12th Five-Year Plan

The 12th Five-Year Plan is a strategic guideline made for China's economic and social development from 2011 to 2015. The new five-year plan aims to balance the world’s fastest growing economy and narrow the income gap between rich and poor. The 12th Five-Year Plan period is described as a crucial stage for building a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way and a time for deepening the reform and opening-up process while accelerating the transformation of the nation’s economic development. Both overseas and domestic experts anticipate the new plan to focus more on rural areas, where development lags far behind the big cities. In addition to urban-rural relations, experts believe China should also promote technological innovation and value-added products to change its economic structure. This restructuring will also help the country reduce its emissions levels that were caused by high-speed industrialization.