I. Mitigating Climate Change

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China accelerated the transformation of its economic development mode, and achieved remarkable results in controlling greenhouse gas emission by promoting industrial restructuring, energy restructuring and energy conservation, improving energy efficiency, and increasing carbon sink.

1. Optimizing Industrial Structure

Reforming and upgrading traditional industries. China has formulated and released plans for restructuring and rejuvenating 10 major industries, including automobiles, and iron and steel, revised the Guideline Catalogue for Industrial Restructuring, and issued the Opinions on Curbing Overcapacity and Redundant Construction in Some Industries and Guiding the Sound Development of Industries. China has raised the market entry threshold for high-energy-consuming industries, conducted energy conservation evaluation and examination of fixed asset investment projects, enhanced technology transformation and upgrading in traditional industries, promoted corporate merger and restructuring, adjusted export tax rebate policies, imposed export duties on coal, some nonferrous metals, steel billets and chemical fertilizers, and restrained the export of high-energy-consuming, high-emission and high-resource-consuming products. Efforts have been made to accelerate the pace of eliminating backward production capacity. By implementing the policy of “replacing small thermal power generating units with larger ones,” China shut down small thermal power generating units with a total generating capacity of 76.82 million kw, and eliminated backward steel production capacity to the tune of 72 million tons; iron production capacity, 120 million tons; cement production capacity, 370 million tons; coke production capacity, 107 million tons; paper production capacity, 11.3 million tons; and glass production capacity, 45 million cases. The proportion of thermal power generating units with a generation capacity above 300,000 kw each in China’s thermal power installed capacity increased from 47 percent in 2005 to 71 percent in 2010; the proportion of large iron production blast furnaces with a capacity above 1,000 cubic meters each increased from 48 percent to 61 percent; and the proportion of the output of large aluminum electrolysis prebaking tanks increased from 80 percent to above 90 percent. The industry concentration in the iron, steel, cement, nonferrous metals, machinery and automobile sectors among other key industries was remarkably improved, while energy consumption in major industries was dramatically reduced. From 2005 to 2010, coal consumption in thermal power supply dropped 10 percent from 370 g/kwh to 333 g/kwh; comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel decreased 12.8 percent from 694 kg to 605 kg of standard coal; that in cement production, down by 24.6 percent; that of ethylene production, down by 11.6 percent; and that of synthetic ammonia production, 14.3 percent.

Fostering and strengthening strategic and newly emerging industries. China has issued the Decision on Accelerating the Fostering and Development of Strategic and Newly Emerging Industries, which defines the overall principles, key tasks and policy measures for fostering and developing strategic and newly emerging industries. The Chinese Government has selected key fields of these industries, and implemented a number of major projects and built a range of related programs. China has accelerated the pace of building a national innovation system, implemented knowledge- and technology-innovation projects, and intensified efforts on tackling key technological problems. The government has initiated a venture capital investment program in newly emerging industries, established 20 venture capital investment funds, and supported the growth of innovative enterprises in energy conservation, environmental protection, new energy development and other sectors in strategic new industries. In 2010, the output value of China’s hi-tech manufacturing industries reached 7.6 trillion yuan, ranking the second in the world, and more than twice the figure for 2005.

Accelerating the development of the service industry. China has formulated and implemented the Opinions Concerning Accelerating the Development of the Service Industry, Opinions on the Implementation of Some Policies and Measures for Accelerating the Development of the Service Industry, and other important documents, vigorously promoting the development of production- and life-related service trades. The government has also issued the Guidelines for Accelerating the Development of Hi-Tech Service Industry. From 2005 to 2010, the added value of China’s service sector increased 11.9 percent per year on average, with an average annual growth rate of 0.7 of a percentage point higher than that of GDP, and with its proportion in GDP rising from 40.3 percent to 43 percent.