1st Ld: CPC to hold key plenum in October, discuss 13th five-year development plan

The 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee will hold its fifth plenary session in Beijing in October.

The announcement was made after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held Monday.

High on the agenda is the discussion of the 13th five-year plan of national development (2016-2020). The five years from 2016 is a critical stage for building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects. The 13th five-year development plan will focus on realizing this goal, said a statement issued after the meeting.

China is entering a new normal of economic development and facing not only great strategic opportunities but complicated and tough challenges, the statement said.

"We need to correctly perceive the fundamental changes and respond to risks and challenges more effectively," the statement said.

"Upon the solid basis laid in the past three decades of reform and opening-up, we should have firm confidence and strong initiative and pool our resources to realize our goal."

Continuing the focus on economic development, the country will aim at a development pattern of higher quality, efficiency, equality and sustainability, it said.

It will improve marco-control of the economy, maintain a medium-high growth rate and move towards the medium-high development, it said.

It will carry on the transformation of government functions, enhance the rule of law and deepen the opening-up in all dimensions.

The CPC will strictly discipline itself and upgrade its capacity of governance, the statement added. Endi