Dear Chairman Rutanen,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am very pleased to be invited to this Breakfast Meeting organized by the Asia Society Finland, and have this opportunity to discuss with you the tough challenges and the effective measures of the Chinese new government since its setting up.

Though the Chinese new government is only six months old since its setting up last March, it has already survived various hardships. It has stood a severe test of catastrophes like SARS, floods and water-logging. And it has been confronted with some deep problems occurred in the process of deepening reform and expanding opening-up.

Firstly, combat against SARS.
Since the outbreak of SARS last spring, the new government met with the combat calmly. By promptly bringing every possible force into full play, fully utilizing its system advantages and achievements in scientific research, and intensifying coordination and international cooperation, it managed to bring the situation under control within a quite short period and made a positive contribution to the fight against SARS for the mankind. Meanwhile, the new government timely emphasized the dual tactics, namely the SARS prevention and cure, and the economic construction. In order to reduce the loss caused by SARS and realize the economic and social development objectives of this year, the new government bases itself upon the present and schemes the plan for the future. In this regard, it has implemented the following five measures.
1. Upholding the guidelines of expanding domestic demand and positive financial policy, and giving full play to the advantages of its vast market and plenty of room for economic growth. Budgets for public health facilities and services of all levels have been increased to guarantee the necessary expenditure on SARS prevention and cure.
2. Implementing the policy to aid the industries suffering most from SARS, such as the tertiary industry including tourism, catering, and etc. Recovery plans of relevant industries after SARS have been formulated.
3. Promoting foreign trade and foreign capital utilization. Policies of encouraging exports have been carried out to help those investing abroad with the concrete problems and troubles in their production and operation management.
4. Caring for those in difficulty, and further improving the work concerning the employment and social security, laid off reemployment, graduate employment, and basic life insurance of some particular families in difficulty.
5. Keeping the sequence of work and life as usual, ensuring smooth traffic and regular personnel flow, correcting and standardizing the market economic order, and strengthening the management of safety in production.
In addition, the Chinese new government has made astonishing achievements in the combat against the floods and water-logging in China this summer. And all the Chinese people speak highly of its performance.

Secondly, the Three F issues, namely the issue of farming, farmers and farming areas.
In recent years, with the deepening of reforms and opening up, the imbalance of social and economic development between coastal & inland areas, western & eastern areas, and urban & rural areas in China has arisen. And the gap between the rich and the poor has been widened. Among the population of 1.3 billion people in China, more than 0.8 billion are farmers. At present, about 30 million farmers haven’t got rid of poverty.
In this regard, the new government is mainly dedicating to the following four aspects:
1. Stabilizing the basic policies in the rural areas, deepening rural reform, mobilizing and cultivating the initiatives of farmers, and continuously liberating and enhancing the rural productive force.
2. Optimizing the agricultural and rural economic structures, improving the agricultural capacities of comprehensive production and sustainable development, increasing the agricultural modernization level and urbanization level, hence to increase the income of farmers and to realize the well-off stage for farmers step by step.
3. Formulating an overall planning of the social and economic development in the urban and rural areas, and giving full play to the booming cities to bring along the rural areas.
4. Promoting the democratic & legal construction and the spirit civilization construction in the rural areas, improving education and sanitation conditions, enriching cultural life of farmers, and enhancing the comprehensive qualities of farmers, thus to realize the overall social progress in the rural areas.

Thirdly, challenges in diplomatic work.
At present, the uncertainties of the international situation have increased. Hegemonism and power politics have even developed with new manifestations. The authority of UN has been challenged. The situations in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsular are full of uncertainties. And moreover, economic globalization is developing rapidly, resulting in the enlarging gap between the rich and the poor and the sharp South-North contradictions day by day.
However, generally speaking, there will be more opportunities than challenges to China. The Chinese diplomatic work will firmly stick to and serve the strategic objectives of an overall construction of a well-off society. The Chinese government will continue to adhere to the independent foreign policy of peace, and firmly safeguard the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of China. Based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence, China will actively develop the friendly cooperation relations with all countries around the world, and make positive contribution to the safeguard of the world peace and the promotion of common development.

To sum up, since the formulation of the Chinese new government half a year ago, it has undergone various tests and challenges, and made tremendous achievements. That fully demonstrates the effectiveness and honesty of the new leaders in performing their official duties, which are rewarded with the support and popularity of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. We believe that the new government, under the leadership of the CPC Party Central Committee with Mr. Hu Jintao as its General Secretary, will by all means make persistent efforts to lead all the Chinese people to realize the overall construction of a well-off society.