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1. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending May 2003 and the detailed information it contains in reply to the Committee’s previous request. The Government details in its report the various measures taken in order to tackle employment conditions characterized by increasing unemployment, in particular, in the urban areas; significant movements of the active population which have been held back too long by the planned economy; and an excess of unskilled labour coinciding with a scarcity of skilled labour. In June 2003, the country recorded almost 8 million registered unemployed in the urban areas, of which 3.5 million were workers laid off from state enterprises. The total number of unemployed was estimated at 24 million, and the yearly new arrivals in the urban labour markets at 10 million. A continued annual level of economic growth of 7 per cent should allow for the creation of approximately 10 million new jobs per year, but the supply of labour is expected to continue to exceed the demand for years to come.

2. Declaration of an employment policy. The Committee notes with interest the holding of the China Employment Forum in Beijing in April 2004. Organized jointly between the ILO and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and with the active participation of the China Confederation of Enterprises and the All China Federation of Trade Unions, the Forum adopted a Common Understanding on elements of an Employment Agenda for China, which places the promotion of decent employment at the centre of economic and social policies in the country.

3. Furthermore, the Committee is aware of the publication, in April 2004, of a White Paper on the employment situation and policies in China. The active employment policy which is detailed therein, focuses on developing the economy and adjusting the structure for an active creation of job opportunities; improving the public employment service system and developing the labour market; getting laid-off persons back into the workforce; as well as improving the social security system and maintaining harmonious and stable labour relations. The focus is on improving the quality of the workforce through the promotion of various kinds of educational and training programmes, the establishment of a vocational training system, and the implementation of a vocational qualification certificate system. One chapter is devoted to the employment of the rural workforce and its orderly reassignment, while another addresses the question of employment of women and guaranteeing women’s right to equal employment, promoting youth employment and helping the disabled to find employment.

4. In the opinion of the Committee, these initiatives can but favour the pursuit of the major goal of full, productive and freely chosen employment, within a framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, and in consultation with representatives of persons affected, in accordance with the Convention. It invites the Government to continue to submit detailed information on progress achieved in this respect in order to meet the major challenge that the employment situation in the country represents. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to include information on how representatives of all persons affected by the measures to be taken are consulted concerning employment policies, pursuant to Article 3 of the Convention. It recalls that, in view of their share of the active population, representatives of persons employed in the rural sector and in the informal economy should be involved in these consultations.

5. ILO technical cooperation. The Committee notes the indications provided by the Government in its report on the pilot project for promoting urban employment in the cities of Baotou, Jilin and Zhangjiakou, as well as on the activities of training the trainers in the context of the "Start your business" (SYB) programme of the ILO. It requests the Government to continue to submit information on the technical cooperation or advisory activities of the ILO concerning employment promotion and actions taken as a result thereof (Part V of the report form).

6. A request concerning certain other issues related to employment policy has been addressed directly to the Government.