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| China Aims to Double Its Per Capita GDP by 2010 |
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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) |
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