Tone set, roadmap adopted, it's time again for action.
The tone is the "four comprehensives" as the guideline, meaning coordinated political and economic efforts to build a "moderately prosperous society" (the first and very core of the "four comprehensives").
The roadmap refers to measures and goals outlined in the series of "work reports" just adopted at the annual National People's Congress legislative session.
For action - "this way, please" - referring both to the new development model (slower but steady, sustainable growth) and to the key preconditions, including deepening reform, rule of law and strict discipline of the ruling Party (the other three "comprehensives").
All in all, what impresses me the most about this year's Two Sessions is steady development (steady and progressive) and a quickened pace of rule of law to redefine the roles of the government, market and society.
"Steady 2014" can be defined by steady growth, foreign trade and FDI, low inflation, grain harvest, a rising service sector etc... What's more significant is job generation, per capita disposable income, the proportion of budget spent on public goods and services. These stabilized the country and helped it withstand the many pressures and uncertainties at home and abroad when growth slowed down.
"Progressive 2014" can be defined by robust domestic consumption rising e-commerce, a record growth of small and micro firms registered, at a time when the government refrained from massive stimulus. More importantly, it can also be defined by vision and decisions, including the efforts to contain administrative powers, anti-corruption, judicial reform, urbanization by abolishing the widely-criticized double-standard I.D. registration system for urban and rural residents. Think also of diplomatic breakthroughs, including the "belt and road" initiatives, interconnectivity plans, a time table to curb climate change, free-trade pacts, global coordination to hunt for fugitives and RMB globalization.
But we also see an "awkward 2014" - energy intensity, environment degradation (e.g. smog), a fragile housing market, low quality public goods and services.
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