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The provincial people's congress of Anhui ended on Feb. 21, concluding all local legislative and political consultative sessions in China. That means the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, known as the "two sessions," are imminent.

Vehicles run on a fog-shrouded road in Beijing, China, March 17, 2013. [File photo]

Analysts say that local hot topics are often closely connected with those deliberations at the national level. The following is a roundup of highlights from the work reports of the 31 provinces (or municipalities and autonomous regions).

Curbing air pollution

Curbing air pollution is found in the work reports of all 31 provinces.

The State Council released the "Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control" in 2013, in which it marked a red line for PM2.5 density for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

At this year's local "two sessions," Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei all showcased their performance sheets for smog control during the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-15). In 2015 alone, the average PM2.5 density in Hebei dropped by 28.7 percent from the 2013 level; the figure for Tianjin was 27.1 percent and the density for particle matter (PM) in Beijing in 2015 was lowered by 15.8 percent against 2012.

The air quality in both the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta both improved overall.

Hebei has promised that its PM2.5 density will have fallen 40 percent from the level in 2013 by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan, and the heavily polluted cities in the province would seek to disappear from the national worst 10 list. Beijing has promised this year's PM density would drop by around five percent.

Poverty reduction

Metadata helps precisely implement poverty reduction measures.

Poverty alleviation is the top-priority project during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). To improve the life quality of all impoverished, take off counties from the poverty-stricken list, and solve overall regional poverty will be the most demanding undertaking for the building of a comprehensive well-off society during the period.

Guizhou is central to the task, for it is one of the most poverty-stricken provinces. Its provincial government work report made clear, for the first time, poverty alleviation would be at the top of the agenda, and the No. 1 livelihood project for a province with 6.23 million impoverished people.

The goal of Sichuan Province's poverty alleviation for this year is "to lift more than 1.05 million people out of poverty and delist more than 2,350 impoverished villages and five impoverished counties."

Construction of clean government

Rules and regulations will become much stricter.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the anti-corruption campaign has been intensified. The effort to build clean government has naturally been an issue of most concern.

Almost all the 31 provincial government work reports mentioned increasing the effort to build clean government. Beijing will focus on grass-root agencies and departments that directly serve the people to rectify "negligence and reckless governance." Economic audits will be applied to all agencies, including leaders leaving or who have already left their posts.

Henan Province stressed Party and government officials would have the responsibility for the Party's work style and the building of clean government. Inspection and supervision will have no boundaries or restricted areas, and there will be no tolerance of violations of Party discipline or laws.

Coordinating urban-rural development

Gradually reducing the urban-rural gap, facilitating fair exchanges of urban and rural elements, ensuring fair access to reasonable resource allocation and basic public services are the key to a comprehensive well-off society.

In Beijing, the goal of "everyone enjoys social security" has largely been met in the senior care and medical care systems for both urban and rural residents. The urban and rural minimum living standards have been unified. There is now no difference in the public services and social security policies for urban and rural residents.

For those less developed provinces, perfecting rural infrastructure and public service systems are the main undertaking for coordinating urban and rural development and in shaping a beautiful countryside.

Bringing cultural products to rural areas to build a public cultural service system that covers all residents is an important assignment in coordinating urban and rural development. Heilongjiang Province plans to launch a digital wireless network of radio and television, facilitating the merger of telecommunications, radio and TV networks and the Internet.

Investment in people's livelihood

Investment in people's livelihood has always been a hot topic and focus of discussion for delegates to people's congress and representatives to political consultative conferences.

The government work report of Jiangsu Province said the government will expand such investment to “patch up the short board,” ensure basic social welfare, increase the supply of public services and complete 10 major undertakings involved. Noticeably, for the care and protection of the underprivileged, the province will set up 100 provincial e-commerce model stations of women volunteers, who will provide specialized care for left-behind children and women, single and impoverished women, and senior people without children to care for them. The province will also fully implement the aid and protection system for children living in difficulty.

Also in 2016, Guangdong Province will set aside 210 billion yuan (US$32.3 billion) from its financial budget to raise the basic living standard, enhance assistance to vulnerable groups, ensuring housing for low-income people, improve living and production conditions in rural areas, and improve grass-root medical services, among the 10 major tasks for enhancing people's livelihood.

Sichuan will go on increasing the expenditure on items concerning people's livelihood. The share of such expenditure in the provincial budget will remain at around 65 percent. The provincial government will launch 20 major undertakings for improving people's livelihood.

Simplifying governance and decentralizing powers

Simplifying governance and decentralizing powers have always been hailed as the first moves in the comprehensive deepening of reform and the transformation of government functions. They take up much space in the government work report each year.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan, Guangdong will implement a provincial-city-county third-level management system of government agencies' responsibility list, continue to reduce the items requiring administrative approval, rectify intermediary services and standardize administrative approvals.

Beijing's effort in this regard will be characterized by docking with the central government in that Beijing will also accommodate the powers that the central government devolves to.

Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan, Tianjin, Xinjiang all promised they will resolutely simplify governance and decentralize powers to lower agencies to ensure "minimal approval items, highest efficiency and best services."

It is foreseeable that simplifying governance and decentralizing powers will carry more weight this year. And this issue will attract national attention during the national "two sessions."

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