The central government is planning to issue another 140 billion yuan of long-term treasury bonds in 2003 in order to give fuller play to the role of treasury bonds in stimulating investment to promote economic restructuring and stable and rapid economic growth, according to the country's top planner.

Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development Planning Commission, made the announcement Thursday when delivering the Report on the Implementation of the 2002 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and on the 2003 Draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development to the first session of the 10th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

China generated 10.2398 trillion yuan in GDP in 2002, 8 percent more than the previous year. The issuance of 150 billion worth of long-term treasury bonds in 2002 led to an additional increase of 2 percentage points in China's economic growth rate.

A large number of high-quality assets have been created by projects financed through treasury bonds. This has increased China 's capability for long-term development and played a positive role in optimizing the economic structure, improving the investment environment, increasing revenue, promoting technological progress in enterprises, increasing its ability to maintain sustainable development, and raising people's living standards, the minister said.

Localities and departments painstakingly organized the implementation of projects financed through treasury bonds. They ensured the quality of the work and the safety of the funds by tightening auditing, supervision and inspection and by increasing public scrutiny, he said.

"We steadfastly implemented a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, made good use of treasury bonds to stimulate investment, and worked hard to induce nongovernment investment," said the minister, who was elected into the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee last November.

China has so far issued 660 billion yuan of treasury bonds since it adopted the proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in the latter half of 1998.