Promising messages need more clarity
- By Manoranjan Mohanty
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 27, 2016
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Chinese Dream [By Gu Peili/China.org.cn] |
The Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan that was adopted by the recently concluded NPC is full of promising messages to the Chinese people and the world. They reaffirm not only the declared goal of achieving a "moderately well-off society in all respects" to be achieved by 2020, but also squarely address many current problems.
The strategy envisages doubling the 2010 GDP and per capita income of urban and rural residents by 2020 and tackling problems such as rural-urban imbalance, currently 0:3, increasing income inequalities, the gini coefficient 0.45, regional disparities, and environmental degradation, known to be the highest emission of carbon in the world. China aims to reach the level of a US$13 trillion economy with a reasonable growth rate of 6.5 to 7% in the next five years.
The Western press clearly is not impressed and wishes to push for more market reforms, especially in relation to the state-owned enterprises and in the financial sector. However, the Xi Jinping leadership is standing firm to pursue a line that has evolved over the years combining the state's role in macro-economic management with a steady promotion of market forces. After the financial crisis in 2008, this perspective is even more significant. In fact, the "decisive role" and "deepening" of the market forces were reiterated while clearly affirming the role of the central leadership to guide the allocation of resources to achieve social goals and intervene in crisis situations as was the case in the fluctuating stock market during the past year.
What has been welcomed all over the world is the clear commitment to a structural shift in the economy that focuses on innovation and quality in the entire range of production while expanding the service sector. Premier Li Keqiang described them as the new drivers of growth and this is the centerpiece in the new strategy. This takes China from being a country of export manufacturing to a country of creative producers and conscious and capable consumers participating in the process of global transformation toward the common development of humankind with equity and sustainability.
