First, we will completely rescind the agricultural tax throughout the country, throwing it into the "dustbin of history" after a history of 2,600 years in China. The reform of rural taxes and fees will reduce the financial burden of 800 million rural residents by about 125 billion yuan a year. We will work on a plan to make up for the tax levied on tobacco as a special agricultural product, reform taxes and fees for state-owned farms, and promote comprehensive rural reforms in an all-round way in 2006. In order to carry out these changes, the central government will allocate 78.2 billion yuan annually in transfer payments, and local governments should allocate corresponding amounts.

Second, we will improve and expand the "triple subsidy" policy. We will increase the amount of funding for direct subsidies for grain producers by allocating 12.5 billion yuan for subsidies for them in 13 major grain-growing provinces and autonomous regions, 1 billion yuan more than in 2005. The total amount of subsidies for each grain-growing province or autonomous region will be equivalent to 50% of the total risk capital for grain production in that area. A total of 4.07 billion yuan will be allocated from the central government budget for subsidizing the purchase of superior varieties, 200 million yuan more than in 2005. A total of 600 million yuan has also been earmarked in the budget for subsidies for agricultural machinery and tools, double the 2005 allocation. The subsidies will be granted in more areas and the distribution has been adjusted. We will take active steps to establish a comprehensive subsidy system to increase farmers' incomes from growing grain.

Third, we will support expansion of trials of a new type of rural cooperative medical care system. We will expand the trials to 40% of the country's counties, cities and districts and raise the amount of the subsidy from both central and local government budgets from 10 yuan to 20 yuan per participant. A total of 4.73 billion yuan, more than a seven-fold increase, has been allocated in the central government budget for this purpose. We will intensify medical assistance work in the countryside to alleviate the problem of people being driven into poverty or back into poverty by medical crises.

Fourth, we will support work to increase overall agricultural production capacity. We will increase spending on rural infrastructure development, ecological conservation and improvement, advances in agricultural science and technology, comprehensive development of agriculture, and development assistance to impoverished areas, and promote the development of modern agriculture. We will also further integrate agricultural investment to improve its performance.