<strong>China: Annual National Tobacco Work Conference for 2014 Held in Beijing</strong>

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 01/21/2014

The 2014 annual national tobacco work conference was held in Beijing on January 16 to sum up the tobacco work in 2013, analyze the current situation and make planning for tobacco work in 2014, with top officials of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) delivering important speeches.

Addressing the meeting, Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology and secretary of the Communist Party group at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, emphasized that the tobacco industry needs to deepen its ongoing reform, make concerted efforts to forge ahead and do practical work, keep promoting the overall efficiency and scientific-technological development level of the tobacco industry and promote its sustainable and healthy development.

In a work report delivered at the meeting, Ling Chengxing, secretary of the Communist Party group at the STMA, STMA director-general and general manager of China National Tobacco Corporation, emphasized that the general keynote of the policy of seeking progress amid stability shall be adhered to, that reform and innovation shall be adhered to, and that the system of State tobacco monopoly shall be adhered to, in striving to meet the objective that the annual amount of profits and taxes generated by the tobacco industry will exceed the level of 1 trillion yuan (163.9 billion U.S. dollars).

Attending the meeting were more than 150 dignitaries including Miao Wei; Ling Chengxing; STMA Deputy Director-Generals He Zehua, Li Keming, Yang Peisen and Zhao Hongshun, who are also members of the Communist Party group at the STMA; Gao Lin, member of the Communist Party group at the STMA and chief of the Communist Party's discipline inspection group stationed at the STMA; Zhang Baozhen, chief of China Tobacco Workers' and Staffers' Ideological and Political Work Research Council; Zhang Hui, executive director of China Tobacco Society; Zhang Xia, chief accountant of the STMA; chief leaders of the various departments and units of the STMA and China National Tobacco Corporation; and chief leaders and administrative office chiefs of the units directly affiliated to the tobacco industry.

Miao Wei pointed out that in 2013, the tobacco industry of China, led by the current new leadership and the previous leadership, and closely in accordance with the basic policies and strategic tasks concerning promotion of cigarette production to higher levels, focused energy on developing key cigarette brands, optimizing the structure of leaf tobacco, improving the quality of its human resources, fulfilling on the full scale the targets and tasks set in the beginning of the year, and scoring new successes in work in all aspects.

Miao Wei emphasized that in 2014, the tobacco industry needs to conduct its work practically and promote its sustainable and healthy developing, to make new contribution to the economic and social development in China.

Firstly, the tobacco industry needs to focus energy on deepening its reform, and keep strengthening its development driving force and enhancing the development vigor and vitality of it.

Secondly, the tobacco industry needs to focus energy on promoting its sustainable development, accelerate the formation of a market structure for competitive development of brands, practically promote sustainable development of leaf tobacco production, continue strengthening cigarette market regulation and efforts to crack down on cigarette counterfeiting and smuggling, and accelerate execution of the strategy of "going global" in development.

Thirdly, the tobacco industry needs to focus energy on promotion of tobacco control and fulfillment of China's commitments to implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, actively fulfill its social responsibility from the perspective of the general situation of both the Chinese Communist Party and the State, earnestly implement the Tobacco Control Planning of China (2012-2015), and practically well manage the various work of tobacco control and fulfillment of China's commitments to implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

And fourthly, the tobacco industry needs to strengthen the development of its management staff and improvement of the working style of its human resources.

In his work report, Ling Chengxing pointed out that in 2013, the tobacco industry realized "three successes amid stability" – success in leaf tobacco production amid stability, success in cigarette production and marketing amid stability and success in the generation of taxes and profits amid stability.

Ling Chengxing emphasized that efforts must be made to plan solution to "three major questions" and improvement of "five images", in order to make substantial achievements. As far as solution to "three major questions" is concerned, the first is to plan solution to the question of where dividends of reform lie. On solution to this question, it is imperative to adhere to the orientation of reform for the development of a socialist market economy, adhere to the system of State tobacco monopoly, and keep prompting the tobacco industry to conduct self-reform, self-improvement and self-innovation. The second is to plan solution to the question of where potential for development lies. For the tobacco industry, the greatest potential for development can be divided into three parts – the potential of structural reform, the potential of international markets and the potential of value maintenance and value increase of monetary capital. And the third is to plan solution to the question of where the objective to be pursued lies. On solution to this question, it is imperative to target the world's advanced levels, strive to catch up with the Top Three transnational tobacco giants, strive to catch up with leading tobacco machinery manufacturers, strive to catch up with large raw and support materials manufacturing enterprise groups and strive to catch up with the new trend of modern enterprise management.

As far as improvement of "five images" is concerned, it is imperative to strengthen efforts for reform to improve the image of the tobacco industry to deepen reform on a full scale; to continue maintaining the fine situation of coordinated development, common development and harmonious development, to improve the image of the tobacco industry to realize scientific development on a full scale; to voluntarily improve the image of the tobacco industry to realize tobacco control in fulfillment of China's commitments to implementing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, from the general situation of the work of the Communist Party of China and the State; to always adhere to the policy of taking strict regulation as the "lifeline" for maintaining sustainable and healthy development of the tobacco industry, to improve the image of the tobacco industry to regulate management on a full scale; and to strengthen the development of human resources to improve the image of the entire workforce of the tobacco industry.

The year 2014 is a crucial period of time for promoting implementation of the General Planning of the Tobacco Industry for Promoting Cigarette Production and Marketing to Higher Levels. Ling Chengxing emphasized that the key point of tobacco work for 2014 is to realize steadfastness in three respects in accordance with the policy of making every effort. As far as the policy of making every effort is concerned, the first is to make every effort to fulfill the targets and tasks of the general planning for promoting cigarette production and marketing to higher levels, to accelerate the formation of a market situation for competitive development of brands, to establish and improve mechanisms for innovating and phasing out specifications of brands, and to vigorously support the work of "two unifications and two integrations" of China Tobacco Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd. The second is to make every effort to implement the general guideline on leaf tobacco production, to adhere to the policy of taking leaf tobacco production as the primary task among the "Top Three matters" of the tobacco industry in management, and to adhere to the policy of realizing control over total quantity, policy stability, structural optimization and strict assessment of performance. The third is to make every effort to promote market-oriented reform, to reform cigarette trading management methods, to reform cigarette order collection methods and to improve the rules for cigarette supply. The fourth is to make every effort to realize value maintenance and value increase of monetary capital and reduction of marketing expenses, to practically strengthen management over funds in stock, to steadily promote the operation of capital by the tobacco industry to higher levels, and to focus energy on strengthening the work of reducing expenditures. And the fifth is to make every effort to develop international markets, accelerate the development of overseas cigarette production and marketing bases, accelerate the promotion of overseas operation of leaf tobacco entities, quicken steps in "introduction into China" and "going global" by the tobacco machinery manufacturing sector, and to boldly make exploration for international merger and acquisition of overseas tobacco enterprises.

As far as realization of steadfastness in three respects is concerned, the first is to realize steadfastness in well managing State tobacco monopoly, confidently publicizing the system of State tobacco control, voluntarily maintaining the laws and regulations on State tobacco control, and abiding by the laws and regulations on State tobacco control in a model way. The secondly is to realize steadfastness in well handling management in a regulated way, regulating the work of tender invitation for projects and procurement of material supplies and services, strictly regulating the management of investment projects, practically strengthening supervision over audit and continuing to strengthen production safety. And the third is to realize steadfastness in well managing the establishment of the leadership and development of the management. Enditem