China's newly issued outline of 14th Five-Year Plan maps out economic and social development for coming years

China released the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 on March 13.

- LU YANAN & LI XINPING

The document comprising 19 parts, 65 chapters, and 192 sections is regarded as a blueprint for further advancing the high-quality development of the country.

The 14th Five-Year Plan period is of particular significance as China aims to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects in 2021 and then march toward a new journey of turning China into a modern socialist country.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a core measure of the economic development level of a country, has always been a comprehensive and the most high-profile indicator in China's five-year plans.

Although GDP is maintained as a major economic indicator in the 14th Five-Year Plan, the outline doesn’t show specific anticipatory indicators for annual growth in GDP. Instead, it says the country will keep GDP growth within an appropriate range and set annual targets in light of actual circumstances.

Such qualitative expression and only implicit quantitative expression of GDP growth target marks a first in the history of China’s five-year plans.

As China has entered a new stage of high-quality economic development, it is not wise to assess its development simply according to the GDP growth rate or pursue economic growth without considering the quality and effectiveness of development, as well as the ecological and environmental impacts.

Since reasonable economic growth does matter when it comes to achieving the target of realizing modernization, the new outline has in fact given consideration to both economic development and environmental protection by setting such a qualitative growth target.