The fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) kicked off on Monday in Beijing, and will end on Thursday. The session has drawn global attention as it is set not only to review the work report of the CPC, but also to formulate the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for Economic and Social Development and future targets for 2035.
Drawn up every five years since 1953, the Five-Year Plan (FYP) is a major feature of China's governance system, setting growth targets and defining economic and social development policies. This forward-looking medium and long-term planning ensures that national strategies are both self-continuous and keep pace with the times.
The development concept a country chooses determines its state of development.
Five years ago, the fifth plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized the development concepts of "innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing" in the 13th FYP. It provides scientific theoretical guidance and action guidelines for promoting high-quality development, and new achievements have been made in various fields over the last five years.
The country ranked second globally in investment into research and development (R&D) and topped the world in R&D personnel and global patent applications. China’s Global Innovation Index rank rose from 29th to 14th. Innovative achievements are leading China’s high-quality development to achieve new results.
More than 100 million agricultural migrants become new citizens, and the urbanization rate of permanent residents rose to 60.6 percent by the end of 2019, an increase of 4.5 percentage points from 2015. The coordinated development of urban and rural areas has entered a new stage. Establishing the Hebei Xiong’an New District, promoting the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, various forms of regional integrated development has been advanced.
Energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped 13.2 percent between 2015 and 2019, city dwellers now breathe unpolluted air for nearly 82 percent of the days in a year, and water quality has improved to sound levels. The pollution control goals set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan have been accomplished. In addition, green lifestyle has been advocated, such as promoting domestic waste sorting, public transportation, and preventing food waste.
The construction of a new open economy system was also accelerated. Foreign trade has become one of China’s most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors, placing China among the world’s largest trade countries. The scale of the use of foreign investment reached a record high in 2019. 200 cooperation deals on the Belt and Road Initiative have been signed with 138 countries and 30 international organizations, and 21 pilot free trade zones have been established. Hainan became the first free trade port in the mainland. China’s global business environment rank jumped to 31st in 2020.
The fruits of development have benefited all people, and the people’s quality of life has significantly improved. More than 50 million rural poor people were lifted out of absolute poverty, and the incidence of poverty dropped from 4.5 percent in 2016 to 0.6 percent in 2019. The nation is set to end absolute poverty, which has haunted the nation for thousands of years.
The execution of the 13th FYP proved that the development space of China’s economy has been expanded, and its weak areas have been strengthened through coordinated strategies, laying a solid foundation for the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and opening up a new realm of high-quality development.