FRONTLINE: Hu Jintao (center) and the other eight Politburo Standing Committee members of the CPC Central Committee at the latest Party Plenary Session (FAN RUJUN)

China aims to achieve "major breakthroughs" in economic restructuring and maintain "stable and relatively fast economic growth." The current Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made its intentions clear after approving a blueprint for the next five years on its Fifth Plenary Session, which ended on October 18.

According to a communique issued at the close of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee, which examined and approved the proposals for formulating the development plan for the next five years (2011-15), China will take reform as "a powerful driving force" to accelerate the transformation of its economic development pattern.

Economic strategic restructuring is considered as a major task in the transformation.

The communique said China aimed to reduce its dependence on investment and exports, which made it vulnerable to global economic recession and the CPC would continue the policy of boosting domestic demand, and push forward technology research and innovation. Amid an ambitious goal for growth, the CPC also pledged to enhance efforts to save energy and resources and build an environment-friendly society.

All-round reform 

Lawrence Greenwood, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank, believed restructuring was a necessary step for China to move up the ladder to become a middle- and high-income nation, and help solve the global economic imbalance problem.

He said many challenges during China's development sprang from its over-reliance on heavy industry after the Asian financial crisis (in 1997), as investment poured into energy-intensive and environment-unfriendly industries.

This year's government work report, which was released in March, highlighted "sound" development ahead of "fast development," for the first time, indicating the government's resolution to look to sustainable development instead of mere pursuit of rapid growth at the cost of high energy consumption and a widening gap between rich and poor.

Great impetus would be given to economic restructuring, while "vigorous yet steady" efforts should be made to promote political restructuring and more efforts should be made to speed up the promotion of cultural and social reforms, said the communique.

Wang Changjiang, a professor from the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said, "All-round reforms will be pushed forward simultaneously," not just economic reforms that had continued steadily for more than three decades.

 Wang Tongsan, Director of the Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a key government think tank, said that the cultural sector will be promoted to become a "pillar industry."

Spreading wealth

The communique said efforts should be made to ensure and improve people's livelihoods, and gradually complete a sustainable, basic public service system that suits China's situation and covers urban and rural areas.

It also said the CPC vowed to promote employment, construct "harmonious labor relations" and reasonably adjust income distribution. The social security system covering rural and urban regions should be strengthened and the pace of medical reform and development be quickened, it said.

"Only through people becoming wealthy can the country get stronger," said Professor Wu Zhongmin, of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. An important task for the 12th development plan was to "store wealth among the people," and "let the masses share the fruits of reform and development," he said.