State Council: Five Measures To Crack Down On Farm Produce Speculation And Strengthen Financing Supervision

Premier Wen Jiabao chaired a State Council executive meeting on 26 April, deploying management to strengthen local government financing platform companies and cracking down on illegal activities such as hoarding and raising prices of agricultural products.

The meeting pointed out that for many years, the financing platform companies set up by local governments and their departments and institutions have raised funds for local economic and social development, and have played a positive role in strengthening infrastructure construction and coping with the impact of the international financial crisis. But at the same time, there are also problems of excessive scale growth and inadequate operation.

The meeting pointed out that in order to effectively prevent financial and financial risks and maintain sustained and healthy economic development and social stability, we must strengthen the management of financing platform companies.

First, we must promptly clean up and properly handle the debts of financing platform companies. According to the principle of classified management and differentiated treatment, we should properly handle debt repayment and subsequent financing of construction projects.

Two, we must sort out and standardize the financing platform companies set up by local governments, clarify functions and standardize operation.

Three, we should strengthen the financing management of financing platform companies and the lending management of banking financial institutions.

Four, we must resolutely curb violations committed by local governments. The meeting called on all regions and departments to strengthen organizational leadership and guidance and supervision, and promptly formulate plans for implementation and earnestly implement them. Those who still violate the regulations after cleaning up specifications must be dealt with according to the law.

The conference pointed out that China's agriculture has been in good harvest for six consecutive years, and the production of important agricultural products such as grain, cotton, oil, meat and sugar has grown steadily. Since the winter of last year, natural disasters have been frequent in China, and some agricultural products have been affected. In recent years, a few illegal operators have made use of the characteristics of individual agricultural products, such as concentrated producing areas, strong seasonality, reduced total volume and easy preservation. They have fabricated information about distributing price increases, hoarding up prices and driving up prices, resulting in partial market imbalance in supply and demand, abnormal price fluctuations, seriously disrupting market order, and damaging the legitimate rights and interests of producers, consumers and other operators of agricultural products. Immediate and effective measures must be taken immediately to crack down on illegal activities according to law and safeguard the normal production, circulation and price order of agricultural products.

First, we must fully protect the healthy and orderly operation of the agricultural products market. We should stabilize the planting area of agricultural products, optimize and improve the planting structure, do a good job in the production and supply, production and marketing of agricultural products, and information release, so as to ensure that market prices are basically stable. We should strengthen the monitoring and early warning of the operation of agricultural products market and the sources, flows and uses of suspicious funds, and find that the problems of violation of laws and regulations are promptly investigated and dealt with. Temporary intervention measures should be taken according to the abnormal fluctuations of major agricultural products.

Two, we must severely crack down on illegal activities such as speculation of agricultural products. We should conscientiously strengthen supervision over market spanactions and price behavior in the aspects of agricultural products acquisition and circulation. Recently, we have organized special inspections and investigated and dealt with a number of typical cases that disrupted market order.

Three, we must rectify and regulate the electronic trading market of agricultural products. We must resolutely clamp down on trading prices seriously deviating from the spot market, relying on no spot resources, trading too small, serious speculation, and the presence of market organizers in the market to manipulate prices and embezzle security deposits.

Four, we must give full play to the role of social supervision. We should publicize the channels of reporting to the public and encourage the masses to report illegal behaviors such as prices of agricultural products. The news media should report the market situation of agricultural products comprehensively, objectively and accurately, and strictly prohibit false reports and malicious speculation.

Fifth, we must implement the responsibility system of "rice bag" governor and the mayor responsibility system of "vegetable basket", strengthen leadership and protect the lives of the masses.