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China underlined its paramount political and economic objectives as an annual parliament session ended on Monday, authorising the use of force if Taiwan moved toward independence and reiterating commitment to stable growth. The National People's Congress also approved Jiang Zemin's retirement from his final official post, naming President Hu Jintao to replace him as head of the ceremonial state military commission - a small but significant final step in a leadership transition that began in 2002.
Premier Wen Jiabao kicked off the annual parliament meeting 10 days ago with vows to abolish agriculture taxes two years ahead of schedule, keep inflation in check and prevent the economy from overheating.
As parliament closed on Monday, Wen sounded the twin bells of reform and caution in guiding the world's seventh-largest economy, calling for stable growth and warning that clamping down too hard could lead to joblessness.
"The Chinese economy is like 'sailing against the currents': either it keeps forging ahead or it will fall behind," he said.
In between, parliament talked up the need for increased safety measures to help halt the huge loss of life in China's dangerous coal mines, and for efforts to bridge the yawning gap between poor farmers and their increasingly wealthy urban counterparts.
By far the biggest issue on the agenda, however, was Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory. Parliament passed the anti-secession law by a vote of 2,896 to none, with only two abstentions and Wen said the measure was aimed at peace, not war.
Parliament approved a defence budget of 247.7 billion yuan ($30 billion), up 12.6 percent from 2004.

Copyright Reuters, 2005

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