Communique of the 5th Plenum of the 17th Communist Party of China Central Committee, Oct. 18, 2010

BEIJING, October 18, 2010 (Xinhua)

The Fifth Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee was held in Beijing from October 15 to 18, 2010.

Present at the plenum were 202 members and 163 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee. Members of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and leading officials of relevant departments attended the meeting as non-voting delegates. Some delegates to the 17th CPC National Congress, including a few from the grass roots and a few experts and scholars, also attended the meeting as non-voting delegates.

The plenum was presided over by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered an important speech at the plenum.

The plenum listened to and discussed the working report delivered by Hu Jintao, who was entrusted by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and adopted the "CPC Central Committee's Proposal for Formulating the 12th Five-Year Program for China's Economic and Social Development (2011-2015)". Wen Jiabao made an explanatory speech on the draft proposal to the plenum.

The plenum fully recognized the work of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee since the Fourth Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee. The plenum unanimously agreed that the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, faced with the fallout of the international financial crisis and sweeping changes in international and domestic landscapes, has thoroughly implemented the guidelines of the 17th CPC National Congress and the First, Second, Third and Fourth plenums of the 17th CPC Central Committee, held high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and followed the guidance of the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of the "Three Represents," and comprehensively implemented the Scientific Outlook on Development. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has united and led the whole Party, military and Chinese people of all ethnic groups to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, effectively implement the stimulus package to counter repercussions of the international financial crisis, improve macro-regulation in a targeted manner, consolidate achievements in fighting the international financial crisis, accelerate the transformation of the economic growth mode, maintain stable and relatively rapid economic development. The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee has united and led the whole Party, military and Chinese people of all ethnic groups to make efforts to ensure and improve people's livelihoods, effectively cope with severe natural disasters such as the Yushu earthquake in Qinghai province and the Zhouqu mudslide in Gansu province, successfully accomplish the campaign of learning in-depth the Scientific Outlook on Development by all Party members and successfully host the Shanghai World Expo. The plenum agreed that remarkable progress had been made in various works and programs of the Party and the nation.

The plenum held that the 12th Five-Year Plan period is a crucial stage for building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and a time of difficult issues for deepening the reform and opening-up process while accelerating the transformation of the nation's economic development pattern. Properly setting the 12th Five-Year Plan on the basis of an in-depth and accurate grasp of the changes and characteristics of domestic and international situations is of great significance to further seizing and effectively utilizing our country's important period of strategic opportunities, promoting steady and relatively rapid long-term economic development, winning new victories in building a moderately prosperous society and pushing forward the great cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The plenum spoke highly of our country's great achievements in economic and social development during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, holding that the CPC had unified and led the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, firmly focused on development, the top priority of the Party in governing and rejuvenating the country, carried out the Party's theories and guidelines, principles and policies, implemented proper and forceful macroeconomic regulation, given full play to the political advantages of China's socialist system, brought into full play the fundamental role of market in allocating resources, thus bringing fresh and historic changes to the nation. After striving for five years, our country has achieved fast development of social productivity, drastic enhancement of overall national strength, remarkable improvement of living standards, and a marked rise in international status and influence, and also made major progress in the socialist economic, political, cultural, social and conservation culture development, as well as Party building, thus having composed a new epic recounting the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The achievements of the five years are hard won, the experience accumulated is precious and the spiritual fortune created will last long.

The plenum made an in-depth analysis of the domestic and international environment for China's economic and social development during the coming period, and put stress on the fact resulting from a comprehensive assessment of international and domestic situations that China is still in an important period of strategic opportunities during which there is a great deal China can achieve, and it is faced with both precious historic opportunities and plenty of foreseeable and unforeseeable risks and challenges. We should strengthen the awareness of opportunities and potential risks, properly master the law of development, actively adjust to the changes of environment, effectively solve various problems, and strive to push forward our country's reform and opening-up process and socialist modernization drive.

The plenum pointed out that the formulating of the 12th Five-Year Plan must hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, thoroughly apply the Scientific Outlook on Development, adjust to the new changes of domestic and international situations, comply with the people's new expectations of living better lives, take scientific development as the theme, employ the expedited transformation of the economic development pattern as the main line, deepen the reform and the opening-up process, safeguard and improve the people's livelihoods, consolidate and expand the fruits reaped from coping with the international financial crisis, and promote steady and relatively fast long-term economic development and social harmony and stability, so as to lay a decisive foundation for building a moderately prosperous society.

The plenum stressed that in contemporary China, the adherence to development as a task of overriding importance means sticking to scientific development, laying more stress on the "people first" principle, paying more attention to comprehensive, sustainable development and overall planning and coordination, and putting more emphasis on securing and improving people's livelihood to promote social equality and justice. Acceleration of the transformation of the economic development pattern marks a profound reform in both economic and social sectors and must proceed throughout every realm and all the course of economic and social development. Economic strategic restructuring should be a major task of the transformation of economic development mode. The promotion of scientific and technological progress and innovation should be taken as an important support to the transformation, while ensuring and improving people's livelihood should be the very aim and fundamental end of the move. The building of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society should be a focal point in the transformation of the economic development mode. It is imperative to take reform and opening-up as a powerful driving force for speeding up the transformation, and score more comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable growth to seek sound and fast economic and social development.

After comprehensive considerations of future development trends and conditions, the plenum proposed the following as the major targets for economic and social development in the next five years: to maintain stable and relatively fast economic growth; to achieve major development in economic restructuring; to universally raise people's incomes at a relatively fast pace; to remarkably enhance social construction; to continuously deepen reform and opening-up; to achieve substantial progress in transforming the economic development pattern; to remarkably strengthen the country's comprehensive national power, international competitiveness and capability in shielding against risks; to make notable progress in meeting people's living and cultural demands; and to further consolidate the foundation for the making of a better-off society in an all-round way.

Participants at the plenum stressed adherence to the policy of boosting domestic demand, maintaining stable and relatively fast economic development, and strengthening and improving macro-control measures. The plenum called for the establishment of a long-term mechanism to expand consumption, the optimization of investment structures, and quickened pace of the building of a new growth pattern that is jointly driven by consumption, investment and exports. Efforts should be made to push forward rural modernization, accelerate the construction of new socialist rural area, maintain coordinated development in rural and urban regions, promote the development of modern agriculture, improve public services and infrastructure construction in rural areas, and seek new ways to increase farmers' incomes. The rural development system will also be improved to build contented homes for farmers. The plenum underscored the establishment of a modern industrial system and enhancement of the core competitiveness of industries by transforming and upgrading the manufacturing sector, developing strategic emerging industries, and accelerating the growth of the service sector. It is stressed that the construction of the modern energy industry and the building of a comprehensive transport system should be boosted, while raising the level of informatization and encouraging the marine economy. Balanced development between regions should be maintained and urbanization should be pushed forward in a positive and sound manner. The master strategy of regional development and the strategy of main functional regions will be implemented, and the urbanization pattern will be improved with enhanced urban management. Poverty alleviation work that targets old revolutionary base areas, ethnic regions, border areas and poverty-stricken areas will be strengthened. Great importance should be attached to building a regional development pattern that enables regions to make their advantages complementary with main functions clearly defined, enables more efficient spatial use of the land, and achieves a harmonious relation between humans and nature. It is urged that the building of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society should be accelerated, and the ecological conservation culture should be promoted. More work should be done to proactively combat global climate change, increase environment protection, develop the recycling economy, improve resource conservation and management, speed up the construction of the ecological protection system and that of disaster prevention and reduction, and enhance the ability of maintaining sustainable development. The plenum urged further enforcement of the strategy of rejuvenating the nation through science and education and through the cultivation of talented personnel to build an innovative country. The plenum called for upgrading China's scientific innovation ability, improving the innovation system and accelerating educational reform and development, which encourages talent and lays a solid foundation in terms of science and technology and human resources for the transformation of economic development pattern and achieving the goal of building a moderately prospe rous society in an all-round way.

The plenum called for ensuring and improving people's livelihoods by gradually perfecting the fundamental public service system that should be working in line with China's overall situation, relatively comprehensive, covering urban and rural areas, and sustainable; by enhancing the government's capacity for safeguarding people's livelihoods; and by promoting equal fundamental public services. Efforts should also be made to reinforce social construction and establish and improve a fundamental public service system, to promote employment and harmonious labor relations, to reasonably adjust income distribution, to increase the ratio of people's incomes to the national income and the ratio of workers' incomes in the primary distribution of national income, to perfect the social security system that covers urban and rural residents, to accelerate the reform and development of the healthcare sector, to do a good job in population management, to enhance and innovate in social management, to properly handle contradictions among the people, and to take concrete measures to secure social harmony and stability.

The plenum pointed out that culture is the spirit and soul of a nation, and is the power to propel development of a country and the revitalization of a nation. Efforts should be made to help the culture sector prosper, to boost the country's soft power in cultural fields, to consistently advance the development of the socialist culture, and to improve the Chinese people's civil education. The plenum also called for efforts to promote cultural innovation, to deepen the reform of the cultural system, and to boost cultural undertakings and the cultural industry. Efforts should also be made to satisfy the people's ever-growing demand for cultural products, to basically build up a public service system of culture, to make the culture industry one of the pillar industries for the national economy, to give full play to the role of culture in guiding, educating people and promoting development, to build a spiritual home for the Chinese nation, and to boost cohesion and creativity of the nation.

The plenum emphasized that reform is a powerful driving force for accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode, and reform in every realm must be pushed forward in an all-round way with greater resolve and courage. Great impetus should be given to economic system reform, while vigorous yet steady efforts should be made to promote political restructuring. Work should be done to accelerate reform in cultural and social systems to make sure the superstructure adapts to development and changes in economy and to provide a strong guarantee for scientific development. The fundamental economic system should be stuck to and improved; administrative system reform should be promoted; reforms of fiscal and taxation systems should be accelerated; financial system reform should be deepened; reform in resource products pricing and market should be advanced; and reform in social program system should be quickened. A mutually-beneficial strategy of opening-up should be pursued and more efforts should be made to further open up to the outside world, optimize the foreign trade structure, improve the quality of foreign investment utilization and accelerate the pace in implementing the "going global" strategy. It is necessary to actively participate in global economic governance and regional cooperation, to push forward development, deepen reform and promote innovation by opening up, and to vigorously create new advantages for participating in global economic cooperation and competition.

The plenum stressed that the leadership by the Party is the fundamental guarantee for achieving the goals of economic and social development during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Work in improving the CPC's ruling capacity and maintaining the Party's advanced nature must be strengthened to promote the Party's competence in leading the country's economic and social development. Party committees at all levels should accurately understand the trends of development, scientifically make development blueprint, diligently innovate in the pattern of development, promote the overall and balanced planning and coordination of development, and effectively boost the quality of development. All Party members should unswervingly practise the theory of the Party, follow the line of the Party and implement the Party's principles and policies, and firmly cherish the idea of scientific development. Concrete efforts should be made to intensify the building of the Party at grassroots organizations, to deepen the campaign of contending for excellence, and to lead the general public to boost the sound and fast development of the economy and society. Officials at all levels must adhere to the fundamental tenet of serving the people with heart and soul, follow the Party's mass line, always keep a flesh-and-blood relationship with the people, foster a proper view of political achievements, and work hard to make real achievements that can stand the tests of practice, the people and history. It is necessary to intensify efforts to combat corruption and promote clean government, and to energetically carry forward the glorious traditions and exemplary work styles of the Party so as to create a good Party conduct, which will help unite the Party members and win the support of the people to form a great force for advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The plenum asserted that the organic unity of adherence to leadership by the Party, ensuring that the people are masters of the country and governing the country according to law must be upheld, while developing socialist democracy, accelerating the building of a socialist country under the rule of law, and consolidating and expanding the ever increasingly inclusive patriotic united front. The building of a modern national defense system and modern armed forces must be strengthened with the abilities to conduct diverse military missions with a focus on the ability to win regional wars under information-based conditions. To maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao, the principles of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong," "Macao People governing Macao," a high degree of autonomy and administration of the two regions in strict adherence to basic laws of the special administrative regions must be unswervingly implemented. In advancing the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the cause of national reunification, the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations must be firmly pursued, cross-Strait economic cooperation deepened, and cross-Strait exchanges among all circles of life expanded. Hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, adhere to peaceful foreign policy of independence, pursue peaceful development, actively participate in international cooperation, safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, and accelerate the building of a harmonious world that enjoys long-lasting peace and common prosperity together with other countries in the world.

The plenum comprehensively analyzed the current situation and tasks and stressed that through the joint efforts of the whole Party and the people, the national economy continues to move in the right direction expected from the macroeconomic control, new achievements have been made in all kinds of undertakings, and overall social stability has been maintained. The whole Party should improve awarenesses of the Party, the tenets and governance, and the overall situation and responsibility, grasp opportunities and avoid losing them, concentrate on construction and whole-heartedly seek development, promote a sense of principle, systemization, foresight and creativity in the work, promote the spirit of real practice and solid work, attach the greatest importance to the responsibilities entrusted by the Party and the people, closely rely on the broad masses of the people to conquer all obstacles and difficulties on the way forward with the ever-stronger unity of the Party and the people, deal with work in reform, development and stability well with steady effort to strive to realize this year's goals of economic and social development.

The plenum stressed that the country was hit by a wave of serious natural disasters from the beginning of this year, which have caused grave damage to the lives of people in the disaster-hit areas. With joint efforts of various departments and localities,remarkable progress has been made in the relief and rescue processes. At present, the country still faces arduous tasks of helping the resettlement of affected residents and rebuilding the disaster-hit areas. Relevant departments of the central government and all levels of the CPC units and government offices in the disaster-hit areas should pay high attention to these tasks. They should scientifically plan, increase input in, meticulously organize, and seriously carry out recovery efforts. They should tend to the affected people' s basic living needs, speed up drafting and implementation of reconstruction plans, help bring the local economy, especially agricultural production, back on track, help the affected people rebuild homes, and facilitate social and economic development. During the reconstruction, they must continuously combine improvements with reductions in damage, balance disaster prevention and reduction efforts, tackle problems at root and at surface, and join government and social efforts. Programs to address the weaknesses of water resources projects should be started as soon as possible. Efforts should also be sped up to establish risk assessment systems, monitoring networks, and disaster prevention and emergency response systems in disaster-prone areas, in a bid to strengthen the country' s comprehensive ability to head off and deal with natural disasters.

The plenum agreed that the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) be augmented to include Xi Jinping as a vice-chairman.

The plenum also decided, in line with the Party's constitution, to appoint Yan Rongzhu, an alternate member of the CPC Central Committee, to fill a vacancy and become a member of the CPC Central Committee.

The plenum examined and approved a report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on the issue of Kang Rixin. It decided to expel Kang from the CPC Central Committee, and also endorsed a decision, made by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Dec. 29, 2009, to strip Kang of his CPC membership.

The plenum called on all CPC members and peoples of all ethnic groups to closely unite around the Party's Central Committee, led by Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, to earnestly learn and implement the spirit of the plenum, emancipate their minds, seek truth from facts, keep pace with the times, blaze new trails in a pioneering spirit, and unite as one to strive to achieve the goals of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) on national economic and social development.

The original text can be found here.