A five-year economic blueprint proposed by the Communist Party
of China (CPC) has set a goal to double the nation's 2000 per
capita gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010, along the way to build
a harmonious society.
Asia's second biggest economy, largely driven by strong
investment and exports, expanded at a stunning 9.5 percent in the
first six months of the year and is widely expected to see only a
slight slowdown in 2006.
The CPC Central Committee's Proposal for Formulating the 11th
Five-Year Program (2006-10) for National Economic and Social
Development, which was released Tuesday, also stresses fast and
stable economic growth.
"But greater attention should be paid to a more balanced and
efficient growth," it says. The proposal warns that the bottleneck
in land, water, energy resources and environmental protection is
posing a severe threat to China's economy.
Saving resources should be treated as "basic state policy," it
says. Energy cost for per unit of GDP is expected to decrease by
some 20 percent in the coming five-year period.
The proposal, which will be submitted to China's top legislature
for scrutiny and approval, reiterates that economic growth and
social progress should be engineered with a "scientific concept of
development," a term frequently used by top Chinese leaders,
indicating the shift in the government's development philosophy
from growth-centered to people-centered.
"Coordinated development between urban and rural areas should be
promoted," it says. The proposal acknowledges that the key to
building a relatively affluent society in an all-round way lies in
the economically less dynamic countryside and western areas.
The world's largest developing nation, China has recently
reported that the per capita GDP has just climbed over the 1,000-US
dollar threshold.
Typically, Chinese farmers' earnings lag behind city residents
not only in amount, but in growth rate -- being 7.7 percent for
city dwellers and 6.8 percent for rural people last year, official
figures show.
To promote social harmony is an "important target and necessary
prerequisite" for China's development, says the proposal.
Greater importance should be attached to coordinated economic
and social development, social equality and promotion of democracy
and rule of law to let all the people enjoy the benefits from the
decades-old reform and opening-up drive.
Commenting on the five-year economic and social development
program, Ding Yuanzhu, an economist with the State Development and
Reform Commission, told Xinhua that he believes the Chinese
leadership is treating the building of harmonious society as a
"long-term, important" target.
(Xinhua News Ageny October 9, 2005)