13thFive-YearPlan:EmbodimentoftheChineseDream
Chinahassetthegoalofcompletingconstructionofamoderatelyprosperoussocietyinallrespectsby2020.The13thFiveYearPlanPeriod(2016-2020)isthefinallegofthemission.Thesecondyearofthe13thFive-YearPlanPeriod,2017willseemorepragmaticactiontakenbythecountryanditspeople.SolutionsforissuessuchashowtopromotetheFour-prongedComprehensiveStrategyandactualizetheconceptof“innovation-driven,coordinated,green,openandshareddevelopment”requireinsightfuladvicefromNPCdeputiesandCPPCCmembers.
ProfessorWangYukaifromtheChineseAcademyofGovernancepointsoutthatbuildinganall-aroundmoderatelyprosperoussocietyisanembodimentoftheChineseDream.DevelopmentisthekeytosolvingChina’smostpressingproblems.Tocomprehensivelydeepenreformsandaccelerateinnovation-drivendevelopment,Chinamustfocusonbalancedandsustainabledevelopmentwhilemaintainingacertaingrowthrate.Increasingordinarypeople’sstandardsoflivingisacrucialpieceoftheprocess.
EconomicDevelopment:MaintainingSteadyEconomicGrowth
In2016,China’seconomygrewby6.7percent,afiguremuchhigherthanthatoftheUnitedStates,JapanortheEuropeanUnion(EU).Chinaremainsoneoftheworld’sfastest-growingeconomies.Thesameyear,China’sGDPsurpassedUS$10trillion.China’sGDPwilladdanotherUS$100billionwitheveryonepercentofgrowth,equaltotheamountofevery1.8-percentinGDPgrowthin2010.Chinaachievedstartlingeconomicgrowthin2016consideringthegloomyglobaleconomy.Inthiscontext,whatwillserveasthemainenginesforChina’seconomicdevelopmentin2017,andwillChina’seconomymaintainsuchimpressivegrowth?TheTwoSessionsmayprovideanswerstosuchquestions.
People’sWell-being:SharingtheBenefitsofDevelopment
Sincethe18thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC),Chinahasbeencommittedtoensuringthatnooneisleftbehindalongitsroadtoanall-aroundmoderatelyprosperoussociety,pursuanttotheprinciplesof“everyoneparticipates,everyonecontributes,andeveryoneenjoys.”Shoringupweakspotsinstandardsofliving,improvingpublicservicesandmeetingpublicexpectationsonhousing,healthcare,education,andseniorcarewillallinspirespiriteddebateattheTwoSessions.WuXiaolin,deanoftheDepartmentofPublicAdministrationatCentralChinaUniversity,suggeststhegovernmentmakemoreeffectiveinstitutionalarrangementstoenhancesatisfactionamongpeoplefromallwalksoflife.
EnvironmentalProtection:CurbingtheSmog
ForChinesepeople,dispellingsmoghasbecomeanenvironmentalissueoftopconcerninrecentyears.Peoplefromallwalksoflifewanta“beautifulChina”withcleanair.AchievingthisgoalwillbeahottopicattheTwoSessions.
ZhangXiaode,vicechairoftheEconomicsTeachingandResearchDivisionattheChineseAcademyofGovernance,stressesthatgreendevelopmentrequiresjointeffortsfromalllevelsofsociety,alongsidepragmaticmeasuresandroadmapsforvarioussectors.Thegovernmentneedstoformulateclearerrestrictionsandmakesupervisionmoreeffective.Thekeyistostrengthenlawenforcementcapacityandincreasesupervision.
Supply-sideStructuralReform:DrivingEconomicRestructuring
Thisyearisanimportantyearfortheimplementationofthe13thFive-YearPlan,duringwhichtimeChina’ssupply-sidestructuralreformwillbefurtherpromoted.InDecember2016,theCentralEconomicWorkConferenceconfirmedthatthegovernmentwouldmakesubstantiveprogressincuttingovercapacity,destocking,deleveraging,reducingcorporatecostsandshoringupweaklinksintheeconomy.Thegovernmentwilltakemarketoriented,law-basedmeasurestocutexcessiveproductioncapacityinindustriesincludingsteel,coalmining,thermalpower,buildingmaterials,cement,andflatglass.
ManyarespeculatingaboutwhatspecificmeasurestheChinesegovernmentwilltaketointegrateitsrealestatedestockingandurbanizationefforts,howitwillprioritizeloweringcorporateleverageratioswhilecontrollingoverallfinancialleverage,howitwillreducetaxesandfeesandcutfactorcosts,andhowitwillshoreupweaklinksinboththeeconomyandtheinstitutionalsystem.AccordingtoYangWeimin,viceministeroftheOfficeoftheCentralLeadingGrouponFinanceandEconomicAffairs,itisnowtimeforChinatoachievethegoalofcuttingovercapacity,destockinganddeleveragingconsideringtheincreasinguncertaintiesoftheworldeconomy,sothefirsttwoorthreeyearsofthe13thFive-YearPlanPeriodareaparticularlycrucialstretch.
Thisyear,Chinawillfurtherdeepenitssupply-sidestructuralreformtoachievesound,stableeconomicdevelopment.CFPTargetedPovertyAlleviation:PromotingInclusiveDevelopment
Nooneshouldbeleftbehindalongtheroadtoamoderatelyprosperoussociety.The5thPlenarySessionofthe18thCPCCentralCommitteesetthegoalofliftingallofthecountry’s70millionimpoverishedpeopleoutofpovertyby2020.Whatchallengesisthetargetedpovertyalleviationcampaignfacing?Whatpoliciesneedtobeimproved?Grass-rootsNPCdeputiesandCPPCCmembersmayprovideanswerstothosequestions.
LiuYongfu,headoftheStateCouncilLeadingGroupOfficeofPovertyAlleviationandDevelopment,stressesthatalthoughproblemssuchasimproperuseofpovertyrelieffundshavebeenalleviated,theyhaveyettobefundamentallysolved.Moreover,somenewchallengeshaveemerged,ofwhichthemostnotablearethepracticeofgoingthroughthemotionsandthelackofendogenousdynamicsamongpoverty-strickenpeople.Ifsuchproblemsarenotsolved,thegovernment’spovertyalleviationpoliciescannotbefullyimplemented,andthegoalofeliminatingpovertywillnotbefulfilledasscheduled.
ThelocalgovernmentofSuiningCity,SichuanProvince,hashelpedimpoverishedhouseholdsconstructstrawberryplantationsasawayofpromotingtargetedpovertyalleviation.CFPRegionalIntegration:AChineseSolutionwithGreatPotential
ThreeandahalfyearshavepassedsinceChinafirstlaunchedtheBeltandRoadInitiative,whichhasprofoundlyimpactedtheinternalaffairsanddiplomaticpoliciesofChinaandotherinvolvedcountriesandregions.TheinitiativehasbeenprogressingsmoothlythroughcooperationbetweenallcountriesandregionsalongtheBeltandRoadroutes.Howwilltheinitiativeexpandcooperationandcreatemoreopportunitiesforasmanycountriesaspossible?QuestionslikethisareexpectedtobecomehottopicsthatdrawworldwideattentionduringtheTwoSessions.
Alongwiththeinitiative,otherregionalintegrationplanssuchastheBeijing-Tianjin-HebeiIntegratedDevelopmentprogramandtheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltwillcontinueadvancingthisyear.Aroadmapforhigher-levelopeningupwillbecomeclearattheTwoSessions.ShaoFeng,aresearchfellowattheInternationalStrategyResearchDivisionundertheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,believesthatgiventhecurrentinternationalcontext,Chinawilladoptacomprehensive,activeopening-uppolicytoachievehigher-leveldevelopment.
January28,2017:AcargocontainerisloadedontoatrainheadingforEuropeinChengdu,capitalofSichuanProvince.TheBeltandRoadInitiativehasfacilitatedregionalintegrateddevelopment.Itisexpectedthat1,000trainswillrunfromChengdutoEuropethisyear.CFPDraftingGeneralPrinciplesofCivilLaw:AStepClosertoAUniversalCivilCode
Thisyear’sNPCsessionwilldiscussandreviewtheGeneralPrincipleoftheCivilLawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina(draft).Acivilcodeisasystematiccollectionoflawscoveringeveryaspectofdailylifeincludingfood,clothing,accommodation,transport,andevenfuneralsandweddings.ThedraftversionoftheGeneralPrinciplesoftheCivilLawhasmanynotablehighlights.Forinstance,itlowerstheminimumageofapersonwithlimitedcapacityforcivilconductfrom10tosix,recognizesthelegalcivilrightsoftheembryoandfetus,providesclearprovisionsonissuesconcerningonlinevirtualassets,dataandinformation,andprolongsthegenerallimitationonlegalactionfromtwoyearstothreeyears.
Chinesepeopleexpectthecampaigntocomprehensivelyadvancethe“ruleoflaw,”whichshouldproduceuniversalnormsfromwhicheverycitizencanbenefitandfacilitatejusticeandfairnessthateveryonecanenjoy.
Innovation:ANewEngineforChina’sDevelopment
Innovationisaprimarydrivingforceofdevelopment.China’s500-meter-aperturesphericalradiotelescope,nicknamedtheHeaven’sEye,hasbegunoperation.Itsnever-before-seenspacebaseddark-matterdetector,Wukong,hasnowbeenorbitingEarthforayear.QuantumcommunicationssatelliteMiciushasalsobeenlaunchedintospace.ChinahascompletedamannedspacemissionontheShenzhou-11spacecrafttotheTiangong-2spacelab.Numerousentrepreneurialhotbedsandbusinessincubatorshavepoppedupacrossthecountry,stirringawaveofmassinnovation.Undoubtedly,China’seconomyandsocietyareundergoingtremendouschanges.HowtocreateabetterbusinessenvironmentthatpromotesscientificinnovationwillbeakeyconcernattheTwoSessions.
XuQikun,academicianwiththeChineseAcademyofSciences,believesthatasChina’seconomyentersthe“newnormal,”technologicalinnovationwillbolsterthecountry’seconomicdevelopmentbyaddingnewmomentumduringthe13thFive-YearPlanPeriod.Henotesthattheneedtoboostinnovationbecomesmoreurgentasitsroleineconomicdevelopmentbecomeslarger.
Anti-Corruption:TheNextPage
Sincethe18thCPCNationalCongress,Chinahasunwaveringlyinsistedoncrackingdownonboth“tigers”and“flies”—corrupthigh-levelofficialsandlocalcivilservants—toconstructalaw-based,innovative,honestandservice-orientedgovernment.Theanti-corruptioncampaignhashelpedbuildajustandfairmarketenvironment,enhancedthepublic’strustinthegovernmentandbolsteredreformandopeningup.Inwhichdirectionwilltheanti-graftcampaignturnthisyear?Howwillthegovernmentstrengthenitscorruptionfightingefforts?Suchquestionswillundoubtedlyproducelivelydiscussionatthemeetings.
ProfessorXuXingfromtheZhouEnlaiSchoolofGovernmentatNankaiUniversitypointsoutthatthegovernmentworkreportsinrecentyearshaveallcontainedinformationontherequirementsforself-disciplineofthegovernment.Thepublicwantstodefinethegovernment’spowerboundariesmoreclearlyandfurtherstreamlineadministrationanddecentralizepower,whichwilleliminateroomforkickbacksandcorruption.
September24,2016:Theworld’slargestradiotelescopebeginsoperationinPingtang,GuizhouProvince.TechnologicalinnovationhasbecomeanewengineforChina’sdevelopment.CFP