end to gdp obsession frees officials for environmental drive
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

End to GDP obsession frees officials for environmental drive

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today End to GDP obsession frees officials for environmental drive

Beijing - XINHUA

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's first government work report has been welcomed as the latest in a series of high-level announcements placing the emphasis for officials' assessments on broader criteria than just GDP. In steering such evaluations away from an obsession with economic growth, the series of decrees have given local officials more freedom to pursue crucial but relatively unprofitable missions, especially green issues. The work report accordingly brought more relief than pressure to Zhang Wenxin, deputy head of the Manchu Autonomous County of Xinbin in northeast China's Liaoning Province. "Now we can really focus on the environment," said Zhang, who has been in charge of Xinbin's environmental protection for years. His area of jurisdiction is of sizeable importance to China's green drive. Less than an hour's drive from Xinbin lies the Dahuofang reservoir, the biggest of its kind in Liaoning Province. The county also boasts a large acreage of forests developed to play a role in water conservation. However, Zhang's work had not exactly been on track until recently because of notorious provincial pressures to make money at the expense of almost everything else. "Local officials used to set their eyes solely on gross regional product and local revenues," said the staunch forty-something. "But things are changing now. You cannot say you did a good job with a degraded environment, no matter how much revenue you bring in," he added. Change began to kick in years ago, but it has only really become meaningful once the central leadership weighed in. "We should never judge a cadre simply by the growth of GDP," Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting on the work of personnel resources in June last year. In December, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee scrapped GDP-obsessed assessments in China's official evaluation system, putting greater emphasis instead on indices related to wasted resources, environmental protection, excess capacity and production safety. Evaluation of scientific innovation, education, culture, employment, social insurance and health were also encouraged. And in a draft government work report delivered to lawmakers for review on Wednesday, Premier Li said, "We will improve the system for evaluating officials' performance and get everyone involved in a common endeavor to accelerate transformation of the growth model, make structural adjustment and achieve sound development. "This will steadily increase employment and personal incomes, improve the environment, and make China's economic and social development more efficient, equitable and sustainable." The shift in focus has prompted changes. In the southwestern province of Guizhou, poverty alleviation has replaced gross regional product as the main indicator in official assessment in 13 impoverished counties, in anticipation that the experiments could eventually be duplicated in other parts of the province. In Nanjing, capital of the eastern province of Jiangsu, emphases are placed on employment and energy intensity. According to Xie Zhicheng, head of the Nanjing Economic and Information Technology Commission, the city has vowed to cut coal consumption by 3 percent this year. Comparing the official evaluation system to an examination, Xiao Xingzhi, a professor with the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, said the revamped system would play a guiding role in the work of local officials. "It's like a test. You raise the scores in sections linked to people's wellbeing and ecology, and officials will try harder there," Xiao said. Zhang Wenxin agrees. "Local governments used to advertise that we want both the 'gold mountain' and the 'green mountain'," he said, referring to regional economic growth and ecological preservation. "Now we say, the 'green mountain' is the 'gold mountain'." To protect the environment, Xinbin has already shut down 42 heavily polluting enterprises, and has raised the environmental requirements that prospective business projects have to meet before approval. "This will have some impact on investment in the county and our tax revenues, but after all we are now under less pressure on economic growth," Zhang said.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

end to gdp obsession frees officials for environmental drive end to gdp obsession frees officials for environmental drive

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

end to gdp obsession frees officials for environmental drive end to gdp obsession frees officials for environmental drive

 



GMT 12:48 2016 Sunday ,27 November

Cilic, Dodig push Croatia to brink of Davis Cup

GMT 05:24 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Erdogan says 'terrorist' Assad cannot be part of Syria

GMT 12:59 2016 Saturday ,05 November

WB welcomes economic reforms in Egypt

GMT 18:40 2016 Saturday ,05 November

Egyptian GDRs in London down

GMT 10:57 2017 Wednesday ,06 December

Peru striker Guerrero has doping ban extended

GMT 17:51 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Trump Signs New Travel Ban on Six Muslim Countries

GMT 10:30 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

Saudi Information Ministry praises media role during Hajj

GMT 15:29 2017 Tuesday ,24 January

Mind games really do help your brain

GMT 06:55 2015 Thursday ,01 October

Boston Red Sox beat Yankees

GMT 08:17 2017 Monday ,28 August

Bahrain celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2017

GMT 02:07 2017 Tuesday ,28 February

Opposition seeks Russian support at Syria talks
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday