CHINA-NPC: CHINA'S DRAFT '14TH FIVE YEAR PLAN' AND 'LONG RANGE OBJECTIVES THROUGH 2035' STRESS SELF-RELIANCE IN HIGH-END S&T

The draft of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan outlines a drive for self-reliance in science and technology and reveals that over the next five years, China plans to invest substantially more in research on basic technology.  The draft establishes three major indicators: (i) From 2021 to 2025, China’s research and development (R&D) spending will increase by more than 7% a year. (ii) The number of high-value patents per 10,000 people will increase from 6.3 in 2020 to 12 in 2025. (iii) The added value of the digital-economy core industry as a proportion of GDP will rise from 7.8% in 2020 to 10% in 2025. The word “innovation” occurs frequently in China’s Five Year plan. In the draft of the 14th Five Year Plan, “Insisting on Innovation-Driven Development” was presented as the second chapter, underscoring its importance. Interesting is the Chinese government’s decision not to set a single GDP figure for the next Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). It has led some analysts to wonder whether the state was shifting its priorities and may indicate growing uncertainty about Beijing’s midterm economic future.  Hu Zucai, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, however, emphasized that GDP growth was still a priority. The state has still set a goal of 6 per cent growth for 2021.







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