Xi Jinping’s drive for China’s high-quality development faces population, social capital balancing act
- President Xi Jinping emphasised ‘green development’, greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology during Sunday’s work report to the 20th party congress
- Xi did concede ‘imbalances and inadequacies’ and ‘wide gaps in development and income distribution between urban and rural areas and between regions’
A lack of social capital and an ageing population could widen the growth gap between rural areas and more developed regions in the coming years, challenging China’s renewed push for “high-quality development”, according to analysts.
This will, according to Xi, ensure China’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will reach that of a “medium-level developed country” by 2035.
China previously included a goal to lift itself into a “high income” nation by 2025 and advance to a “moderately developed” nation by 2035, which implies income of more than US$20,000 per person.
Apart from the GDP indicator, there are also employment and industry trends [when it comes to evaluating economic performance]
“Apart from the GDP indicator, there are also employment and industry trends [when it comes to evaluating economic performance],” said Banny Lam, managing director and head of research at China Everbright Bank International Investment in Hong Kong.
Lam believes China’s economic planning will be increasingly more targeted after years of focusing on rapid growth, which has become hard to sustain.