II. Making substantial progress in oversight work
The Standing Committee continued to intensify and improve its oversight work with the focus on giving impetus to the smooth implementation of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, concentrated oversight more on matters concerning the overall interests of the country and the people's wellbeing, and achieved tangible results.
1. We promoted transformation of the pattern of economic development.
The Standing Committee pays great attention to accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development, and every year it chooses different areas for hearing and deliberating work reports, inspecting law enforcement, and conducting investigations and studies on special topics. Last year, the Standing Committee heard and deliberated reports on accelerating transformation of the pattern of economic development, protecting the environment and developing tourism, and conducted investigations and studies on special topics including making national income distribution more reasonable and promoting economic and social development in ethnic minority areas. Members of the Standing Committee stated that presently good momentum is being maintained in our economic and social development and our national economy continues to develop in the direction intended by the exercise of macro-controls. At the same time, they clearly realized that the problem of our development still being unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable is serious, and there are still many defects in systems and mechanisms that hinder scientific development. They emphasized that in the face of a complex and volatile international political and economic environment, and new situations and changes in our domestic economic performance, we need to transform challenges into opportunities and pressure into impetus, and ensure that the central leadership's decisions on and arrangements for transforming the pattern of economic development and carrying out restructuring are applied in the specific measures we take and in our practical work. At present, we need to focus on the following tasks:
First, we will boost domestic demand, especially consumer demand, with the focus on ensuring and improving the people's wellbeing, accelerating the development of the service sector and increasing the proportion of the middle-income population so that domestic demand plays a bigger role in driving economic growth.
Second, we will accelerate the pace of innovation and scientific and technological progress, increase investment in science and technology, guide and support the concentration of innovative factors in enterprises, foster and develop strategic emerging industries, transform and upgrade traditional industries, improve and upgrade the industrial structure, and make economic growth more reliant on innovation.
Third, we will unwaveringly conserve energy and reduce emissions; strengthen the force of the law and policy guidance in energy conservation and emissions reduction; make sure key areas conserve energy, reduce emissions, and protect the ecological environment more effectively; resolutely close down backward production facilities; strictly control the haphazard expansion of energy-intensive and highly polluting industries; promote clean production; develop green industries and the circular economy; improve mechanisms to compensate for ecological damage; and make economic growth more sustainable.
In order to improve the basic rural management system, safeguard farmers' legitimate rights and interests, and develop agriculture and rural areas more vigorously, the Standing Committee inspected enforcement of the Law on Rural Land Contracts and the Law on Mediation and Arbitration of Rural Land Contract Management Disputes, and listened to and deliberated the report on the reform of tenure in collective forests. Members of the Standing Committee stated that we must implement the strictest possible system for protecting arable land; effectively guarantee farmers' contracted land-use rights; maintain stable land contract relationships over the long term; promptly and effectively resolve disputes related to the contracted use of rural land; strengthen supervision of and services for the transfer of rural contracted land-use rights; promote the development of specialized, standardized, and intensive agriculture on a larger scale; and constantly improve agricultural modernization. They further emphasized the need to improve supporting measures for the reform of tenure in collective forests; fully implement all policies for strengthening forestry and benefiting forest workers; vigorously launch major forestry projects; energetically develop the forestry industry and the forest-based economy; and follow a path of modern forestry development that expands forestry resources, increases rural incomes, and is good for the ecological environment.