HU JINTAO’S SPEECH

HIGHLIGHTS - EXCERPTS OF HU JINTAO'S SPEECH TO CHINA PARTY CONGRESS

Reuters, November 8, 2012

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party began a congress on Thursday at which President Hu Jintao will give up his position as head of the party to his designated successor, Vice President Xi Jinping.

In a speech at the Great Hall of the People, Hu lauded three decades of growth, which have elevated China to the world's second-largest economy after the United States and lifted hundreds of millions of Chinese citizens out of poverty, and laid out priorities and challenges for the future.

Below are highlights of Hu's speech:

POLITICAL REFORM

"The reform of the political structure is an important part of China's overall reform. We must continue to make both active and prudent efforts to carry out the reform of the political structure, and make people's democracy more extensive, fuller in scope and sounder in practice."

FIGHTING CORRUPTION

Hu said the party must make unremitting efforts to combat corruption, promote integrity and stay vigilant against degeneration.

"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the Party, and even cause the collapse of the Party and the fall of the state."

RULE OF LAW

"We must never let words act in place of the law or (personal) power replace the law; nor will we allow disregard for the law for personal benefit."

ECONOMIC TARGETS

"On the basis of making China's development much more balanced, coordinated and sustainable, we should double its 2010 GDP and per capita income for both urban and rural residents (by 2020).

"We should firmly maintain the strategic focus of boosting domestic demand, speed up the establishment of a long-term mechanism for increasing consumer demand, unleash the potential of individual consumption, increase investment at a proper pace, and expand the domestic market."

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