Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), presides over the closing meeting of the Fourth Session of the 11th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 14, 2011. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)
In the coming five years and ahead, the country is believed by the leadership to be in an important period of strategic opportunities for development.
In addition to the 12th Five-Year Plan, the theme of scientific development and the transformation of the economic growth pattern are also evident in the freshly approved government work report.
Chen Wei, an NPC deputy from Shandong Province and mayor of Zaozhuang City, said the 12th Five-Year Plan has set specific goals for development in next five years.
The country will continue to make significant progress if the goals of economic restructuring and the transformation of economic growth pattern are realized. However, he warned that economic restructuring must be based on actual conditions and realistic measures.
Li Shanfeng, a sociologist with the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's social undertakings have legged behind rapid economic development in recent years.
The government should recognize that the fundamental objective of economic development is to improve people's livelihood, and should increase spending on social issues in the next five years, he added.
Improved livelihood is also instrumental in China's drive to expand domestic consumption, which will have positive effects on boosting healthy, coordinated and sustainable economic and social development, he said.
He added that the government had initiated the framework for reforming education, health care, social security and housing sectors in the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), and it should seize the opportunities now to improve the framework.
