3. New strides were made in developing the western region, and implementation of the strategy for reinvigorating northeast China and other old industrial bases began. Ecological conservation and environmental protection work in the western region was further intensified. Some 3.37 million hectares of farmland were returned to forests; 3.77 million hectares of barren hills and wasteland were afforested; and 6.66 million hectares of seriously degraded grassland were improved. Greater efforts were put into infrastructure development. An additional 317 kilometers of track was laid on the Qinghai-Tibet railway line. The eastern section ofthe West-to-East Natural Gas Piping Project was completed, allowing natural gas to be delivered to east China. An additional power transmission capacity of over 8 million KW was installed as part of the West-to-East Electricity Transmission Project. Another4,200 kilometers of highways connecting county seats were built orupgraded. An adequate supply of potable water was ensured for 8.6 million more rural people. More than 300,000 rural households had access to methane. Implementation of the strategy for reinvigorating northeast China and other old industrial bases began. The eastern and central regions accelerated their development, and new areas of economic growth kept emerging.

    4. There was all-round development in science, technology, education and all other social undertakings as well as continued progress in ecological conservation and environmental protection. Basic and hi-tech research was intensified. Continued progress wasmade in the state innovation system. The first successful manned spaceflight by Shenzhou-V was another milestone in China's hi-techdevelopment. Education continued to develop. Fresh progress was achieved in compulsory education. Regular institutions of higher learning across the country enrolled 3.822 million students, 617,000 more than the previous year. Efforts to develop public health facilities were intensified, and about 6 billion yuan from the sale of treasury bonds was allocated to develop an anti-SARS infrastructure, disease prevention and control networks at the provincial, prefectural and county levels, and a public health emergency response system. The rate of natural population growth was 6.01. Implementation of key cultural projects proceeded smoothly. Radio, film, TV, the press, publishing, sports and otherundertakings continued to develop.

    Ecological conservation and environmental protection were intensified, and economical and multipurpose utilization of natural resources was promoted. Some 2.05 million hectares of forests were developed to improve ecological conditions or serve as shelterbelts. Banning or temporarily suspending animal grazing allowed for 8.6 million hectares of grassland to be effectively protected and rationally utilized. Pollution control and treatmentwere accelerated in key river valleys and regions, including the drainage basins of the Huaihe, Haihe and Liaohe rivers, Taihu, Chaohu and Dianchi lakes, and the Three Gorges Reservoir. The percentage of urban sewage receiving centralized treatment, the percentage of urban household garbage safely disposed of, and the multipurpose utilization of industrial solid waste all increased moderately.

    5. The various reforms pressed ahead in an orderly manner, and China continued opening wider to the outside world. Institutional restructuring of the State Council was completed smoothly, and steady progress was made in institutional restructuring of provincial-level governments. The experimental reform of rural taxes and administrative charges was carried out throughout the country. Important steps were taken in the reform of the state-owned assets management system and state-owned enterprises. Reformof the electric power, telecommunications and civil aviation industries was continued. The export tax rebate mechanism was improved. The reform of state-owned commercial banks was accelerated. The Chinese People's Insurance Company and the China Life Insurance Company completed their reorganization and transformation into stock companies and were successfully listed on overseas stock exchanges. Smooth progress was made in the trialreform of rural credit cooperatives in eight provinces and municipalities directly under the central government. Trials for restructuring the cultural system were started in selected regions.Major and important cases were investigated and prosecuted in the course of rectifying and standardizing the order of the market economy, resulting in gradual improvement of the market environment.

    Foreign trade grew rapidly. Imports and exports totaled $851.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37.1%. The scope of foreign investment continued to expand, and the quality of foreign investment utilization constantly improved. A total of $53.5 billion in foreign direct investment was actually utilized. Fresh progress was made in implementing the strategy of "going global," and overseas investment was further expanded and diversified.