Jiang Zemin outlines main economic tasks for China （1）   2002-11-08 12:57:14 Jiang Zemin, in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in Beijing on Friday morning, outlined the main tasks for China's economic development and reform in the first two decades of this century. The tasks are to improve the socialist market economy, promote strategic adjustment of the economic structure, basically accomplish industrialization, energetically apply IT, accelerate modernization, maintain a sustained, rapid and sound development of the national economy and steadily uplift the people's living standards. Jiang said that to fulfil the tasks, China must take a new road to industrialization and implement the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education and that of sustainable development. It is necessary to persist in using IT to propel industrialization, which will, in turn, stimulate IT application, blazing a new trail to industrialization featuring high scientific and technological content, good economic returns, low resources consumption, little environmental pollution and a full display of advantages in human resources, he said. The country must press ahead to bring about an industrial pattern with high and new technology industries as the leader, basic and manufacturing industries as the kingpin and the service industry developing in all areas, Jiang said. "We must give play to the important role of science and technology as the primary productive force and pay close attention to improving the quality and efficiency of economic growth by relying on scientific and technological progress and raising the qualities of labor force," he said.