China's 12th Five-Year Plan achievements a milestone for centenary goal

The Communist Party of China (CPC) will convene the fifth plenary session of its 18th Central Committee to outline the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) for national development on Monday, with extraordinary achievements in the 12th plan period (2011-2015).

During the past five years, China has made major progress in various sectors despite complicated international environment. The economy has kept growing steadily, the society remains harmonious and stable, and various reforms have been carried out to offer impetus for China's sustainable development.

Under the leadership of the CPC, Chinese people have laid a firm foundation to accomplish the first Centenary Goal of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society by 2020.

The first Centenary Goal, marking the 100th anniversary of the CPC's founding in 1921, is to double the 2010 GDP and double the 2010 income of both urban and rural residents by 2020, completing the building of a moderately prosperous society.

The second Centenary Goal, commemorating the 100th anniversary of founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, is to build a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced and harmonious by the middle of this century -- the great renewal of the Chinese nation.

STABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH

Voices concerning China's economy like "hard landing" and "collapse" were often heard in the past five years, but they have all been dumb in front of the solid economic performance.

China is expected to achieve an average GDP growth of 7.8 percent from 2011 to 2015, much higher than the global average rate of 2.5 percent. It has become the second economy valuing more than 10 trillion U.S. dollars and contributes to more than one quarter of global economic growth.

China continues to be the world's No. 1 in manufacture and trade sectors, meanwhile, it has been listed among the middle-class countries in terms of per capita GDP. Its urbanization rate has exceeded 50 percent.

China is changing from a country exporting clothes, shoes and hats to one exporting high-speed trains.

In September, it was announced that the first U.S. high-speed railway project with Chinese investment would be started as early as September 2016. The 370-km Xpress West high-speed railway project will connect Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California.

China has ranked the first in terms of using foreign investment during the period and invested more than 400 billion U.S. dollars overseas. It also remains one of the most attractive investment targets.

"Chinese goods and investments have spread across the world, and China's influence on world economy will continue to rise," said Valikhan Tuleshov, director of the Institute for Regional Development of Kazakhstan's International Academy of Business.

On Wednesday, China's central bank announced it had issued 5-billion yuan-denominated notes in London, in the first offshore issuance of such debts outside China, an important move to promote the yuan's globalization strategy of increasing its presence in the global bond market.

China has also entered a "new normal" with slower but more balanced and sustainable economic growth. The new situation is a result of long-term efforts to transform economic growth mode and restructure the economic frame, which will provide more impetus for future development.

"Chinese economic development has entered a new phase of relying on quality and innovation instead of export and investment," said economist Chen Dongqi, vice president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research of the National Development and Reform Commission.