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China plans slow economic growth
China’s blueprint for the next five years envisages a massive exercise to restructure and slowdown economic growth to single digits to achieve social and environmental reforms.
China’s blueprint for the next five years envisages a massive exercise to restructure and slowdown economic growth to single digits to achieve social and environmental reforms.
Premier Wen Jiabao opened the annual session of the Chinese legislature, the National People’s Congress, with a focus on five-year targets to increase domestic consumption and control economic inequalities and rising prices that he said can impact social stability.
“We need to correctly judge the situation, keep our heads clear, be more mindful of potential dangers, and be prepared to respond to risks,” said Wen on Saturday.
After expanding at an average 11.2% for the last five years, Beijing will aim to ‘improve the quality of growth’ with 8% GDP expansion this year and an average of 7% growth per year — the lowest target since 30 years — for 2011-15.
By 2015, China, the world’s largest energy user, plans to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16% and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 17%. There are also plans for new nuclear power plants, hydropower stations, solar and wind power plants.
