With the encouraging performance achieved in 2007, we head into 2008 with joy and enthusiasm.
Throughout the year 2007, under the correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, we conscientiously studied the essence of the 17th CPC National Congress and put it into practice to guide our work, keeping pace with the times. Great progress has been achieved in expertise-introduction work:
l Inviting in foreign experts 250,000 person/time, experts from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Region 150,000 person/time.
l Sending out over 30,000 persons for overseas training, covering a broad range of different sectors and different levels.
l Issuing the State Friendship Award towards 50 foreign/overseas experts who have dedicated outstanding contribution to China’s economic and social development, and the total award laureates add up to 949.
l 10 new units were certified as State Demonstration Sites for Introduced Expertise Popularization, a total of 69 of such sites over the years.
l 13 new Demonstration Units for Expertise-Introduction were certified, a total of 39 of such units over the years.
l 18 new Overseas Training Institutions were certified.
l 5 new China Services International (CSI) branch offices opened last year, a total of 22.
Reviewing the past year, expertise-introduction work has been focusing on serving the theme of promoting both sound and fast development of the national economy and building up a harmonious socialist society, serving the strategy of making China stronger by producing more outstanding personnel, serving the reform and opening-up policy.
l We launched Expertise-Introduction Project for Building a New Socialist Countryside, continued One Village One Product Program, inaugurated Thousand Demonstration Villages Program, etc. A bunch of advanced planting and breeding technologies and high-quality varieties were popularized through these programs. We not only helped the farmers to improve productivity dramatically, but also attained reputation for our work in the public as well.
l To serve the goal of striving to make China an innovative country, and promoting economic structural improvements and development pattern transformation, we allocated more resources on new- and high-tech industries such as advanced manufacturing, information technology, software and IC industry. We have made breakthroughs in some key technologies, and some products with independent IP rights even rank front in the world market.
l To serve national strategies of West Development, Reinvigorate North-East Region, we progressively carried out relating programs including Expertise Goes West Project, Expertise-Introduction for Xinjiang Project and Expertise-Introduction for North-East Reinvigoration Project.
l Our programs also cover middle and eastern regions to help these two regions to grow upon their own conditions. For costal areas, we have programs for Binhai New development Zone and Economic Zone of Taiwan Strait West Bank respectively.
l He Xie Zhi Guang (Light of Harmony) Project was designed to contribute to the building of a harmonious society. In terms of ecological protection, we allocated funds in favor of programs covering resources saving, environment protection, energy saving, emission reduction, etc.
l To serve the national mega-science projects, we specifically organized overseas training programs for senior officials and university presidents. Other special programs include Expertise-Introduction Project for Disciplinary Innovation of Universities, etc.
l We successfully hosted or sponsored a series of important activities in 2007, such as 2007 China Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, 2007 One Village One Product International Symposium, China-Australia Agricultural Week, Friendship Award Ceremony, Yanhuang Award Ceremony, Marco Polo Award Ceremony, Bauhinia Cup Outstanding Entrepreneur Award Ceremony, Dialogue with Masters-Nobel Laureates, etc. All these activities successfully publicized the significance of expertise-introduction work both domestically and internationally.
2008 is the starting year to implement the strategies and policies set on the 17th CPC National Congress, and the middle year of the 11th Five-Year Plan. In 2008, Beijing will host the Olympic Games and China will greet the 30th anniversary of its reform and opening-up policy and the 25th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s important remarks on Expertise-Introduction. In such a special time, it will be of great significance for us to do a much better job than ever before. We will be guided by the 17th CPC National Congress essence, hold high the banner of Chinese characteristic socialist, implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, put into practice the decisions made by the Central Economic Work Conference. We will introduce more overseas talents upon demand, and improve the quality and performance of the overseas training programs. We shall innovate work mechanism, apply differentiated guidance on expertise-introduction work. We shall further improve the administrative capability, and better serve the public. We shall take full use of international human resources to promote sound and fast economic development through improving the economic structure and independent innovation capability, reducing energy consumption and cutting down on the discharge of pollutants, balancing development between regions, improving people’s well-being and building a harmonious society.
Though challenges exist, there will be more opportunities instead this year. What we do is a historic mission. It is glorious and significant. We will unite closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, work together with one heart and one mind, and energetically progress the expertise-introduction work to a new stage. I am fully confident that, through our joint efforts, we could greet a both sound and fast development of expertise-introduction work this year, and expect a more promising tomorrow.
