China To Boost Domestic Consumption

The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressed the need to step up the modification of the economic development pattern by extending economic reform and opening-up further to build a moderately prosperous society at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee on October 15.

The premiere blamed resource and environment bottleneck, enlarging income gap, poor technological innovation, unbalanced industrial structure, and uneven urban and rural development for China’s unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development.

He said that to boost domestic consumption turning potential demand into actual buying power in the next five years China has to further encourage urbanization, improve income distribution, expand social security network, augment basic public services, and upgrade consumption structure.

Wen said that hastening the transformation of the economic growth would move the country’s economic and social development to a new. He called the move “a profound reform in the country’s economic and social development”.

Wen emphasized a balance approach to guarantee firm and fairly rapid economic development, adjustment of economic structure and avoidance of possible inflation.

Recounting the achievements of the last five years, Wen mentioned that the thousand year old agricultural tax was eliminated, free nine-year compulsory education was attained throughout the country, and a social security system was established in both urban and rural areas in past five years.

He considered it a main assignment of Chinese government during next five years to consolidate and expand upon China’s accomplishment to deal with the adverse effects of the global financial crisis.

The Chinese government released complete transcript of Premier Wen Jiabao’s justification of five year economic and social development plan for the country on Thursday, which was adopted earlier at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee.

The state Council will draft the new five-year program and it is likely to be reviewed at the fourth session of the eleventh National People’s Congress next year in March.