China looks beyond GDP growth rate as Beijing outlines five-year plan and 2035 vision amid rivalry with US
- Former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin Yifu says biggest challenge to China’s development in the next five years will come from ‘external factors beyond our control’
- The final version of China’s upcoming 2021-25 plan is expected to be published only after it is approved at a Communist Party meeting in late October
China is set to play down the nation’s headline growth rate to highlight “growth quality” and “security” in its development plan for 2021-25 and beyond, as Beijing tries to strengthen domestic weak links in preparation for a protracted rivalry with the United States, according to China’s government advisers.
President Xi Jinping chaired a gathering of the Politburo – the centre of power within the Communist Party – on Monday, and the body endorsed the country’s five-year plan for 2021-25 as well as a grand plan that will serve as a guideline for China’s economic and social development through 2035. Both plans will be presented for approval at a major party meeting from October 26-29, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Monday’s Politburo meeting also discussed an important Communist Party document – on how the party’s Central Committee should operate – to further emphasise Xi’s role at the head of the party.
Justin Lin Yifu, a professor at Peking University who attended Xi’s symposium last month, said at a government-organised press conference in Beijing on Tuesday that the dual-circulation strategy is about achieving “high-quality” development.
Lin, the Taiwan-born economist who served as the World Bank’s chief economist, has a track record of predicting China’s potential economic growth rate. In August, he said China would surpass the US as the world’s largest economy by 2030. He did not provide any numbers at the press conference on Tuesday but said China will rely more on its domestic economy while seeking international cooperation.