Strictly investigate the issuing of IOUs to prevent farmers from having difficulty selling grain

Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council on November 11, at which measures were determined to stabilize grain production and increase income from grain cultivation, so as to safeguard food security and farmers' interests; to deploy consumption upgrading to promote industrial upgrading and cultivate new supply and new momentum to expand domestic demand; to decide to advance the integration of medical and health care with elderly care services, so as to better ensure that the elderly have access to medical care and support in old age; and to adopt the Regulations on the Administration of Maps (Draft).

The meeting pointed out that China's grain output has increased for consecutive years and another bumper harvest was achieved this year, which has strongly supported economic and social development and the improvement of people's livelihoods, but there are also problems such as a substantial increase in inventories and falling prices. As autumn harvesting and winter planting are currently under way, multiple measures must be taken to effectively protect farmers' interests and their enthusiasm for growing grain. First, efforts must be made to handle the purchase of autumn grain well, increase investment in the construction of storage facilities, accelerate the progress of grain depots under construction and those being repaired and upgraded, additionally formulate plans for inter-provincial depot transfers as needed, increase the transport of grain from the north to the south, promptly introduce policies to encourage processing enterprises to enter the market to purchase grain, strictly investigate “issuing IOUs” and downgrading quality or suppressing prices, and prevent “difficulty in selling grain”. Second, existing inventories must be steadily digested, and eligible temporary stored corn must be reclassified as one-off state reserves. Grain storage management must be strengthened to ensure the safety of stored grain. Third, winter and spring agricultural production must be carried out well, irrigation and drainage facilities and other water conservancy construction must be accelerated, and the supply of agricultural materials must be ensured. Investment in the construction of high-standard farmland must be increased, with priority tilted toward major production areas. Fourth, the mechanisms for grain price formation and purchase and storage must be reformed, the subsidy policies for corn and soybeans must be improved, and the minimum purchase price policy for staple grain varieties such as wheat and rice will continue to be implemented next year. Fifth, efforts must be made to return sloping land in the south to forest, promote fallowing and crop rotation between corn and soybeans, expand the pilot scope of “changing grain to feed”, and promote the adjustment of the planting structure.

The meeting held that, centering on new consumer demand, innovating the supply of consumer goods and related industries and services can enrich people's lives, unleash the potential of domestic demand, make up for shortcomings in people's livelihoods, and drive industrial upgrading and improvement in product quality. The meeting determined the following. First, institutional and mechanism obstacles restricting the expansion of consumption must be removed through reform and innovation. The classified reform of public institutions in education, health, culture and other fields must be accelerated, those that should be converted into enterprises must be converted as soon as possible, market access for private capital must be fully relaxed, restrictions on foreign capital must be gradually reduced, relaxed and opened up by sector, support must be given to the application of new technologies, new processes and new materials, and effective supply such as high-quality new products and life services must be increased. The reform of the household registration system must be accelerated to drive consumption in housing, home appliances and other areas. Second, the consumption environment must be optimized. The level of standardization must be comprehensively raised, stricter standards and supervision must be used to strengthen the primary responsibility of enterprises, the improvement of consumer goods quality must be promoted, a nationally unified credit information sharing platform must be established, cross-regional and cross-departmental linked credit rewards and punishments must be advanced, a fair competition environment must be created, intellectual property rights must be protected, acts such as counterfeiting and shoddy goods and mismatches between price and quality must be severely punished, consumers' rights and interests must be safeguarded, and consumers must be enabled to consume with confidence, thereby better driving domestic demand. Third, support from fiscal, taxation, financial and other policies must be increased, consumer credit must be developed, and the pilot program of consumer finance companies must be extended nationwide. Fourth, channels for the import of goods must be smoothed, imports of daily consumer goods and other products welcomed by the public must be expanded, additional duty-free shops at ports of entry must be established, and the policy of tax rebates on departure shopping by overseas tourists must be implemented and improved.

The meeting pointed out that advancing the integration of medical and health care with elderly care services is a people-benefiting measure for deepening medical reform, responding to aging, and enhancing the well-being of hundreds of millions of families, and it can also drive a large amount of employment. The meeting determined the following. First, the integration and linkage of medical care and elderly care must be promoted. Medical institutions must open green channels for appointments and visits for elderly care institutions, and medical institutions established within elderly care institutions may serve as places for hospital rehabilitation and nursing care. Elderly care institutions must be supported in establishing geriatric hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, hospice care institutions and the like in accordance with regulations. The integration of primary medical institutions with community-based and home-based elderly care must be advanced, and contracted medical services must be provided for elderly families. Second, social forces must be encouraged to establish integrated medical and elderly care institutions, and regions rich in medical resources must be supported in converting public hospitals into rehabilitation, geriatric nursing and other institutions. Third, support in investment and financing, land use and other areas must be strengthened, government purchases of basic health and elderly care services must be expanded, and products such as long-term care insurance must be innovated. The meeting decided that at least one region in every province across the country must be selected to carry out pilot demonstrations of integrated medical and elderly care.

The meeting adopted the Regulations on the Administration of Maps (Draft). The draft provides for the compilation, review, publication and other aspects of maps.