"Fight nut-cracking battle" in 2005 reform

    The year 2005 is not only a year of reform, but a year of "fight a nut-cracking battle" in reform, Premier Wen Jiabao said.

    To remove the unhealthy and destabilizing factors in the economy and strengthen the achievements of macroregulation hinges on reform, he said.

    To solve the deeply-rooted "contradictions and problems" in the economic development, adjust the industrial structure and change the patterns of economic growth relies on reform, the premier said.

    Wen said that to realize social fairness and justice and build a harmonious society also needs reform.

    China's reform cannot be done in just one year, but is a long-term target. It would be better to solve some problems at an earlier date, or they will be accumulated to a level hard to solve,Wen warned.

    The premier set five tasks for reform this year:

    -- To restructure government bodies and change government functions;

    -- To promote the reform of state-owned enterprises, focusing on building corporate governance and joint-stock reform;

    -- To push forward financial reform. We need to exert great efforts for the reform since the finance is an "very important and problematic" part in the economy;

    -- To push forward rural reform focusing on the reform of tax and fees administration; and,

    -- To advance social security reform.

Premier to visit India

    Premier Wen Jiabao announced that he will pay a visit to India soon at the invitation of his Indian counterpart.

    When commenting bilateral relations between China and India, he said, as the two most populous nations in the world, China and India are not rivals but friends, and that both countries shall work together to tap the potential of bilateral cooperation and find a "fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable plan" to solve their border disputes.

    "I hope you can send my message back to the great Indian people,that we're not competitors, we are friends," said Wen.

    Acknowledging that China and India will celebrate next month the 55th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties, Wen expressed the hope that the anniversary would "become a new starting point for Sino-Indian friendly cooperation".

    Stating that the development of Sino-Indian relations has "entered a new stage" in recent years, Wen said that during his planned visit, he would seek consensus mainly on three issues with his Indian hosts.

    "Both China and India should fully recognize the great significance of Sino-Indian friendship, not only to Asia, but alsoto the entire world," said Wen.

    Though the annual trade volume between the two countries has now reached 13.6 billion US dollars, there remains great potentials for the two sides to expand cooperation and seek common development, he added.

    On the sensitive boundary issue, the premier suggested that the two countries first establish the principle for the resolution of the issue, which was left over by history, on the basis of equal consultation and mutual understanding and accommodation with both respect for history and accommodation for reality.

    The premier gave an emotional ending to his comments by quotingfrom an ancient Indian poem: "May we not hate anyone. Let there be peace, let there be peace, let there be peace!"