Page:2018 Report on the Work of the Government.pdf/19

 Fellow Deputies,

Looking back at the past five years, we have encountered a great many interwoven problems and a stream of risks and challenges. Both at home and abroad, there have been many new developments, developments that we have not faced since reform and opening up began. The achievements we have made in China's reform and development have certainly not come easily. We owe them to the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, to the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and to the concerted efforts of the Party, the military, and the people of all our nation's ethnic groups.

On behalf of the State Council, I wish to express sincere thanks to the people of all our ethnic groups, and to all other political parties, people's organizations, and public figures from all sectors of society. I express our sincere appreciation to our fellow countrymen and women in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, in Taiwan, and overseas. I also wish to express our sincere thanks to the governments of other countries, international organizations, and friends from all over the world who have shown understanding and support for China in its endeavor to modernize.

As the Chinese saying goes, when all is calm forget not danger; when all is well be awake to woes. We are keenly aware that China is still in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come, that it remains the largest developing country in the world, and that it faces a number of acute problems caused by unbalanced and inadequate development that so far have remained unsolved.

The internal forces powering economic growth are not yet sufficient, China's ability to innovate needs to be stronger, and the quality and performance of development need to be improved. Some enterprises, particularly small and medium ones, are finding it tough going. Growth in private investment is weak; some regions still face considerable downward economic pressure, and risks and potential dangers in the financial and other sectors are not to be ignored.

Poverty alleviation remains a formidable task; agriculture is not based on a strong foundation. The disparities in development between rural and urban areas, between regions, and in income distribution remain substantial. Serious and major workplace accidents happen all too often. People still have a lot of complaints about air quality, environmental sanitation, food and drug safety, housing, education, healthcare, employment, and elderly care.