The leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Monday ended a meeting to determine the country's development agenda for the next five years with a call to improve living standards nationwide.

Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee at the four-day fifth plenary session of the 17th Central Committee of the CPC, which opened on Oct. 15.

The plenum examined and approved proposals for formulating the development plan for the next five years (2011-2015), and appointed Vice President Xi Jinping, 57, vice-chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission.

Key target

A communique issued at the close said China aimed to achieve major breakthroughs in economic restructuring and maintain stable and relatively fast economic growth, which is a key target for the next five years.

"China will further boost people's incomes, enhance social construction and deepen reform and opening-up," it said.

That would facilitate "substantial progress in transforming the economic development pattern, and markedly promote China's comprehensive national strength, international competitiveness and better shield against risks," it said.

It would also help improve people's lives and consolidate the basis of a well-off society, it said.

All-around reforms

The communique said that reform was "a powerful driving force" for accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode.

"Reform in every realm must be comprehensively pushed forward with more resolution and encouragement," it said.

Great impetus would be given to economic restructuring, while "vigorous yet steady" efforts should be made to promote political restructuring and more efforts should be made to speed up the promotion of cultural and social reforms, said the communique.

Prof. Wang Changjiang, of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said "all-round reforms will be pushed forward simultaneously," not just economic reforms that had continued steadily for more than three decades.

The cultural sector will be promoted to become a "pillar industry," said Wang Tongsan, director of the Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a key government think tank.

"Cartoons, films and dramas could all become an important part of China's GDP growth," Wang said.

Livelihoods a priority

The communique said efforts should be made to ensure and improve people's livelihoods, and gradually complete a sustainable, basic public service system that suits China's situation and covers urban and rural areas.

The Party vowed to promote employment, construct "harmonious labor relations" and reasonably adjust income distribution, according to the communique.

The social security system covering rural and urban regions should be strengthened and the pace of medical reform and development should be quickened, it said.

Wealth among the people

"Only through people becoming wealthy can the country get stronger," said Prof. Wu Zhongmin, of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

Wu said an important task for the 12th development plan was to "store wealth among the people," and "let the masses share the fruits of reform and development."

He said "steady labor relations" were key factors for a harmonious society.

Prof. Wang said the country's next five-year development plan in the making reflected the CPC's governance capability, and the CPC's leadership would be a "fundamental guarantee" for China to achieve the development goals for the next five years.