Chinas new development plan, which has been praised at the annual session of the National Peoples Congress that opened March 5, reflects the input of Chinas economic scholars and concerns over the countrys reform agenda.
Wu Jinglian, 76, an influential economist, sits on the advisory council of the drafting committee of the plan. He said in a recent interview with China Youth Daily that the emphasis of the plan is on the role of reform, especially in public administration, which holds the key to optimizing the economic structure and transforming the economic growth model.
The new development plan for the 2006-10 period outlines a blueprint, with emphasis on continued economic growth as well as a narrowing of the wealth gap between urban and rural residents.
According to Wu, experts on the advisory council held four rounds of discussion since its founding in October last year and each session absorbed critical suggestions from experts in various fields.
Wu said he believes the draft plan has constructively explored how much the government should be involved in economic activities at the macro level when the market economy framework is in its infancy.
At a high-level economic workshop on Chinas reform agenda in February, dozens of Chinas most renowned economists agreed that scholars need to conduct an in-depth review and debate over major faults of Chinas reform in the last two decades.
At the workshop, Wu summarized the major setbacks in four categories. First, momentum has lagged in the reform of key areas, such as the joint-stock transformation of state-owned enterprises and management and ownership reforms in state-monopolized sectors. Second, the rule of law in line with a market economy has not been well established. Third, public services that should be provided by the government, such as education and basic social insurance, have been weakened. Fourth, the transformation of the economic growth model from an extensive one to an intensive one has fallen behind schedule.
Wu is a researcher with the State Council Development Research Center, a top government think tank.
P(gun)~Advising Agenda Reform ң be lost on national
cx