当前经济情况总的是不错的。
In general, the present economic situation is good.
前景如何，会遇到什么障碍？
But how about the future?What obstacles are we going to run into?As I see it, there are two or three problems that might hold up the growth of our economy, if we fail to solve them.
我想，是不是有两三个问题，如果解决得不好，将会影响我们经济的发展。
But how about the future?What obstacles are we going to run into?As I see it, there are two or three problems that might hold up the growth of our economy, if we fail to solve them.
一是农业，主要是粮食问题。
The first is agriculture, which is essentially a problem of grain.
粗略估计一下，到二○○○年，以十二亿人口每人八百斤计算，粮食年产量要达到九千六百亿斤。
Let's make a rough calculation: if in the year 2000 there are 1.2 billion people and each person consumes 400 kilograms of grain, we shall have to produce 480 million tons that year.
有位专家说，农田基本建设投资少，农业生产水平降低，中国农业将进入新的徘徊时期。
An expert has predicted that if there is only a modest investment in rural capital construction and productivity remains low, agriculture will enter a new period of stagnation.
我们从宏观上管理经济，应该把农业放到一个恰当位置上，总的目标始终不要离开本世纪末达到年产九千六百亿斤粮食的盘子。
In managing the economy as a whole, we should give agriculture an appropriate priority, always bearing in mind our general goal of producing 480 million tons of grain in the year 2000.
要避免过几年又出现大量进口粮食的局面，如果那样，将会影响我们经济发展的速度。
We should try to avoid having once again to import large amounts of grain a few years from now, because that will retard the growth of the economy.
二是外汇问题。
The second problem is foreign exchange.
外汇短缺，外贸发生逆差，会不会拖我们的后腿？
Will the growth of the economy be impeded by a shortage of foreign exchange and a deficit in foreign trade?China has many things to export.
中国有很多东西可以出口。
Will the growth of the economy be impeded by a shortage of foreign exchange and a deficit in foreign trade?China has many things to export.
要研究多方面打开国际市场，包括进一步打开香港、东南亚和日本市场。
We should think about ways to export them to world markets, including further expanding the Hong Kong, Southeast Asian and Japanese markets.
还要研究提高产品质量。
We should also consider how to raise the quality of products.
要打开出口销路，关键是提高质量。
The key to ensuring good sales of our exports is to improve their quality.
质量不高，就没有竞争能力。
Without high quality, they cannot be competitive on the world market.
逐年减少外贸逆差是个战略性问题。
It is of strategic importance to reduce the deficit in foreign trade year by year.
三是政治体制改革问题。
The third problem is political restructuring.
现在看，不搞政治体制改革不能适应形势。
As it stands, our political structure is not adapted to the current situation.
改革，应该包括政治体制的改革，而且应该把它作为改革向前推进的一个标志。
Political restructuring should be included in the reform -- indeed, it should be regarded as the hallmark of progress in the reform as a whole.
我们要精兵简政，真正下放权力，扩大社会主义民主，把人民群众和基层组织的积极性调动起来。
We must streamline the administration, delegate real powers to lower levels and broaden the scope of socialist democracy, so as to bring into play the initiative of the masses and the grass-roots organizations.
现在机构不是减少了，而是增加了。
At present, the number of organizations, instead of being reduced, has actually increased.
设立许多公司，实际是官办机构，用公司的形式把放给下面的权又收了上来。
Many companies have been established that are actually government organs.Through these companies people at higher levels have taken back the powers already delegated to lower levels.
机构多、人多，就找事情干，就抓住权不放，下边搞不活，企业没有积极性了。
The more organs you have, the more staff members there are, and they all have to find something to do.They keep a tight grip on power, making it impossible for the lower levels to act on their own.As a result, the initiative of enterprises withers.
上半年经济发展速度比较低，就有这么一条原因。
And that is one reason why the economy has been growing only slowly in the first half of this year.