Tackling smog, poverty and home prices top Chinese provinces’ agenda
Curbing soaring home prices also among the targets set during local government meetings ahead of National People’s Congress this spring
Cutting smog, reducing poverty and keeping home prices under control are the three top priorities for China’s provincial governments as they kick off their local legislative and consultative meetings this week.
More than half of the 31 provinces and big cities holding their local lianghui, or “two sessions”, have already started their meetings since January 7.
They will address issues ranging from the economy to the environment ahead of China’s annual National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference meetings in Beijing in March.
Plans to counter the country’s choking smog problem dominated the northern provinces’ reports.
Beijing government aims to keep PM2.5 levels below 60 micrograms per cubic metre this year. PM2.5 refers to fine particles in polluted air that are smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter and are considered the most harmful to human health.
Beijing raised 2016’s first red alert for air pollution during its worst period of smog in December last year. The red alert is the highest of China’s four-tier alert system for air pollution