The first session of the 16th Harbin Municipal People's Congress kicked off on April 13 in Harbin, capital of China's northernmost Heilongjiang. It reportedly outlined major progress that has been made and set forth ambitious plans.
 
According to the session, major tasks for Harbin in the current year will include:
 
Economic development
 
Build a national new-generation artificial intelligence innovation and development pilot zone
 
Advance the construction of 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters involved in green agricultural product deep processing and advanced equipment manufacturing
 
Formulate a three-year action plan and introduce supporting policies for the building of a creative design center
 
Build a summer resort for health and wellness
 
Build an important base for national big data centers and a demonstration city for digital economic innovation and development
 
Development of "Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers"
 
Ensure that annual grain production capacity is stable at more than 15 billion kg
 
Increase the output, price and supply of vegetables, edible fungi, livestock and poultry products
 
Encourage the development of new models and new formats such as rural workshops, family factories, yard economy, and rural leisure tourism so that farmers can enjoy more value-added benefits
 
Advocate healthy and civilized habits and build a group of environmentally-friendly livable and beautiful villages
 
Urban construction
 
Promote urban renewal, functional improvement and population relief in old urban areas
 
Promote the creation of archives for historic buildings
 
Promote digital transformation of public transport and traffic management
 
Add 10,000 affordable rental housing units
 
Improve people's livelihoods
 
Add 83,000 new jobs in urban areas
 
Re-employ 42,000 unemployed people
 
Expand the proportion of middle-income groups
 
Increase benefits for retirees and security standards for people in need
 
Add 1,000 new beds for elderly nursing
 
Realize the full coverage of comprehensive elderly care service centers in each sub-district
 
Provide portable defibrillators in public places, and equip each administrative village clinic with portable electrocardiographs and defibrillators
 
Build 30 new smart libraries