第18届中央委员会第五次全体会议英文报道
第18届中央委员会第五次全体会议已在首都北京举行，会议将持续到周四。
A key policy meeting is underway here in the Chinese capital. The 18th CPC Central Committee is convening for the fifth plenary session from Monday to Thursday. Hundreds of Committee members have gathered for the closed-door conference. The plenum is the fifth out of seven that occur during each Central Committee's five-year term.
At the top of the agenda is reviewing a draft of the country’s 13th five-year plan. The blueprint maps the government's main economic and development initiatives for the period from 2016 to 2020. The plan will be the first to be produced under President Xi Jinping's leadership. Growth, rebalancing, upgrading, liberalization and the environment are expected to be among the overriding themes.
The country is striving for a development pattern of "higher quality, efficiency, equality and sustainability". Some movements within government posts will also be discussed.
Charting an economic path for the next five years.
China’s top leadership has gathered in Beijing to review draft plans of the 13th Five-Year Plan for national development at the fifth plenary session of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee. The plan, which will outline economic, environmental, and social reforms, will include highly anticipated GDP growth targets. China's top economic planners began drafting the plan in April last year. It is currently being discussed by the CPC Central Committee, and will formally be made effective during the next annual session of China’s top legislature next March.
In the last decade, the Chinese economy has moved away from double-digit growth, as it has faced downward pressure while undergoing structural transformation. The economy has entered a stage declared by China to be 'the new normal', characterized by slow, but higher quality growth.
"The economy is moving from an export-led model of growth to a consumption model of growth, a lot of structural changes. We'll see details of that coming out of the new plan," Jerome Booth, chairman of New Sparta said.
Last Friday, China's central bank removed the deposit cap for commercial lenders and rural cooperatives, a move that is seen by many as a milestone for the country's financial sector reform. Liberalizing interest rates is a key element of the central bank’s reform agenda, and is welcomed by economists.
"Scrapping the deposit rate cap will allow financial institutions to use more market forces in resource allocation, and channel financial resources to more efficient sectors. But reforms will be needed to ensure smooth changes," Ma Jun, chief economist of PBOC Research Bureau, said.
While economic development continues to top the agenda, personnel changes regarding some officials will also be announced during this session.
Additionally, the 13th Five-Year Plan is expected to focus on environment-related targets. Social reforms are also expected to deal with ongoing problems such as China's ageing population.
The conference will last for four days and will be a crucial one for the world's second-largest economy as it continues to push domestic reforms.
