Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday said the tasks of increasing
employment and helping laid-off workers to find jobs are vital to
the Chinese people's direct interests, to the success of reforms
and to the nation's stability.
Hu, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Central Committee, made the remarks Saturday while presiding over
the third lecture for the members of the Political Bureau of the
CPC Central Committee.
He
urged CPC committees at all levels and local governments to pay
more attention to these tasks to ensure a higher rate of
employment.
Zeng Xiangquan, professor at the People's University of China, and
Cai Fang, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,
lectured on the issue.
During the discussion, Hu said China should persist in its
long-term strategy and its policy of promoting employment.
The 16th CPC National Congress stressed the need to create job
opportunities through all possible means. "We should include this
task in the overall plan for economic and social development," said
Hu.
He
singled out the re-employment strategy for those laid off from
state-owned enterprises (SOE).
The President said he hoped local governments will create more
suitable jobs for laid-off workers and provide effective services
to help them start their own businesses.
He
also noted that the number of this July's college graduates will be
double last year's number.
Hu
emphasized the importance of improving on-the-job training for
laid-off employees.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2003)