China's State Council stresses key 2024 tasks

China's State Council deliberated and approved arrangements for its key 2024 tasks during an executive meeting presided by Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday.

The meeting also approved guidelines for the expansion of China's grain output and the facilitation of high-quality economic growth through the upgrading of standards.

The meeting heard a report on ensuring the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education, and reviewed and adopted regulations on pensions and the preferential treatment granted to the families of deceased servicemen or to disabled servicemen.

Li stressed that the government work report delivered at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature, has set the economic and social development objectives and tasks for this year, and more should be done to map detailed measures and policies to implement the key tasks.

Safeguarding food security is a top priority and efforts should be made to facilitate major projects, such as high-standard farmland construction and revitalization of the seed industry, according to the meeting.

In terms of facilitating the upgrading of standards, Li urged efforts to promote their formulation and revision, seek relevant opinions from enterprises and consumers, and introduce them as soon as they are ready, in a bid to advance high-quality development.

The meeting also stressed the need to focus on work involving improving school conditions, education quality and people's satisfaction, while narrowing the educational gaps between regions, urban and rural areas, schools and groups.

Efforts should be made to ensure compulsory education adapts to demographic changes and the progress of new urbanization, strengthen the flexibility and adaptation of resource allocation, and steer more fiscal spending on compulsory education toward weak links, according to the meeting.

When reviewing and adopting regulations on pensions and the preferential treatment granted to the families of deceased servicemen or disabled servicemen, the meeting underlined efforts to strictly implement the related policies in accordance with the regulations.

(With input from Xinhua)