Global experts laud new 5-year plan

'Dual-circulation' model is a focal point of their comments on economic growth

China's latest development blueprint not only sets the direction of its social and economic development, but also provides a view toward stability to the pandemic-hit world, said analysts and academics after the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced its proposals for the next five years.

"The ability of the Chinese leaders to set realistic and achievable development agendas is one of the salient features of the Chinese governance model," said Ahmed Quraishi, senior research fellow at Project Pakistan 21, an independent research organization in Islamabad.

"It's reassuring for Chinese citizens, friendly neighbors and international investors."

Guidelines for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for economic and social development were included in a communique released on Thursday after the four-day Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC in Beijing.

The goals set by the new plan will result in a very large rise in China's total GDP as well as its domestic consumer market, said Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at global consultancy IHS Markit.

"A key long-term goal set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan is the objective of becoming a moderately developed nation within just 15 years, by 2035," he said. "This means that China would become a high-income nation, rising beyond its current status as an upper-middle-income developing country, as defined by World Bank income thresholds for countries worldwide.

"This will reinforce the 'dual circulation' strategy by significantly increasing consumption expenditure and making consumer spending an increasingly important contributor to annual GDP growth," Biswas said.