STATISTICAL COMMUNIQUÉ OF

THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

ON THE 2003 NATIONAL

 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS OF CHINA

February 26, 2004

In 2003, under the correct leadership of the Central Party Committee and the State Council, and guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of ¡°Three Represents¡±, people of all nationalities of China implemented in full swing the spirit of the 16^th National Congress of CPC and the Third Plenary Session of the 16^th CPC Central Committee, and dealt steadily with the serious problems and challenges brought about by the sudden outbreak of SARS, by various natural disasters and by the complex and changing international situations. Chinese people united as one and went all out to achieve the main targets set forth for the economic and social development. The national economy grew rapidly with further improved quality and vitality. Structural adjustment achieved significant progress; steady development was scored in the reform and opening programs. New achievements were registered in science and technology, education, culture, public health, sports and other social undertakings. The living standard of urban and rural households continued to improve.

I.  General Outlook

The national economy increased by fast speed. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the year was 11,669.4 billion yuan, up by 9.1 percent, or 1.1 percentage points higher over the previous year at comparable prices. The value-added of the primary industry was 1,724.7 billion yuan, up by 2.5 percent; it was 0.4 percentage points lower. The value-added of the secondary industry was 6,177.8 billion yuan, up by 12.5 percent, or 2.7 percentage points higher. The value-added of the tertiary industry was 3,766.9 billion yuan, up by 6.7 percent, or 0.8 percentage points lower. Of the tertiary industry, the growth of the financial and insurance industry was 6.9 percent, that of the wholesale and retail sales and catering industry was 6.6 percent, and that of the real estate industry was 5.3 percent.

The general price level was up by small margin. The general level of consumer prices in China of the year was up by 1.2 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the consumer price level in urban areas was up by 0.9 percent, and it was up by 1.6 percent in rural areas (Table 1). Of the total consumer prices, the prices for food increased by 3.4 percent, the prices for service items were up 2.2 percent. The retail prices of commodities were down by 0.1 percent, while the producers¡¯ prices for manufactured goods increased by 2.3 percent, and the purchasing prices for raw materials, fuels and power went up by 4.8 percent. The prices for investment in fixed assets were up 2.2 percent. Producers¡¯ prices of farm products were up by 4.4 percent. Analyzed by products, the price for cereals was up 2.3 percent; for cotton, up 35.3 percent; for oil-bearing crops, up 19.4 percent; and for livestock products, 1.8 percent.

Table 1: Change in Consumer Prices in 2003 over 2002 (%)

The size of employment continued to expand. By the end of 2003, the total of employed people in China numbered 744.32 million, or 6.92 million more than at the end of 2002. Of this total, 256.39 million were employed in urban areas, an increase of 8.59 million persons over that at the end of 2002. In 2003, 4.40 million once laid-off workers of state-owned enterprises were re-employed. The urban unemployment rate through unemployment registration was 4.3 percent at the end of 2003, up by 0.3 percentage points.

China¡¯s balance of payment was in good position. The trade surplus was 25.5 billion US dollars in 2003, a decrease of 4.9 billion US dollars. The utilization of foreign capitals continued to increase. Foreign exchange reserves went up by large margin. By the end of 2003, China¡¯s foreign exchange reserves reached 403.3 billion US dollars, an increase of 116.8 billion US dollars as compared with that at the end of the pervious year. The exchange rate of RMB remained stable.

Main problems that existed in the economic and social development included: the slow growth of farmers¡¯ income; the heavy tasks for employment and social security; the tight relation between the supply and demand of energy and transportation, the large size of investment in fixed assets, the blind investment and repeated low quality expansion in some industries; the big gap in the income between selected groups of population, the relatively difficult life of low-income households, the increasing pressure on resources and environment, etc.

II.  Agriculture

Structural adjustment for crop production continued. In 2003, the sown areas of grain was 99.41 million hectares, a decrease of 4.48 million hectares as compared with that in the previous year, and the sown areas of sugar crops was 1.65 million hectares, a decrease of 170,000 hectares. The sown areas of cotton were 5.11 million hectares, an increase of 920,000 hectares. The sown areas of oil-bearing crops rose by 200,000 hectares to reach 14.97 million hectares, and that for vegetables rose by 560,000 hectares to reach 17.91 million hectares.

The production of major farm crops decreased, including grain, cotton, oil-bearing crops and sugar crops. The output of vegetables and fruits continued to grow with better variety and quality. The total output of grain in 2003 was 430.67 million tons, down by 26.39 million tons or 5.8 percent over the previous year (Table 2).

Steady progress was seen in animal husbandry and fishery. The total output of meat for the year reached 69.20 million tons, up by 5.1 percent. Of this total, the output of beef and mutton was up 12.9 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. Rapid growth was recorded in the output of cow milk. The total output of aquatic products was 46.90 million tons, up by 2.8 percent.

Table 2: Output of Major Farm Products, 2003

Over 780,000 hectares of land were converted into farmland with effective irrigation system, another 1.37 million hectares of land were guaranteed by water-saving irrigation system.

III.  Industry and Construction

Fast growth was registered in industrial production. In 2003, the total value-added of the industrial sector was 5,361.2 billion yuan, up by 12.6 percent over the previous year. The value-added of industrial enterprises above designated size (i.e. all state-owned enterprises and those non-state-owned enterprises with an annual sales income over 5 million yuan) was up by 17.0 percent (Table 3). The sales ratio of industrial enterprises was 98.1 percent, or 0.1 percentage points higher than that in the previous year.

Table 3: Value-added of Industrial Sector, 2003

Fairly fast growth was seen in high-tech industry. Of the total industrial enterprises above designated size, the value-added of high-tech industry was up 20.6 percent over the previous year. The output of optical telecommunications facilities, program-controlled switchboards, mobile telephones and microcomputers increased by 25.9 percent to 120 percent (Table 4)

Energy production speeded up. The total output of primary energy reached 1,603 million tons of standard coal equivalent, it was up by 11.0 percent over the previous year. The electricity generated for the whole year was 1,910.76 billion kilowatt-hours, up by 15.5 percent. The output of coal was 1,667 million tons, up by 15.0 percent. The output of crude oil reached 170 million tons, up by 1.8 percent.

The production of major raw materials grew fast. In 2003, the value-added of the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals was up 22.6 percent over the previous year; that of the nonferrous metals was up 18.1 percent; that of the raw chemical materials and chemical products was up 14.1 percent; and that of nonmetal mineral products was up 16.6 percent. In terms of different products, the output of steel stood at 222 million tons, up by 21.9 percent; that of rolled steel was 241 million tons, up by 25.3 percent. The production of 10 kinds of nonferrous metals went up by 19.1 percent; that of aluminum oxide was up by 11.2 percent; 7.7 percent growth for caustic soda and 18.9 percent growth for cement.

Table 4: Output of Major Industrial Products, 2003

The momentum of growth of automobile industry was strong. In 2003, the value-added of the transport equipment manufacturing industry increased by 22.0 percent. The output of vehicles was 4.444 million, up by 36.7 percent, of this total the output of cars reached 2.02 million, up by 85.0 percent.

       Economic efficiency of industrial sector improved significantly. The total volume of profits made by industrial enterprises above designated size stood at 815.2 billion yuan during the year, up by 42.7 percent over the previous year. Of the total, the profits of state-owned and state-controlled enterprises stood at 378.4 billion yuan, up by 45.2 percent; that of the collective enterprises was 48.0 billion yuan, up by 31.4 percent. The profits made by share-holding enterprise reached 376.46 billion yuan, up by 46 percent; that of foreign invested enterprises and enterprises invested by people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan stood at 268.05 billion yuan, up by 40.5 percent. The total volume of losses made by loss-suffering enterprises was down by 1.9 percent. The proportion of profits-making industries increased noticeably. Thirty-eight out of the total 39 branches of industries were enjoying growth in profit. The increased profits of the following branches accounted for 48.7% of the total increase of profits by the industrial sector: petroleum and natural gas extraction, transport equipment manufacturing, smelting and pressing of ferrous metals, chemical industry and power industry.

Construction industry maintained fast growth. In 2003, the value-added of construction enterprises in China was 816.6 billion yuan, up by 11.9 percent over the previous year. The profits made by construction enterprises with certain qualification through general contracts and specialized contracts reached 45.9 billion yuan, up by 23.8 percent.

IV.  Investment in Fixed Assets

Investment in fixed assets increased by large margin. The completed investment in fixed assets of the country in 2003 was 5,511.8 billion yuan, up by 26.7 percent over the previous year (Table 5). Of the total investment of state-owned units and units with other types of ownership, the investment in eastern areas was 2,466.6 billion yuan, up by 33.6 percent; that in central areas was 1,009.2 billion yuan, up by 33.1 percent and that in western areas was 717.1 billion yuan, up by 26.4 percent.

Table 5: Investment in Fixed Assets, 2003

The growth of investment in manufacturing industry was faster than other industries. Of the total investment of state-owned units and units with other types of ownership, the investment in the primary industry was 115.6 billion yuan, up by 3.7 percent, or 19.8 percentage points lower, over the previous year. Investment in the secondary industry was 1,500.7 billion yuan, up by 39.1 percent, or 16.2 percentage points higher. Of which, the investment in the manufacturing industry was 1,446.0 billion yuan, up by 39.0 percent, or 16.8 percentage points higher. Investment in some manufacturing industries enjoyed rapid growth. Of the projects over 5 million yuan worth of investment, the investment in the production of steel was up by 96.6 percent; electrolytic aluminum, 92.9 percent; cement, 121.9 percent; vehicles, 87.2 percent; textiles, 80.4 percent; and coal, 52.3 percent.  Investment in the tertiary industry kept fairly fast growth, with a total completed investment of 2,648.0 billion yuan for the whole year, up by 24.2 percent, or 9.8 percentage points higher over the previous year. Investment in real estate development was 1,010.6 billion yuan, up by 29.7 percent. The total sales of commercial buildings for the whole year reached 767.1 billion yuan, up by 34.1 percent, of this total, the sales to individuals went up by 35.8 percent, accounting for 92.5 percent of the total sales of commercial buildings.

Table 6: Newly Increased Production Capacity Through Investment in Capital Construction, 2003

The construction of key projects progressed smoothly. The Three Gorges Project had achieved its goal of impounding, opening to navigation and power generating. The total newly complete length of Qinghai-Tibet railway reached to 317 kilometers, finishing 28.6 percent of the targeted length. The capacity of power transmission to Guangdong province through the west-east power transmission project topped 5 million kilowatts; the piping work for the west-east natural gas transmission project had accomplished 48 percent of the total investment, with the eastern section of the project completed and starting to supply natural gas to the eastern areas of China. Four sub-projects were started under the central and eastern routes of the south-to-north water diversion project. Nineteen key projects designed to harness the Huaihe River had finished 49 percent of the total investment.

V. Domestic Trade

Sales of consumer goods at domestic market increased steadily. In 2003, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 4,584.2 billion yuan, up by 9.1 percent over the previous year, or a real growth of 9.2 percent if price factors were deducted. Of this total, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2,977.7 billion yuan, up by 10.3 percent, and the retail sales of consumer goods at and below county level was 1,606.5 billion yuan, up by 6.8 percent. In terms of different sectors, the sales of the wholesale and retail industry reached 3,769.3 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent, the sales of the catering industry was 606.6 billion yuan, up 11.6 percent, and the sales of other industries was 208.3 billion yuan, up 0.2 percent.

       Of the total wholesale and retail sales above designated size, the retail sales of motor vehicles was up 68.5 percent over the previous year; that of the telecommunication equipment was up by 70.9 percent; that of electric and electronic appliances for household use and audio-video equipment was up by 18.3 percent, and that of furniture was up 28.2 percent.

VI. Foreign Economic Relations

Rapid growth was registered in foreign trade. Total value of import and export in 2003 reached 851.2 billion US dollars, up 37.1 percent over the previous year. The value of export was 438.4 billion US dollars, up 34.6 percent, and the value of import was 412.8 billion US dollars, up 39.9 percent (Table 7). Fast growth was recorded in import and export with major trade partners (Table 8).

Table 7: Import and Export by Major Categories, 2003

Table 8: Import and Export by Major Countries and Regions, 2003

Import of energy and raw materials increased by a large margin. In 2003, China imported 91.12 million tons of crude oil, up by 31.3 percent over the previous year; 28.24 million tons of refined oil products, up by 38.8 percent; 37.17 million tons of rolled steel, up by 51.8 percent; 5.61 million tons of aluminum oxide, up by 22.6 percent; and 148.13 million tons of ironstone and refined iron ore, up by 32.9 percent.

Foreign direct investment maintained at fairly high level. The year 2003 witnessed the approval of establishment of 41,081 foreign direct invested enterprises in China, up by 20.2 percent over the previous year; the contracted foreign capitals through foreign direct investment stood at 115.1 billion US dollars, up 39.0 percent, and the foreign capitals actually utilized were 53.5 billion US dollars, up 1.4 percent (Table 9).

Foreign economic and technical cooperation maintained good momentum. In 2003, China signed new contracts on construction projects, labor projects and projects on design and consultation involving 20.9 billion US dollars, up 17.0 percent, and the accomplished business revenue through these projects was 17.2 billion US dollars, up 20.1percent.

Table 9: Foreign Direct Investment by Sectors, 2003

Value in 100 million US dollars

VII. Transportation, Post, Telecommunications and Tourism

The value-added of the transportation, post and telecommunications and tourism sectors reached 653.1 billion yuan in 2003, up by 7.0 percent over the previous year.

In 2003, the total volume of cargo transported was 5,715.2 billion ton-kilometers, up by 13.1 percent over the previous year. Ports throughout the country handled 3.3 billion tons of cargo, up 17.9 percent over the previous year. Total volume of passenger transportation was 1,379.5 billion person-kilometers, a decline of 2.3 percent as a result of SARS epidemic (Table 10).

Table10: Traffic Volume Completed by Various Transportation Means, 2003

The business transactions of postal and telecommunication services in 2003 totaled 728.2 billion yuan, up 27.8 percent over the previous year. Of this total, postal services accounted for 54.3 billion yuan, up 9.7 percent, and telecommunication services made up 673.9 billion yuan, up 29.6 percent. By the end of 2003, total capacity of office exchanges reached 350 million gates, including 67.44 million new-installed exchanges. The year 2003 saw 49.08 million new telephone subscribers to bring the total telephone subscribers to 263.305 million at the end of the year, including 171.292 million urban subscribers and 92.013 million rural subscribers. Mobile phone users numbered 268.69 million by the end of 2003, with 62.69 new mobile phone users. The total number of telephone subscribers and mobile phone users reached 532 million, an increase of 111.77 million as compared with the end of 2002. There were 42 telephones per 100 persons in China.

Tourism was affected significantly by the SARS epidemic. In 2003, China received 91.66 million tourists from overseas, a drop of 6.4 percent. Of all tourists visiting China, 11.40 million were foreigners, down by 15.2 percent; 80.26 million were Chinese compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, down by 5 percent. Of all the tourists from overseas, 32.97 million stayed in China for at least one night, down by 10.4 percent. Income of foreign exchange from international tourism reached 17.4 billion US dollars, a decline of 14.6 percent. A total of 20.22 million Chinese went abroad in the year 2003, up 21.8 percent. Of this total, 14.81 million were on their private visits, up by 47.2 percent, and accounting for 73.2 percent of all out-going visitors. The year 2003 saw 870 million domestic tourists, down by 0.9 percent. Income from domestic tourism stood at 344.2 billion yuan, down by 11.2 percent.

VIII. Banking, Security and Insurance

Money supply registered rapid increase. By the end of 2003, the money supply of broad sense (M₂) was 22,122.3 billion yuan, up 19.6 percent over 2003, or 2.8 percentage points higher than last year¡¯s growth; money supply of narrow sense (M₁) was 8,411.9 billion yuan, up 18.7 percent, or 1.9 percentage points higher. The cash in circulation (M₀) amounted to 1,974.6 billion yuan, up 14.3 percent, or 4.2 percentage points higher.

Savings deposits and loans of financial institutions increased by a large margin. The savings deposit in Renminbi and in foreign currencies in all financial institutions at the end of 2003 totaled 22,036.4 billion yuan, up 20.2 percent as compared with the year-end figure of 2002. The loans in Renminbi and in foreign currencies in various forms in all financial institutions reached 16,977.1 billion yuan, up 21.4 percent (Table 11). The structure of loans continued to improve. The loans in Renminbi by rural credit cooperatives stood at 1,697.9 billion yuan, an increase of 318.6 billion yuan. The consumption loans in Renminbi totaled 1,573.6 billion yuan, an increase of 509.1 billion yuan, of which, the loans for individual housing were 1,178.0 billion yuan, an increase of 352.8 billion yuan.

Table 11: Savings Deposits and Loans in Renminbi and Foreign Currencies

             of All Financial Institutions, 2003

Bad loans by financial institutions declined. Total volume of bad loans of major financial institutions in the banking sector, as was indicated by statistics of 5-category classification, was 2,440 billion yuan by the end of 2003, or 190.6 billion yuan less than at the beginning of the year. The proportion of bad loans was 17.8 percent, or 5.32 percentage points lower than at the beginning of the year.

Stock markets developed steadily. In 2003, funds raised through issuing stocks and share rights at stock markets were 135.8 billion yuan, an increase of 39.6 billion yuan over the previous year. Of this total, 97 companies issued A shares (including newly issued and convertible loan stock) and another 24 companies issued A share rights, with capital paid-in topped 82.0 billion yuan, an increase of 4 billion over 2002. The issue of 24 B shares and H shares raised another 53.7 billion yuan worth of foreign capital, an increase of 35.5 billion yuan. The number of listed companies (with A or B shares) in China¡¯s stock markets rose from 1,224 at the end of 2002 to 1,287 at the end of 2003, worth of 4,257.8 billion yuan, up 11 percent.

Rapid progress was registered in insurance. In 2003, the insurance premium of domestic and foreign insurance companies totaled 388.0 billion yuan, up 27.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the premium of life insurance was 266.9 billion yuan, that of health and unforeseen accident insurance was 34.2 billion yuan, and that of property insurance was 86.9 billion yuan. The insurance companies paid an indemnity of 84.1 billion yuan as reparations in insurance programs, of which the indemnity of life insurance was 26.4 billion yuan, and that of health and unforeseen accident insurance was 10.1 billion yuan. Another 47.6 billion yuan was paid as reparations in property insurance programs.

IX. Education, Science and Technology

Education undertakings achieved rapid development. In 2003, there were 651,000 graduate students enrolled in universities or research institutes, including 269,000 new entrants, and 111,000 students completed their graduate programs. There were 11.086 million undergraduates enrolled in general universities, including 3.822 million new entrants, and 1.878 million completed their undergraduate courses. Secondary vocational or technical schools of various types had an enrollment of 12.402 million students, including 5.041 million new entrants, and 3.438 million students graduated. General senior secondary schools had 19.648 million enrolled students, including 7.521 million new entrants, and 4.581 million graduated from senior secondary schools (Table 12). Students enrolled in junior secondary schools totaled 66.906 million, including 22.201 million new entrants, and 20.184 million completed their junior secondary school courses. Pupils enrolled in primary schools numbered 116.897 million, including 18.294 new entrants, and 22.679 million graduated from primary schools. There were 365,000 students in special education schools, with 49,000 new entrants. Kindergartens accommodated 20.04 million kids.

Table 12: New Entrants and Graduates by Type of Education, 2003

Unit: 10,000 persons

New breakthrough was made in science and technology. In 2003, the expenditure on research and development activities (R&D) for the whole country was 152.01 billion yuan, up 18.1 percent over 2002, accounting for 1.3 percent of the GDP. Of this total, 8.6 billion yuan was used for basic researches. China had 28.344 million professionals and technicians of all specializations working in state-owned enterprises and institu­tions at the end of the year. China implemented 1,573 projects under the National Key Technologies R&D Program and 4,479 projects under the Hi-tech Research and Development Program (863 Program). A total of 274 demonstration projects were launched for the industrialization of the hi-tech research outcomes, and another 15 major research projects for technical equipment were initiated in a rotating manner. The year 2003 also saw the establishment of 9 national engineering research centers, the initiation of 46 projects on updating key national laboratories and the designation of 302 national technical centers established in enterprises (groups). A total of 29,870 scientific research results were achieved at and above provincial or ministerial level, including 2,029 accomplishments in basic researches, 26,425 accomplishments in applied researches, and 1,416 accomplishments in soft science researches. Some 308,000 patent applications were received from domestic and overseas applicants, while 182,000 patents were authorized, up 22.1 percent and 37.6 percent respectively. A total of 268,000 contracts on the transfer of technology were signed, involving a transaction value of 108.27 billion yuan, up by 22.5 percent. With the successful launch and return of manned spacecraft, China became the third country in the world with independent technology in manned spacecraft program.

There were altogether 15,676 institutions in China responsible for the inspection of manufactured products, including 245 national inspection centers. One hundred and thirteen institutions in China involved in the certification of product quality and systems, which accumulatively certified products from 46,000 enterprises. There were altogether 3,815 authorized measurement inspection institutions in China, which enforced compulsory inspection on 26.91 million measuring instruments in 2003. A total of 1,653 national standards were formulated or revised, including 734 new standards. There were 250 meteorological observatories with radar installations and 386 satellite cloud map receiving stations. There were 1,253 seismological monitoring stations and 30 remote monitoring network stations. There were 1,737 marine observation and monitoring spots. Surveying and mapping departments published 1,572 kinds of maps and 454 kinds of surveying books.

X. Culture, Public Health and Sports

Cultural undertakings made steady progress. At the end of 2003, there were 2,587 art-performing groups, 2,892 culture centers, 2,708 public libraries and 1,519 museums in China. There were 282 radio broadcasting stations, 744 medium and short wave radio transmitting and relaying stations, 320 general television stations and 62 education television stations throughout China. Subscribers to cable television programs reached 105.08 million. China produced 140 feature movies, 61 scientific, educational, documentary or cartoon films and 1 special movie. National and provincial newspapers issued 24.36 billion copies; magazines, 2.99 billion copies; and books, 6.75 billion copies (Table 13). There were 3,978 archives in China where 55.83 million documents were made accessible to the public.

Table 13:  Radio and TV Broadcasting and Publications, 2003

Accelerated development was made in public health undertakings. SARS epidemics broke out in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities during the first 6 months of 2003, with an accumulative total of 5,327 clinically confirmed cases and 349 deaths. After the outbreak of SARS, central and local governments increased their input into public health, and mechanism to cope with emergent events in public health was established step by step, which strengthened medical institutions that provide medical treatment and disease control services. By the end of 2003, there were 305,000 health care institutions in China, including 64,000 hospitals and health care stations, 3,058 maternal and child health-care institutions and 1,811 specialized health institutions or stations. Hospitals and health care institutions in China had a total capacity of 2.9 million beds. There were 4.24 million health workers in China, including 1.83 million practicing doctors and assistant doctors and 1.24 million registered nurses. China had 3,600 epidemic/disease prevention centers and stations employing 159,000 health workers, and 755 health monitoring institutions with 15,000 health workers. There were 45,000 health-care institutions at township level in rural areas, with 668,000 beds and 907,000 health workers.

       New progress was scored in sports. In 2003, Chinese athletes won 87 world championships. Nine athletes and 1 team broke 16 world records on 19 occasions. The national Fit-Keeping Program witnessed vigorous development.

XI. Population, People¡¯s Life and Social Securities

The natural growth rate of population continued to decline. At the end of 2003, the total population of China was 1,292.27 million (Table 14). The year 2003 saw 15.99 million births, with a crude birth rate of 12.41 per thousand, and 8.25 million deaths, with a crude death rate of 6.40 per thousand. The net growth of population in 2003 was 7.74 million, representing a natural growth rate of 6.01 per thousand.

Table 14: Composition of Population, 2003

                                                                                                  10,000 persons

The living standard of population continued to improve. The annual per capita disposable income of urban households was 8,472 yuan in 2003, a real increase of 9.0 percent with prices increase taken into consideration. The per capita net income of rural households was 2,622 yuan, a real increase of 4.3 percent. The Engel coefficients (which refers to the proportion of expenditures on food to the total consumption expenditures of households) were 37.1 percent for urban households and 45.6 percent for rural households, both down by 0.6 percentage points over the previous year. Private cars numbered 4.89 million at the end of the year, or 1.46 million more than the year-end figure of 2002. The population in poverty in rural areas was 29 million at the end of 2003.

The social security system was further consolidated. By the end of 2003, 154.90 million people participated in the basic pension programs, an increase of 7.53 million. This included 116.38 million staff and workers and 38.52 million retirees. A total of 103.73 million people participated in the unemployment insurance programs, an increase of 1.91 million. The basic health insurance programs covered 108.95 million people, or 14.94 million more than in 2002. This included 79.77 million staff and workers and 29.18 million retirees. By the end of the year, some 35.51 million retirees from enterprises participated in the basic pension programs, and the majority of them received full pensions on time. Re-employment centers throughout China accommodated 1.95 million laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises, who received their full basic living allowances on time, and their social security payment were paid by the centers. Another 4.15 million people received unemployment insurance payment, 250,000 people less as compared with the last year. A total of 22.35 million urban residents received the minimum income relief from the governments, 1.70 million more than last year¡¯s figure.

       There were 1.222 million beds in social welfare institutions of various types at the end of 2003, accommodating for 924,000 inmates. Some 192,000 service facilities in urban communities were established, including 9,251 community service centers. In 2003, China sold 20 billion yuan worth of social welfare lottery tickets, raising about 7 billion yuan of social welfare funds. Another 3.01 billion yuan were received from direct donations.

XII. Resources and Environment

Cultivated land continued to shrink. In 2003, a total of 229,000 hectares of cultivated land were used for construction purpose, 50,000 hectares were destroyed by disasters, 2,237,000 hectares were converted for ecological preservation, and another 332,000 hectares were turned to other uses due to the structural adjustment in the agriculture production. On the other hand, land reclamation and re-development projects restored 311,000 hectares of farmland. As a result, the year 2003 saw a net reduction of 2,537,000 hectares of cultivated land.

Consumption of energy and key raw materials climbed up significantly. Preliminary estimation indicates that the total energy consumption in 2003 amounted to 1,678 million tons of standard coal equivalent, up by 10.1 percent over 2003. Of this total, the consumption of crude oil was 252 million tons, up 12 percent, and the consumption of coal was 1,579 million tons, up 13.6 percent. The consumption of major raw materials included 271 million tons of rolled steel, up 28.6 percent, 11.68 million tons of aluminum oxide, up 15.7 percent, and 836 million tons of cement, up 15.3 percent.

Water resource remained tight in terms of supply-demand relation. The water resource on per capita basis was 2,076 cubic meters in 2003, down by 5.6 percent as compared with 2002. The annual average precipitation was 640 millimeters, down by 3.0 percent. The 454 large reservoirs in China hold 186.4 billion cubic meters of water at the end of 2003, or 21.0 billion cubic meters more than at the end of 2002. Total water consumption in 2003 was 541.0 billion cubic meters, down by 1.5 percent. Water consumption for household use rose by 5.0 percent, for industrial use, up by 1.1 percent, and for agricultural use, down by 3.5 percent. Average per capita water consumption in 2003 was 420 cubic meters, down by 1.9 percent.

       The quality of water in general deteriorated slightly. In the mainstreams of the seven main river systems, water of 52.5 percent of the measured sections met the quality of Grade 3 as specified in the national standards for surface water, down by 0.4 percentage points over the previous year; 38.1 percent met the quality of Grade 4 or 5, up by 11.3 percentage points; and 9.3 percent failed to meet the quality of Grade 5, down by 11 percentage points. Of the 237 offshore monitoring stations, 19.8 percent reported that the marine water under their observation met the quality of Grade 1 of the national standards for marine water, down by 1.5 percentage points.

New progress was made in the exploration of mineral resources. A total of 171 minerals have been found in China, of which 158 minerals has a proven reserve, including 10 energy minerals, 54 metal minerals, 91 non-metal minerals and 3 water or gas minerals. Some 157 new mineral deposits of large or medium scale were discovered through national land and resources surveys and geological surveys. Increased reserves were found for 59 minerals, including 799 million tons of crude oil, 503.54 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 5,195 million tons of coal.

Protection of urban environment was further strengthened. Among the 340 cities under the environment monitoring program, the air quality of 141 cities met the standard of Grade 2, accounting for 41.5 percent of all cities covered by the program, up by 7.7 percentage points over the pervious year; 108 cities met the standard of Grade 3, accounting for 31.8 percent, or down by 3.2 percentage points; and the rest 91 cities failed to meet Grade 3 standard, accounting for 26.7 percent, or down by 4.5 percentage points. In China¡¯s urban areas, 42.1 percent of waste water was put under centralized processing systems, 58.0 percent of solid waste from daily life was processed under nontoxic programs, and 53.5 percent of industrial solid waste was recycled or re-utilized, up by 2.1 percentage points, 3.8 percentage points and 1.5 percentage points as compared with 2002. The established smoke/dust control zones covered an area of 33,000 square kilometers, and the noise pollution control zones covered 20,000 square kilometers.

       Improvement of ecological system and environment was further enhanced. The total afforested area in 2003 was 9.30 million hectares, up by 19.7 percent. Of this total, the 6 key forestation projects completed forestation of 8.31 million hectares. By the end of 2003, the state approved the establishment of 82 national ecological demonstration zones. China had 1,999 natural reserves, 44 national geological parks and 457 geological relics preservation zones. A total of 158 projects aiming at preventing geological disasters were completed in the Three Gorge Reservoir areas. Some 56,000 square meters of areas were developed through comprehensive anti-erosion projects.

       Occurrence of red tides increased. There were 119 occasions of red tides in 2003, 40 occasions or 50.6 percent more than in 2002. Covering an accumulative area of 14,550 square meters, the occurrence of the red tides caused a direct loss worth of 42.80 million yuan.

       Severe natural disasters of various types were recorded. In 2003, natural disasters hit 54.386 million hectares of crops, 15.4 percent more than the last year. Of the disaster-hit areas, 32.516 million hectares were severely affected and crops on 8.546 million hectares were completely destroyed, up 19.0 percent and 30.3 percent respectively. Economic losses caused by marine-related disasters totaled 8.05 billion yuan, up 22 percent. China recorded 29 earthquakes of magnitude 5 and over on Richter scale in 2003 (while in 2002 there were 9 such earthquakes), including 7 earthquakes of magnitude 6 and over. The earthquakes claimed 319 lives and caused a loss of 4.66 billion yuan.