南水北调工程 South-to-North Water Diversion Project
A major project to channel water from the Yangtze River in the southern part of the country to the north through three canals.
The project, considered by the authorities since the 1950s, was formally launched in 2002. Three 1,300-km canals will be constructed in the western, central and eastern parts of China so that water from the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be brought to the north, where water supply is not adequate.
With an estimated investment of 486 billion yuan, the three canals will be capable of transferring 44.8 billion cu m of water by 2050.
分税制 Tax Sharing System
A policy arrangement between the central government and local governments on collecting and spending of different taxes.
Popular in many market economies, the system divides all tax items into State taxes, local taxes and several shared taxes. The central and local governments collect taxes and manage the public affairs with the money as agreed. Transfer payments from the central government to localities are also part of the system to narrow regional differences. China started a reform in 1994 to introduce this system and established State taxation administrations as well as local taxation administrations to implement the system.
三来一补企业 Enterprises of Three Import and Compensation Trade
A shorthand for enterprises that process imported raw materials, manufacture products according to imported samples, assemble imported parts and those that repay loans for imported equipments and technologies with products. Emerging in the coastal area in the late 1980s, all these enterprises export their products abroad. By taking the processing fee, they become the major force in the processing trade, which forms a big proportion in the country's total trade volume. They played a key role in fostering the development of China's trade.
利改税 Tax for Profits
A reform measure requiring State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to pay taxes instead of submitting their profits to the administration.
The State Council introduced this reform in 1983 by levying a 55 percent income tax on medium and large SOEs rather than taking their profits. Other measures soon followed, creating a complete tax scheme to encourage competition.
This was one of the earliest steps taken to reform SOEs and establish a national tax system, showing that a mature market might be an effective way to improve industrial efficiency.
兴边富民行动 Program to Revitalize Border Areas and Enrich Residents' Lives
A State campaign to boost social and economic development of regions along the land borderline. In 1998, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission started the program to improve the lives of the ethnic people who comprise 48 percent of the 21 million residents in 135 counties along the borderline.
Favorable policies and direct financial investment were granted to improve the infrastructure and public facilities, develop education, promote literacy, boost trade and nurture industries. By 2005, the government spent at least 15 billion yuan in the border areas through the program.
绿色信贷 Green Credit
A policy to encourage the businesses to observe the rules and regulations about environmental protection with the leverage of bank credits. Initiated by the former State Environmental Protection Administration, currently the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and China Banking Regulatory Commission in July, 2007, the policy requires the commercial banks, when reviewing the application for bank credits, to consider whether the applying businesses have followed the environmental rules. The violators have less chance to get the approval, while the green businesses would get favorable treatment in this regard. The policy marks a start for the central government to step up the country's environmental protection through market-oriented means.
廉租房 Low-rent Housing
State-owned houses are rented out at modest prices to low-income families who do not have proper housing in the cities.
In 1998, the central government required all cities to offer low-rent housing to families with the lowest income before the end of 2006 and the deadline was later changed to the end of 2007.
In each city, the standards for a family's per capita living floor space and minimum income are set by the local governments. Families whose living space and income are both below the standards are given low-rent houses. If the governments do not have enough houses, they offer financial subsidy to these families. The rent is set at about 5 percent of the family's income.
家庭联产承包责任制 Household Contract Responsibility System
The system allows farming households to manage agricultural production on their own initiatives while the farmland remains in the ownership of the rural collective. Started in Xiaogang village in Anhui province in the late 1970s, the system enables farmers to use land through long-term contracts and keep the produce after paying taxes. It raised productivity and increased agricultural output, both of which were preconditions for nurturing the economic takeoff, and comprehensive industrialization and urbanization. The start of this system is widely accepted as a milestone in the economic opening up.
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