Time flies and another new year is arriving. At this beautiful moment when we are bidding farewell to the past year and ushering in the new, on behalf of the People’s Government of Shandong Province and more than 99 million people in Shandong, I am delighted to extend my sincere greetings and best wishes to our compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan, to overseas Chinese, and to friends in other countries and regions around the world!

   2017 has been a remarkable year in the course of the development of Shandong. This year, the 19th National Congress of the CPC was successfully held, which embarks on a new journey to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and fully developing a modern socialist country, and which points out the direction for the development of Shandong. To implement the address and instructions made by President Xi Jinping on his inspection in Shandong in an all-round way, the 11th CPC Shandong Provincial Congress made decisions that we should firmly adhere to the target location and fundamental requirements of keeping on the forefront. We should accelerate the development of Shandong into a culturally and economically powerful province with high efficiency of development quality, excellent ecological environment, rich people and harmonious social civilization.

   Guided by the grand blueprint, we have done some great and practical things by seizing the situation, clarifying our thinking, and laying down workable measures. We have earnestly carried out the deployment of the 11th CPC Shandong Provincial Congress by firmly establishing and practicing the new development concepts, vigorously pushing forward the supply-side structural reform, and focusing on priorities, addressing inadequacies, and shoring up points of weakness. Taking the acceleration of the conversion from old growth drivers to the new ones as an important project that commands the overall economic development, we have made every effort to fight the tough battles of safety production, eco-environment protection, financial risk prevention and control, poverty alleviation and social stability maintenance. Devoted to addressing both the symptoms and root causes systematically, we have transferred the work emphasis to the implementation of the spirit of driving nails. As a result, Shandong has kept a continuous and healthy social and economic development, and some unprecedented and far-reaching changes have taken place, leading to a steady approach to a better future with the enhancement of quality and efficiency.

   We have reaped a rich harvest in every respect in the past year. We have accomplished the annual task of reducing excessive capacity of steel and coal ahead of time and have achieved the historical reduction of the total industrial energy consumption for the first time since the opening up and reform, thus consolidating the “tertiary, secondary and primary” industrial pattern. We have made the timetable, charter and responsibility letter of important projects to replace the old growth drivers with the new ones and 600 important projects are planned to be started with a predicted overall investment of 3.8 trillion yuan. We have invigorated innovation and entrepreneurship by deepening reform. Investment in R & D has amounted up to 2.4% of the gross value of production and the number of existing real market entities has exceeded eight million with an annual increase of one million. We have focused on settling important livelihood issues, helping 800,000 registered poor people in the province to shake off poverty and 600,000 residents in the Yellow River beach districts to get rid of poverty and relocate their homes. New progress has been made in the cause of social livelihood such as education, medicine and housing security and people’s senses of acquisition, happiness and security have been increased constantly. All these achievements are the results of the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with President Xi as the core, the hard work of all people in Shandong, as well as the concern, help and support of the compatriots from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and Taiwan, and of overseas Chinese and friends in other countries around the world. Here, I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you.

   2018 is the opening year for the implementation of the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CPC, the 40th anniversary of China’s opening up and reform policy, and the critical year to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society and to carry out “the 13th Five-year Plan”. We shall deeply study and firmly carry out the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CPC. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and we shall fully implement the spirit of the important address and instructions given by President Xi Jinping on his inspection in Shandong. We shall strengthen the Party’s leadership of economic work and uphold the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability. We shall adhere to the new development concepts, grasp the change in the main social conflicts in society, and ensure the coordinated implementation of the five-sphere integrated plan and the four-pronged comprehensive strategy in accordance with high-quality development requirements. We shall insist on target location for walking on the forefront, speed up important projects to replace old growth drivers with the new ones with supply-side structural reform as the mainline. We shall make efforts to push forward work in all respects in stabilizing growth, promoting reform, adjusting the structure, benefiting the people, and eliminating risk. We shall push forward the transformation of quality, efficiency and drivers, and promote the steady and healthy development of the economy and the continuous improvement of the well-being of people’s livelihood.

   The path of opening up is the only path to prosperity and development. Shandong is carrying on a new round of high-level opening up to the outside world to make new ground in pursuing all-round, wide-range and high-level opening up. We sincerely welcome and warmly invite our friends both at home and abroad to participate in the new wave of opening up and to share with us the great opportunities brought about by the change of growth drivers and by reform and development. The whole province is striving to cultivate the integrated advantages of policy, environment and service with the support of eco-system. Based on the construction of a political ecology of green mountains and clear waters, we are making efforts to build a political ecology of high efficiency, vigorous innovation and entrepreneurship, beautiful nature, and social integrity and law We are striving to set up a first-rate development environment with fewer examination and approval procedures, high work efficiency and first class service quality to provide all-round support for your investigation and exchange, investment and industry, as well as travel and sightseeing in Shandong.

   I sincerely wish you a happy family, good health and successful work in the new year.