China to Quadruple GDP in 2020 from 2000: Jiang

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, November 08, 2002

China to Quadruple GDP in 2020 from 2000: Jiang

By the year 2020, China will become a "well-off society" in an all-around way when the country's GDP is quadrupled from that of 2000, and its overall national strength and international competitiveness will increase markedly, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Jiang Zemin told the Party's 16th Congress in Beijing Friday.

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China will strive to quadruple its gross domestic product (GDP) of 2000 by the year 2020, and the country's overall national strength and international competitiveness will increase markedly, Jiang Zemin said Friday.

This is one of the objectives of building a well-off society in an all-round way expounded by Jiang Zemin in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).

China succeeded in quadrupling its GDP during the last two decades of the 20th century.

Jiang said in the report that China will concentrate on building a well-off society of a higher standard in an all-round way to the benefit of well over one billion people.

"We will further develop the economy, improve democracy, advance science and education, enrich culture, foster social harmony and upgrade the texture of life for the people," he said.

The two decades of development will serve as an inevitable connecting link for attainting third-step strategic objectives for China's modernization drive as well as a key stage for improving the socialist market economy and opening wider to the outside world, Jiang said.

Building on what is achieved at this stage and continuing to work for several more decades, China will have in the main accomplished the modernization program and turned China into a strong, prosperous, democratic and culturally advanced socialist country by the middle of this century.

Jiang said that on the basis of an optimized structure and better economic returns, China will in the main achieve industrialization and establish a full-fledged socialist market economy and a more open and viable economic system.

The proportion of urban population will go up considerably and the trend of widening differences between industry and agriculture, between urban and rural areas and between regions will be reversed step by step.

"We will have a fairly sound social security system," Jiang said. "There will be a higher rate of employment. People will have more family property and lead a more prosperous life."

The second objective of building a well-off society is that socialist democracy and the legal system will be further improved. The basic principle of ruling the country by law will be fully implemented. People's political, economic and cultural rights and interests will be respected and guaranteed in real earnest. Democracy at the grassroots level will be better practiced. People will enjoy a sound public order and live and work in peace and contentment.

The third objective is that people's ideological and ethical standards, scientific and cultural qualities, and their health will be enhanced notably. A sound national educational system, scientific, technological and cultural innovation systems as well as nationwide fitness and medical and health systems will take shape. People will have access to better education.

"We will make senior secondary education basically universal in the country and eliminate illiteracy. A learning society in which all people will learn or even pursue life-long education will emerge to boost their all-round development," Jiang said.

The fourth objective is that the capability of sustainable development will be steadily enhanced. The ecological environment will be improved. The efficiency of using resources will be increased significantly.

"We will enhance harmony between man and nature to push the whole society onto a path of civilized development featuring the growth of production, an affluent life and a sound ecosystem," he said.

In order to attain these objectives, it is imperative to come up with new ideas for development, make new breakthroughs in reform, break new ground in opening up and take new moves in all fields of endeavor, he said.

All localities and departments must proceed from their actual conditions and take effective measures to attain the objectives. Places where conditions permit may develop faster and take the lead in accomplishing modernization on the basis of building a well-off society in an all-round way, Jiang Zemin said.

Better Job in Opening up

China should do a better job in opening up by "bringing in" and "going out", Jiang Zemin said in the report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

In response to the new situation of economic globalization and China's entry into the WTO, China should take part in international economic and technological cooperation and competition on a broader scale, in more spheres and on a higher level, make the best use of both international and domestic markets, optimize the allocation of resources, expand the space for development and accelerate reform and development by opening up, he said.

China should implement the strategy of market diversification, bring into play its comparative advantages and strive to increase exports by ensuring good quality, he added.

"We should attract more foreign direct investment and use it more effectively," Jiang said.

He also said that it is necessary to encourage and help relatively competitive Chinese enterprises with various forms of ownership to invest abroad in order to form a number of strong multinational enterprises.

Income Distribution

China should establish the principle that labor, capital, technology, managerial expertise and other production factors participate in the distribution of income in accordance with their contributions, thereby improving the system under which distribution according to work is dominant and a variety of modes of distribution coexist, Jiang stressed in his report.

"Rationalizing the relations of distribution bears on the immediate interests of the general public and the display of their initiative," Jiang said in his report to the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which opened here Friday morning.

"We should give priority to efficiency with due consideration to fairness, earnestly implementing the distribution policy while advocating the spirit of devotion, and guarding against an excessive disparity in income while opposing equalitarianism," Jiang said.

"Bearing in mind the objective of common prosperity, we should try to raise the proportion of the middle-income group and increase the income of the low-income group," he added.

Jiang said that China should improve the basic old-age pension and medical insurance systems for urban workers and the systems of unemployment insurance and subsistence allowances for urban residents.

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