Facts about China’s 2016-2020 growth plan

BEIJING, China – China on Saturday, March 5, published the draft of its 13th 5-Year Plan, a blueprint for economic and social development over the 2016-2020 period.

Such plans are a legacy of China’s command economy era but still guide policymakers, and the 148-page document is due to be approved by the ongoing National People’s Congress, the country’s Communist-controlled parliament.

Here are some main targets listed in the draft plan:

1. To grow China’s economy, the world’s second-largest, by an average of at least 6.5% a year over the period. Gross domestic product (GDP) to go from 67.7 trillion yuan ($10.4 trillion) last year to more than 92.7 trillion yuan in 2020.

2. The service sector to account for 56% of GDP by 2020, up from 50.5% in 2015.

3. To cap total energy consumption under 5 billion tons equivalent of coal by 2020, compared with 4.3 billion tons equivalent of coal last year.

4. To cut energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 15% and 18% respectively from 2015 levels by 2020.

5. City air quality to be rated “good” or better at least 80% of the time by 2020, up from 76.7% in 2015.

6. To raise installed nuclear power capacity to 58 gigawatts by 2020, when another 30 gigawatts are scheduled to be under construction. Currently, 28.3 gigawatts are installed, with 26.7 under construction.

7. To expand the high-speed railway network to 30,000 kilometers (around 18,600 miles) by 2020, from 19,000 kilometers last year, and build at least 50 new civilian airports.

8. To boost per capita disposable income by 6.5% or higher every year. The figure grew by 7.4% in 2015.

9. To create a total of 50 million jobs in urban areas over the five years.

10. Permanent urban residents to make up 60% of China’s total population by 2020, up from 56.1% last year. The proportion of people with urban “hukou”, or household registration, is to reach 45% of the total population. – Rappler.com