China will pursue a new model of economic growth in the coming
years, as defined by the country's 11th Five-Year Guidelines, a
senior government official said Sunday.
Ma Kai, the minister in charge of the National Development and
Reform Commission told the China Development Forum that over the
next five years China must truly get on the road of scientific and
harmonious development.
To achieve this, he said China must undertake six fundamental
changes.
China must strive to stimulate its domestic consumption instead
of relying on investment and exports.
China must seek a harmonious development among its primary,
secondary and tertiary industries and upgrade its economic
structure, and not rely solely on the expansion of
manufacturing.
To make its development more sustainable it must protect the
environment and conserve nonrenewable resources by reducing its
dependence on nonrenewable resources and improving the efficiency
of its consumption of those resources, he said.
Instead of relying on the input of capital and physical
resources, China must seek development through scientific and
technological progress and the development of human resources.
This, he said, could only be achieved by putting the emphasis on
innovations.
Another important change, Ma said, is instead of relying on
government intervention, China must allow market forces to play a
bigger role in the allocation of resources.
Lastly, China must make the improvement of people's living
standards as its first and foremost goal. China must shift its
attention from the growth of physical wealth to the comprehensive
development of human beings and balancing social and economic
development, Ma said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2006)