2. Price increases dropped steadily.

We made keeping overall price levels stable our main task in carrying out macro-control measures, and strengthened comprehensive price regulation and oversight, with the rise in consumer price index (CPI) for the year dropping 2.8 percentage points to 2.6% and being kept below the targeted figure. Adequate market supply was ensured. We strengthened coordination of the production, transportation, and sale of important commodities, as well as handling of their reserves and adjustment of their imports and exports. We released a total of 18.5 million tons of policy-supported grain for the year. We successfully implemented the contingency plan for adjusting the market price of hogs, improved the reserve system for winter and spring vegetables in major northern cities, and carried out trials of the policy-supported insurance system for basic vegetables in an orderly fashion. We tightened oversight and control on market prices and charges, regulated preschool education fees and prices of teaching and tutorial materials for primary and secondary school students, lowered drug prices, and reviewed and rectified illegal and unreasonable road tolls and fees related to enterprises, thereby effectively lightening the burden on consumers and enterprises. We inspected problems in marking of commodity housing prices, fees charged by commercial banks and telecommunication services, and fees related to agriculture and imports and exports. We pushed forward law enforcement efforts to counter price fixing. Last year, we investigated and dealt with 37,800 cases of pricing irregularities, and imposed economic penalties worth 2.122 billion yuan. 3. The position of agriculture as the foundation of the economy was further consolidated.

We increased policy support to strengthen agriculture, benefit farmers, and enrich rural areas. Total central government expenditures on agriculture, rural areas, and farmers increased by 18%; the proportion of investment funds from the central government budget used in this area were raised to 50.5%; and supply of credit for this purpose rose by 20.7%. We implemented the strictest possible system for protecting arable land, and kept the total area of arable land above 121.3 million hectares. We fully implemented the plan to increase China's grain production capacity by 50 million tons, and projects to develop the community-level service system for spreading agricultural technology were carried out in nearly all towns and townships. We accelerated the development of projects to harness major rivers and lakes and protect major water sources in an all-around way, and strengthened efforts to build and transform large and medium-sized irrigated areas, upgrade and retrofit large irrigation and drainage pumping stations, develop small water conservancy projects, and harness small and medium-sized rivers. We upgraded more sea fishing boats and built more large-scale standardized hog and dairy cow farms. We raised the price floors for wheat and rice, offered higher prices for corn, soybeans, and rapeseed purchased and stockpiled on a temporary basis, and increased temporary purchases and stockpiling of cotton and sugar. Total grain output increased for the ninth consecutive year and amounted to 589.6 billion kilograms, up 3.2%, and output of cash crops rose steadily. Working and living conditions in rural areas improved. We provided safe drinking water to 81% of the rural population, installed or upgraded an additional 317,600 kilometers of electric power lines in the countryside, laid or upgraded 194,000 kilometers of rural roads, made methane available to another 1.8 million rural households, and renovated dilapidated houses for 5.6 million rural households. We supported the construction of grain depots with a total capacity of 4.22 million tons, as well as the construction of 105 wholesale markets for agricultural products and cold-chain logistics facilities with a handling capacity of 8 million tons. We carried out the project on rural goods distribution to get retailers to open stores in more townships and villages, and got standardized rural stores to set up in 75% of the country's villages. (more)

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