Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has just reported on the work of the Chinese government and outlined the country’s 12th 5-year plan (2011-2015). For China watchers, it would be a shame to not be familiar with at least some of these specifics. CCTV has all the materials in English, Russian, Spanish, French, and Arabic. For convenience, I have quoted below “Key targets of China’s 12th five-year plan.” It may sound superficial, but one of the things I like the most is the numbers in the targets.
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) — The draft of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) was submitted Saturday to the National People’s Congress (NPC), the top legislature for reviewing.
Following are key targets of the draft:
Economic targets
— GDP to grow by 7 percent annually on average;
— More than 45 million jobs to be created in urban areas;
— Urban registered unemployment to be kept no higher than 5 percent;
— Prices to be kept generally stable.
Economic restructuring
— Rise in domestic consumption;
— Breakthrough in emerging strategic industries;
— Service sector value-added output to account for 47 percent of GDP, up 4 percentage points;
— Urbanization rate to reach 51.5 percent, up 4 percentage points.
Innovation
— Expenditure on research and development to account for 2.2 percent GDP;
— Every 10,000 people to have 3.3 patents.
Environment & clean energy
— Non-fossil fuel to account for 11.4 percent of primary energy consumption;
— Water consumption per unit of value-added industrial output to be cut by 30 percent;
— Energy consumption per unit of GDP to be cut by 16 percent;
— Carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP to be cut by 17 percent;
— Forest coverage rate to rise to 21.66 percent and forest stock to increase by 600 million cubic meters;
Agriculture
— Annual grain production capacity to be no less than 540 million tones;
— Farmland reserves to be no less than 1.818 billion mu.
Livelihood
— Population to be no larger than 1.39 billion;
— Life span per person to increase by one year;
— Pension schemes to cover all rural residents and 357 million urban residents;
— Construction and Renovation of 36 million apartments for low-income families;
— Minimum wage standard to increase by no less than 13 percent on average each year;
Social management
— Improved public service for both urban and rural residents;
— Improved democracy and legal system;
— Better social management system for greater social harmony;
— More than 10 percent of all residents will be registered as community volunteers.
Reform
— Encourage qualified enterprises to get listed in stock markets;
— In-depth reform in monopoly industries for easier market entry and more competition;
— Improved government efficiency and credibility
zack says
nice, i’d like to see more improved food production though which i suppose is covered in patent research.
and perhaps the population shouldn’t be capped at all
YinYang says
China to build 10 million apartments this year to help make housing more affordable.
On potential social unrest:
“Riots will not be inspired in China: Officials”
raventhorn2000 says
Farmers of China must remain the backbone of the country.
It would be unwise to consider turning China into a giant factory managed by a giant office building.
China must feed its own people above all else. That means, the farmers of China must be taken care of. They are the indispensible resource at the foundation of China.
It is from this base, that Chinese factories and offices and military and government must draw out the most talented, educated, and trained into the diverse powerful workforce for the future.
raventhorn2000 says
A plan is better than no plan at all.
China’s 5 year plans are far better than the 4 year campaign slogans in US.
One can see the intense thought and discussions that goes into the 5 year plans.
silentvoice says
It would be great if this succeeds, but it is worth noting that the previous 5-year plan had similar goals — more balanced growth, redistribution of wealth, improved democracy and rule of law, and better environmental protection. That in turn followed Hu Jintao’s signature ideology, “harmonious society” which basically said the same things.
And how did that turn out? The income gap continues to widen and political reform is occurring at a snail’s pace (if at all!). Environmental protection is just about the only thing that met with a measure of success. All said, its great they are making plans and setting targets, but whether provincial level officials follow through against myriad political and economic interests… is anybody’s guess.
silentvoice says
I’m sure the leaders are well aware of that… Wen more than Hu, I think, has consistently shown empathy with the poor and the disenfranchised. Rarely can one find a leader more in touch with the masses like he does.
raventhorn2000 says
I believe, soon or later, (probably sooner), the government must put many of the rich and powerful to the proverbial slaughter.
(1) The government has given a lot of room for the rich and the powerful to manuver, in the hopes that some of that will translate to growth and development for the country. But with the economic slow down, there will be incentive to demand that the rich “give back”. (If they are not work horses of the economy, they are just fattened hogs to be on the menu).
(2) There has been much abuse of power by the rich and the powerful, much of it is against the country’s interests and the Party itself. (So many rich who embezzled and evaded taxes, should be brought to justice, or merely set up as examples).
*on that note, there are many in the Separatist groups who gotten fat from the favors of the Government, while spouting independence slogans to their own ethnic groups.
The government should crack down on these people as well. (It’s not a crack down on free speech. It’s a crackdown on political duplicity and inconsistent government policy. Why should the Government favor people who stir up ethnic tensions?)
YinYang says
During my last trip to Japan, a number of my friends there told me Japan’s middle class is a huge bulge, implying that income is fairly distributed. I would say, especially comparing the U.S. and Japan, Japan’s model is better in this regard.
But if you look at politics within Japan itself, people are not necessarily that “satisfied.” On one hand, I agree with you guys income distribution is important, but these other metrics work hand in hand to make for a satisfied society.
TonyP4 says
@raventhorn2000
Agree 100%. Unfortunately every percent of the GDP increase also means a decrease of farm land.
The following would reduce the living standard gap between the rich and the poor: corruption, pollution (air, water) control, fair taxes, social welfare, housing subsidy, health care subsidy…
The five-year plan is a good idea. However, we should not neglect important tasks that may not have measurable rewards like maintaining the road/bridge conditions, fire regulations… You do not get a promotion for preventing forest fire but for building a dam.
Allen says
rv #4, good one! 🙂
The 5-year plan (or whatever plan) is like a business plan. Even if you don’t meet it, the plan has intrinsic value. It focuses discourse around certain attainable goals and energy on how those goals might be brought about.
keten says
Does anyone know when the actual detailed 12-5 Plan will be released as presumable its not finalized as yet ?