Xi expounds on CPC proposals for China's new development plan

The Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday unveiled in full text the Party leadership's proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan and long-range goals.

An explanatory speech made by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on the proposals was also released.

The CPC Central Committee's proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 were adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee held in Beijing last week.

The drafting process officially kicked off on April 13 when a drafting group headed by Xi held its first plenary meeting.

Coordinating the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the long-range objectives through 2035 is of great significance to mobilizing and motivating the whole Party, the whole nation and people of all ethnic groups to overcome all risks and challenges on the road ahead and getting off to a good start in fully building a modern socialist China, Xi said in the speech, citing a consensus reached during solicitation of comments.

Extensive solicitations of comments and suggestions from various sectors were held. Online solicitations also received over 1 million comments from Aug. 16 to 29.

The drafting group studied all the comments and suggestions sent to them piece by piece, holding discussions and revising the proposals many times, Xi said.

A total of 546 comments and suggestions have been reflected in the proposals, Xi said, calling the drafting process "a vivid example of the CPC's intraparty democracy and China's socialist democracy."

Xi underscored properly handling "five relations" -- the relations between building on past achievements and seeking innovations, between the government and the market, between opening-up and self-reliance, between development and security and between strategy and tactics -- as the principles in drafting the proposals.

Breaking down the proposals, Xi has expounded on several key topics of the document.

HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT

China should focus on promoting high-quality development during its 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xi said. This is based on the scientific assessment of the stage, environment, and conditions for the country's development.

To forestall and defuse various kinds of risks and proactively address challenges brought by external changes, China needs to focus on taking care of its own matters and improving the quality of development, said Xi.

Xi also stressed efforts to remain committed to the new development philosophy, focus on deepening the supply-side structural reform, transform the development model to deliver real benefits to all the people.

NEW DEVELOPMENT PATTERN

Establishing a new development pattern where domestic and foreign markets can boost each other with the domestic market as the mainstay is a strategic choice to raise the level of China's economic development, as well as to forge new advantages in global economic cooperation and competition, according to Xi.

In recent years, along with the changes in the global political and economic environment, the upsurge in deglobalization and the unilateralism and protectionism acts by certain country, the traditional global circulation has been notably weakened, Xi said, urging efforts to root China's development inside the country and rely more on the domestic market to achieve economic growth.

Xi called for sticking to expanding domestic demand as a strategic underpinning and fostering a positive cycle of the national economy. He also called for a supply system more compatible with the domestic demand.

The new development pattern will by no means be a closed domestic circulation, Xi said, stressing that it is instead an open dual circulation involving both domestic and foreign markets.

Promoting a large-scale and smooth domestic economic circulation will help better attract global resources, meet domestic needs, elevate industrial and technological development and foster new advantages in global economic cooperation and competition.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

Xi said that China's economy has the hope and potential to maintain long-term stable development.

It is "completely possible" for China to meet the current standards for high-income countries by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period and to double the total economic volume or per capita income by 2035, he said.

There will be many unstable and uncertain factors in the external environment in the coming period as many risks and hidden dangers may impact the domestic economic development, said Xi, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has a far-reaching impact and the world economy may continue to suffer from a downturn.

He stressed that the medium- and long-term goals should pay more attention to the economic structure optimization so as to guide all parties to focus their work on improving the quality and efficiency of development.

COMMON PROSPERITY

Reiterating the importance of "common prosperity," Xi said it is an essential requirement of socialism and the shared aspiration of all Chinese people.

It is necessary to further emphasize promoting common prosperity for everyone as China embarks on a journey to fully build a modern socialist country, Xi said.

The proposals called for "more notable and substantial progress in promoting common prosperity for everyone," and "solid efforts to push forward common prosperity," Xi noted.

Such expressions were included, for the first time, in the documents of the CPC Central Committee plenary sessions, Xi said, adding that the expectations strike a balance between necessity and feasibility, and will be conducive to advancing common prosperity for everyone.

In the explanatory speech, Xi also underlined ensuring both development and security as well as the need to uphold a systematic concept in development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

ACHIEVING "XIAOKANG" GOAL ON SCHEDULE

Xi said China can achieve the goal to complete the building of a moderately prosperous (xiaokang) society in all respects on schedule.

It remains the Party's firm commitment to the people to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society of a higher level for the benefit of more than 1 billion people by the time when the CPC marks its 100th founding anniversary, Xi said.

In 2020, China's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to exceed 100 trillion yuan, the people's living standards will significantly improve, all rural impoverished population will be lifted out of poverty by current standards, the development targets set in the country's 13th Five-Year Plan can be attained on schedule, and the goal to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects can be achieved on schedule, Xi said.

He said the CPC Central Committee will carry out systematic assessment and review of the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects in the first half of 2021 before officially announcing the achievement of moderate prosperity throughout the society.