Full text: Report on China's economic, social development plan (1)

Following is the full text of the Report on the Implementation of the 2015 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and on the 2016 Draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development, which was submitted on March 5, 2016 for review at the Fourth Session of the 12th National People's Congress and was adopted on March 16.

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2015 PLAN FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ON THE 2016 DRAFT PLAN FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Delivered at the Fourth Session of the Twelfth National People's Congress on March 5, 2016

National Development and Reform Commission

Fellow Deputies,

The National Development and Reform Commission has been entrusted by the State Council to submit this report on the implementation of the 2015 plan and on the 2016 draft plan for national economic and social development to the Fourth Session of the Twelfth National People' s Congress (NPC) for your deliberation and also for comments from the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People' s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

I. Implementation of the 2015 Plan for National Economic and Social Development

Last year, China faced a complex international economic environment, mounting downward pressure on its economy, and a marked increase in the number of risks and challenges; despite this, we ensured that the overall implementation of the 2015 Plan for National Economic and Social Development was successful. This was as a result of the efforts of all regions and departments which, under the correct leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, followed the general principle of making progress while keeping performance stable, worked to adapt to the new normal in economic development, earnestly implemented the 2015 plan approved at the Third Session of the Twelfth NPC, acted in line with the review of the plan by the NPC' s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee, and worked steadfastly to achieve good results in all respects. Overall, we managed to sustain steady economic development while also ensuring progress and improvement. Major targets and tasks set forth for 2015 were accomplished, marking a successful conclusion to the 12th Five-Year Plan, and helping China's development move to the next level.

1. We continued to improve our macroeconomic policy and maintained a medium-high rate of growth. We developed new ideas and methods for macro regulation, and on the basis of range-based regulation, we strengthened both targeted and well-timed regulation. Domestic demand became a stronger economic driver, and the international market share of China's exports continued to increase. China's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 67.67 trillion yuan, an increase of 6.9%, meaning the target set at the beginning of the year has been achieved.

1) Investment played the key role in driving economic growth. Strengthening points of weakness and adjusting the economic structure were our primary focus when increasing the level of effective investment. To utilize the construction of major projects to stimulate investment growth, we improved the structure of investment from the central government budget, established and earmarked capital for special development funds, and adopted a wide range of measures to encourage and attract nongovernmental investment. As a result, considerable progress was achieved in the construction of major projects in 11 categories. Total fixed-asset investment for the year rose by 9.8%, of which 64.2% came from nongovernmental sources (excluding rural households).

2) Consumption potential was further exploited. Steady progress was achieved in six major projects aimed at stimulating consumption, and the three trillion yuan investment in these six projects contributed to consumption worth 2.8 trillion yuan. Tourism, online shopping, new-energy vehicles, and other new growth areas in consumer spending continued to grow, and total retail sales of consumer goods for the year rose by 10.7%.

Box 1: 11 Categories of Major Projects for Investment

Box 2: Six Major Projects to Stimulate Consumption

3) The economic structure was further improved. In terms of the contribution to economic growth, consumption far outweighed investment, making a 66.4% contribution, while the tertiary industry accounted for far more than the secondary industry. The value-added of the tertiary industry accounted for over half of GDP for the first time, reaching 50.5%. Development between urban and rural areas and between regions became more balanced and coordinated. The New Urbanization saw positive progress, with permanent urban residents now accounting for 56.1% of the population.

4) The overall employment situation remained stable. New measures to increase employment and business start-ups were introduced, and entrepreneurship and innovation began to make a bigger contribution to increasing employment. An additional 13.12 million urban jobs were created throughout the year. The registered urban unemployment rate stood at 4.05% at the end of 2015.

5) Overall prices rose moderately. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.4%. We intensified oversight in relation to prices and charges and increased law enforcement to combat monopolistic pricing. In total, we investigated and dealt with 34,200 cases of pricing violations and imposed economic penalties totaling 10.477 billion yuan in accordance with the law. Our work in this area also helped reduce the burden on enterprises by about 8.9 billion yuan.

2. We deepened reform and opening up and stimulated market vitality and social creativity. We continued to streamline administration, delegate more powers, improving regulation, and provide better services. Progress was made in reforms in key areas, and the building of new systems for an open economy was accelerated.

1) The reform of the government review and approval system continued. We cancelled the requirement for or delegated the power of government review on 311 items, cancelled all non-administrative review, exempted 214 items from review and approval conducted by local governments on behalf of the central government, and cancelled the requirement for approval and verification of 123 vocational qualifications. Seventy percent of the intermediary services involved in the review and approval practices of State Council bodies were cancelled. The requirement for pre-registration government review and approval on 18 items was cancelled, and these items are now listed as preliminaries that can be prepared by enterprises themselves. For the purpose of streamlining administration and delegating powers, initial steps were taken to establish the three lists and four platforms. Comprehensive steps were taken nationwide to replace the separate business license, organization code certificate, and taxation registration certificate with a unified business license with a unified social credit code. A total of 4.439 million enterprises were registered in 2015, an increase of 21.6%. The provisional regulations on the registration of immovable property were officially implemented. (mo