Economists’ Judgement on China’s Socio-Economic Development in the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

Editorial Division of China Economist
Institute of Industrial Economics (IIE), Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing, China

Abstract: 2020 is the final year of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan period and an intersection between the “two centennial goals.” It is also a vital year for drafting the 14th Five-year Plan and embarking on a new journey of socialist modernization. What socio-economic progress has China achieved during the 13th Five-Year Plan period and what are the opportunities, challenges and countermeasures for the 14th Five-Year Plan period? In May 2020, the China Economist conducted a questionnaire survey among economists. Results suggest that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, China has achieved remarkable progress in the following areas: significant socio-economic development, deepening industry-ICT integration, and rapid growth of new economy; mass entrepreneurship and mass innovation, and enhanced R&D capabilities for cutting-edge technologies; green production and the abatement of air and water pollution; and poverty reduction. In the 14th Five-Year Plan period, opportunities co-exist with challenges for China’s socio-economic development, which brims with resiliency. Surveyed economists felt sanguine about China’s development outlook. Based on the results, surveyed economists believed that the Chinese government should focus on the following priorities during the 14th Five-Year Plan period: expediting industrial transition, strengthening the real economy, and exploring domestic consumption potentials; ramping up research in fundamental science, and accelerating the research of critical technologies; increasing equal access to basic public services; and promoting green development in all respects, including green consumption, production, distribution, innovation, and finance.

Keywords: 14th Five-Year Plan period, economic development, innovation-led growth, public welfare, environmental protection

JEL classification code: O11, P28P21
DOI: 10.19602/j .chinaeconomist.2020.07.03

[add_to_card id=”20103680″]