China to See 7 Percent Annual Growth in Next 5 Years: ZhuPremier Zhu Rongji has proposed an annual growth rate of around seven percent for China's national economy during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period (2001-2005).Though slightly lower than the actual yearly growth rate of the Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), which stands at 8.3 percent, it is still fairly high, he said. Zhu made the proposal here Monday while delivering a report on the Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development at the opening of the Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC). Between 1996-2000, China's GDP increased by an average annual rate of 8.3 percent and it reached 8.9404 trillion yuan in 2000. He attributed the high growth rate to the government's adherence to dealing with all problems by developing the economy. Having brought inflation under control and achieved a successful "soft-landing", the government adopted the policy of boosting domestic demand, which helped overcome difficulties brought about by the Asian financial crisis and resulted in a sustained growth. Talking about how to achieve sustained growth in the next five years, Zhu said, "Arduous efforts have to be made to attain this target through better economic performance." Explaining why a seven percent annual growth rate is set for the next five years, Zhu said, "There exist some uncertainties both at home and abroad, and we have to leave some leeway when defining our target. "This will help people focus on restructuring and improving economic returns, and also help prevent overheating of the economy and poor quality or redundant development." According to the Tenth Five-Year Plan outline, by 2005, China's GDP will reach 1.25 trillion yuan, or 9,400 yuan per capita, and the per capita disposable income of urban residents and the per capita net income of rural dwellers will both go up by around five percent annually. |
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