality with culture, build integrity with four rules (rule of oneself, rule of law, rule of virtue, rule of wisdom), build our standing in the world through high-quality works, build innovations with smart manufacturing and via the digital economy, build industry with integration, and build the system through reform. We will strive to create a province of thoughts, a province of spiritual prosperity, the most beautiful province, a province of integrity, a province of original literary and artistic creation, a province with a strong digital culture, a province of modern communications, and a province of cultural vitality. We will also construct cultural development strategic patterns, build a major platform for high-level cultural development, cultivate a team of high-level cultural talents, introduce iconic cultural achievements and cultural symbols, and strive to create a cultural highland in the new era that matches with Zhenjiang's key objective of developing into a pioneering province in China's socialist modernization drive. Finally, we will fully demonstrate the beauty of culture, landscapes, morals, and fashion in Zhejiang. Thank you.

Nippon Television Network:

We know that Zhejiang province has very deep economic and trade ties with countries abroad. With ever-increasing vaccination rate, will there be any specific policies put in place to expand overseas exchange?

Zheng Shanjie:

Thank you for your question. Recently, everyone is paying attention to this matter. known for its export-oriented economy, Zhejiang's "degree of extroversion" is over 50%. Our province has relatively closer contact with abroad. Following the arrangements and requirements by the central leadership, while strictly forestalling the inbound transmissions, we also continue to maintain foreign personnel and economic and trade exchanges. Let me give you some figures. Since the beginning of this year, we have 1,100 ships come in and out of our maritime ports, of which 12,300 crews have changed shifts at our ports, accounting for one-fifth of the country's total. The number of overseas flights landing at our airports was 181, with approximately 16,000 inbound passengers. The above-mentioned inbound individuals followed the "14+7" health management measures (14-day centralized quarantine and medical observation and seven days stay-at-home health observation) in accordance with China's requirements. Of course, we also arrange them three nucleic acid tests during the process, according to medical requirements.

However, for foreign nationals who work in important economic and trade research and technical cooperation, we will use fast-track facilitation measures for them to enter China if necessary, which is also known as the "7+7" model. Vaccination is so far one of the most effective ways to prevent and control the epidemic. Zhejiang province was one of the first provinces to promote COVID-19 vaccination. Currently, we also actively push forward pertinent work. As scheduled, by June, 40% of permanent residents in Zhejiang will be vaccinated. We are also committed to conducting COVID-19 prevention and control on an ongoing basis while promoting healthy economic and social development, and keep abreast of the situation and strengthen cooperation. In line with the new adjustments made to policies on persons entering China and supplies for epidemic prevention and control, we will make relevant changes to improve our work in a timely manner. For example, according to the requirements for guaranteeing and organizing newly added overseas flights, we will strengthen our work to manage quarantine places for travelers arriving in China, and provide attentive services for them, to further facilitate international exchanges. Thanks. 

Shangyou News:

In 2003, Zhejiang launched the "Digital Zhejiang" initiative to accelerate the application and penetration of technologies such as AI and blockchain in the manufacturing sector. We know that Zhejiang now plans to deepen the building of "Digital Zhejiang" and push forward digital reform. What are the considerations? Thank you.

Yuan Jiajun:

Thank you for your question. The construction of "Digital Zhejiang" is a deployment made by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his work in Zhejiang. Over the past years, we have continued to make the best use of digital technologies. Currently, the curtain for digital transformation has fully opened. Against the backdrop of the transformation, Zhejiang deepens digital empowerment. Entering the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we have made digital reform a priority. Looking back, we committed various reforms to streamline administration and delegate powers, such as establishing the three lists and ensuring people can get things done without the need for a second trip, the digital transformation of government, and digital reform today. We have made some remarkable achievements. For example, in 2017, we worked to see that people can get things done in one office, without the need for a second trip. To realize this, we connected "isolated data islands" to let data move and reduce the time that our people needed to get things done, allowing them to access convenient services. After that, we launched the digital transformation of government, empowering governance with digital technologies and pushing forward the modernization of the governance system and capacity. One of the remarkable achievements we have made was amid the anti-epidemic battle of 2020. As we prepared the resumption of work and business operations on Feb 7, 2020, we put forward the method of using digital technologies, such as the health code, to support the resumption. Since then, it took one week for us to develop the health code system. And within another week from Feb 14, about 60 million people in Zhejiang had access to the health code. Therefore, Zhejiang powered ahead in returning to work and resuming business and achieved good results. And there was no confirmed case during the resumption of work and business operations.

As we entered new development stage of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we plan to advance comprehensive digital reform on the basis of the digital transformation of government. Digital reform itself focuses on reform, which requires us to implement the requirements made by General Secretary Xi Jinping, specifically, the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy and comprehensively expanding in-depth reform. In the meantime, we will also empower reform with digital technologies. General reform is about the institutional supply and policy supply. While the output of digital reform means reframing the system and policy supply, and also making use of modern technologies. Zhejiang is now promoting digital reform in all respects and has already built the "152" system. "1" means building a unified and smart platform for public data. Local governments at provincial, city and county level share their data information on the platform. "5" means five systems, which integrate the systems of smart governance for the Party and government, digital government, digital society, digital economy and digital rule of law. "2" means building a theoretical framework and a system of law for digital reform. Currently, digital reform has been implemented within the province, becoming the new driving force for Zhejiang's development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. It is also part of the general trend. By prioritizing digital reform, we hope to deepen reform in all respects and inject new impetus into Zhejiang's development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

We firmly believe that this reform will make big changes within one year and achieve significant progress within two years. By 2025, we plan to make remarkable achievements in advancing the modernization of our governance system and capacity, while energizing the economy and society. Thanks. 

Chen Wenjun:

This is the end of today's press conference. Thanks to all our spokespersons, and journalists from the media. 

Yuan Jianjun:

I would also like to conclude by inviting you to be able to visit Zhejiang in person. All are welcome.

Chen Wenjun:

Thanks again.

Translated and edited by Zhang Liying, Wang Qian, Yang Xi, Zhang Junmian, Liu Jianing, Liu Qiang, Zhang Tingting, Huang Shan, Yang Xiaoqing, Yuan Fang, Zhang Rui, Li Huiru, Cui Can, Zhou Jing, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Tom Arnstein. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.