Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, March 07, 2011

China's new 5-year plan

Dan Harris and Steve Dickinson write for China Law Blog as an adjunct to their international law practice. Steve Dickinson has been speaking of late at various embassies and chambers of commerce in Beijing regarding China's Twelfth Five Year Plan. The following is the outline of his presentation.

It offers a shortcut for students to a summary of the plan. How does the plan appear different from the plans presented by politicians in other nation states?

China's 12th Five Year Plan: A Preliminary Look

This plan will be adopted during the March meetings of the National People’s Congress and the CPC…

I. China’s Ten Major Challenges
Resource constraints: energy and raw materials.
Mismatch in investment and imbalance in consumption.
Income disparity.
Weakness in capacity for domestic innovation.
Production structure is not rational: too much heavy industry, not enough service.
Agriculture foundation is thin and weak.
Urban/rural development is not coordinated.
Employment system is imbalanced.
Social contradictions are progressively more apparent.
Obstacles to scientific development continue to exist and are difficult to remove.
II. The Theoretical Solution
The Main Theme: Scientific Development
The Main Line: “China must rapidly engage in a complete transformation of its form of economic development.”
III. Ten Point Outline of the 12th Five Year Plan
Expand domestic consumption while maintaining stable economic development.
Modernize agriculture to create the new socialist rural village
Develop a modern, balanced industrial and trade structure
Advance the integration between regions and encourage stable urbanization
Promote energy saving and environmental protection
Create an innovation driven society by encouraging education and training of the workforce
Establish a comprehensive public social welfare system
Encourage cultural production in order to increase China’s “soft power”
Increase the pace of reform of the economy
Continue with liberalization and “opening-up” to the outside, but on a new track