Summary
6 March 2009
To counter the challenges brought about by the global financial crisis, the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has announced the biggest budget deficit in 60 years.
Reporter:
Shirong Chen in Beijing
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Report
In his lengthy speech, the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, said China was faced with unprecedented difficulties and challenges. He said growth would be much slower, at around 8%, and there would be fewer jobs for graduates and migrant workers. The government's no longer confident that its GDP target will be met at the end of the year.
As the economy slows down, the government is promising to create nine million new jobs, two million fewer than last year. To counter the trend, the government's encouraging companies to keep staff on and has unveiled a budget deficit of 140bn US dollars, the biggest deficit since the Communist Party took power 60 years ago.
But there is no promise of extra money, apart from the already much publicised stimulus package of nearly 600bn US dollars. Chinese stock markets nosedived after his speech.
Shirong Chen, 大象传媒 News, Beijing
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Vocabulary
- was faced with
- experienced, felt
- unprecedented
- if something is unprecedented, it has never happened before
- migrant workers
- people who come to areas where there are many jobs (usually big cities) because they couldn't find a job where they originally come from
- GDP
- short for Gross Domestic Product - the total value of goods and services produced by a country in a year
- To counter the trend
- in order to change the way in which the situation seems to be developing
- to keep staff on
- not to sack employees, to continue to employ them
- unveiled
- announced, made publicly known
- deficit
- the amount by which money spent is more than money received
- stimulus package
- a large amount of money specifically allocated to boost, or revive the economy
- nosedived
- sharply fell/decreased in value
