China to improve research spending, stabilize hog production

BEIJING - China will improve management of central fiscal research expenditure to give researchers more say in fund use, said a State Council executive meeting held on Wednesday.

The meeting, chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also specified measures to keep hog production capacity stable to ensure the safe supply of pork and stabilize the prices.

The meeting stressed the core status of innovation in the country's modernization drive. It urged focusing on the outstanding concerns of researchers. It also suggested removing rules that do not match the laws of scientific research so that researchers could concentrate more on research.

Measures to improve central fiscal research spending include streamlining budget-making, increasing incentives for researchers, and speeding up fund payments. It also includes innovating fiscal funding support for research and employing professional financial assistants for research projects to ease the administrative burden on researchers.

Thanks to stabilized production, hog production capacity in China has returned to the average level, the meeting noted. It said more market-based efforts should ease fluctuations and ensure stability in supplies and prices.

The meeting called for providing stable, long-term supportive policies to keep pig farmers motivated, establishing a counter-cycle adjustment mechanism on hog production. These policies would also ensure solid work on major disease prevention and control and enhance emergency adjustment on pork reserves.