Retired accountant Song Wansheng took some time out from his busy domestic schedule to listen to Premier Zhu's report to the 10th National People's Congress yesterday morning.

Song said he was glad to hear a renewed government pledge to improve the country's social security system, because "that is what weighs on the mind of most retired people these days."

"I just hope that the government will produce more policies regarding medical insurance and endowment insurance," he said.

Zhang Yazhu, a 49-year-old woman in Tianjin, North China, said she was inspired by the government work report.

Zhang, who was previously unemployed, established her own company with a small-credit loan provided in 2001 by the local women's federation. She is confidently looking forward to her first annual revenue of over 1 million yuan (US$120,800) this year.

Zhang said Zhu's report promised a bright future for small private businesses.

In the country's largest city of Shanghai, reform of the country's higher education system was on the mind of Hong Bin, a young lecturer at Fudan University.

Hong said he supported the government's decision to develop several world class universities in the future.

"But the old rigid mechanism governing personnel and research is still there," he cautioned.

In Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Song Xiaomei, an engineer with US firm Sybase, was looking forward to the country's future economic development.

"The premier's report boosts our confidence about better business prospects later this year," said Song.

Diplomats' Responses

The premier's report has also received a positive response from foreign diplomats who were invited as observers to attend yesterday's opening session of the top legislature.

"The last five years in China's history were the greatest because the country has made significant developments and its people's standard of living has greatly improved," said Dimitar Tzanev, Bulgarian ambassador to China.

Klaus Ebermann, European Union ambassador to China, agreed. He said the performance of the Chinese Government and Premier Zhu in particular have been absolutely extraordinary over the past five years.

He added that the Chinese economy has maintained not only stable growth, but also enormous development even under difficulties of Asian financial crisis and the sluggish worldwide market.

Borje Ljunggren, Swedish ambassador to China, said China's economic reforms and its opening-up policy during the past five years were very impressive.

"I think Zhu Rongji deserves a high score," he said.

(China Daily March 6, 2003)