CRI听力：NDRC: 40% of Fourth Quarter's Investment Carried Out

Anchor:
China's top economic planner says the country's 100-billion-Yuan investment in the fourth quarter has been outlined, with 40 percent already carried out.

Our reporter Shuangfeng has more.

Reporter:
Zhang Ping, director of China's National Development and Reform Commission, says some major economic indicators have shown signs of worsening since the beginning of November. So the 100-billion-yuan or 15-billion-US dollar investment in the fourth quarter is an important measure to stimulate domestic demand which will bolster economic growth.

Zhang Ping says the investment will be mainly injected into projects such as environmental protection, infrastructure construction and post-quake reconstruction.

The official explains how the priorities were identified when chalking up the 100-billion-yuan investment.

"Firstly, we need to accelerate the projects that are already underway. Secondly, we will choose projects for which preliminary preparations have been completed. And thirdly we should choose from the projects set forth in the country's 11th five-year plan and other specialized programs."

Apart from the investment in the fourth quarter, Zhang Ping says the country's 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package will be invested into these projects in the coming two years. He stresses that duplication of constructions will be avoided.

"We won't invest in large-scale manufacturing, industries with high energy consumption, high emission and resources exploitation. So I can assure that these investments will not be injected to low-level duplicate constructions."

The official also highlights the investment's positive role in creating more jobs. He says next year the pressure on employment will be heavier, and improving the environment for employment will be a crucial factor to keep the economy growing at a steady pace.(Www.hxen.net)

"The 4-trillion-yuan investment is part of fixed asset investments in society. It will mobilize investment from other sectors too. This will play a positive role in creating more jobs."

Meanwhile, Zhang Ping says the government's latest move of cutting the interest rate will give substantial support to enterprises, especially enterprises affected by the worsening export environment.

He also says the government may raise the income of residents to create favorable conditions for people to spend more. However, he didn't give further details about the measures, saying they are still under discussion.

Shuangfeng, CRI news.