BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Preventing major risks, targeted poverty alleviation and pollution control will be the "three tough battles" for the next three years, Chinese authorities said Wednesday.
Progress should be made in fighting the "three tough battles" for securing China's goal of becoming a "moderately prosperous society in all respects," said a statement issued after the Central Economic Work Conference concluded.
Attendees of the meeting called for significant progress in forestalling major risks, intensified efforts in targeted poverty reduction and better results in pollution control in 2018.
To defuse major risks, China will maintain a hard-line stance on irregular and illegal activities in the financial industry to forestall risks, the meeting pledged. [ China's rapidly expanding financial industry is being placed under greater regulatory scrutiny as authorities step up efforts to curb widespread malfeasance in the sector to guard against risks.
While addressing risks in major areas, policymakers will also strengthen regulation of weak links, according to the statement.
In the coming three years, the country will work to ensure the quality of poverty reduction efforts under current standards, and focus on helping special groups and eradicating abject poverty, it said.
Pollution control will also be a key battlefield, with targets of a significant reduction in major pollutant emissions and improvement in the overall environment.
Efforts should be focused on adjusting industrial and energy structures, eliminating outdated capacity and making the skies blue again, according to the meeting.
The three-day annual conference, held in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday, saw Chinese leaders review the economic performance in 2017 and map out plans.
China has set 2020 as the target year to finish building a moderately prosperous society and completely eradicate poverty. To realize the goal, risk prevention, poverty alleviation and pollution control have all been high on the government's agenda.
China has lifted more than 60 million people out of poverty in the past five years, with the poverty rate dropping from 10.2 percent to less than 4 percent. As of the end of 2016, there were 43.35 million Chinese living below the national poverty line.
In the first ten months of 2017, China's banking regulatory authorities imposed administrative penalties in 2,617 cases of irregularities in the industry, covering state-owned banks, joint-equity banks and city commercial banks.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has also incorporated "Beautiful China" into its two-stage development plan for building a great modern socialist country, according to the report delivered at the 19th CPC National Congress in October.
The government has passed its toughest-ever environmental protection law, and introduced a "river chief" system to protect water resources. Ecological "red lines" will also be drawn in certain regions to strengthen environmental protection, according to earlier planning.
