(8) Continue to improve the standard of living of the people.

Raising the standard of living of the people is the fundamental goal of the reform, opening up and economic development. We should enable the people to enjoy a fairly comfortable life on the basis of economic growth and then move on toward higher standards. We shall try to increase the real income of the people in both urban and rural areas, and broaden the range of consumption with proper guidance. While improving the people's material well-being, we shall enrich their cultural life and beautify their environment to enhance the quality of life. Special efforts will be made to improve housing, sanitation, transportation and communication conditions and expand the range of service consumption. We shall continue to build more public and social welfare facilities and improve the level of education and medical and health care. We shall adopt a policy that will ensure the basic standard of living for urban residents in difficulty. The state will adopt a variety of measures in a greater effort to fight poverty, striving to accomplish in the main the task of providing adequate food and clothing for impoverished people in rural areas by the end of the century.

Comrades,

The goals and tasks we have set forth for the economic reform and development represent the fundamental interests of the people and can be accomplished only by relying on the initiative and creativeness of the people and their hard work. As long as we persist in pursuing correct policies and in properly guiding, protecting and tapping the initiative of all quarters of society, we shall definitely succeed in establishing a socialist market economy and bringing about a sustained, rapid and sound development of the national economy.