India should pay close attention to China's 13th Five-Year Plan

China's 13th Five-Year Plan, the country’s new blueprint unveiled early this month, should should be closely considered by India since it brings numerous opportunities for many nations including India, according to China's ambassador to India.

In an article published in the Indian Express, Ambassador Le Yucheng answered the question "why India must track China's 13.5 (13th Five-Year Plan)", saying that the development plan, drafted during the 5th plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, is closely watched by the world.

During the 13th five-year period (2016-20), more external resources will be invited to China, and at the same time, the “Going Out” strategy will be enhanced, Le said, adding that China’s investment overseas is likely to grow at an annual rate of 15 percent.

The ambassador pointed out that President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met five times within a year, and Modi has met with quite a few Chinese business leaders, including Jack Ma Yun, founder and chairman of Alibaba, during his visits to India.

A number of China’s business giants have invested in India in recent years, with many others planning to invest more. For example, the heavy machinery manufacturer SANY Group plans to invest $3 billion in India in the next five years. LeTV will launch its new smartphone in India early next year, following the steps of Huawei and Xiaomi that have produced and sold smartphones in India for years.

"With deepening engagement, China and India will have a bigger platform for cooperation," the ambassador said, adding that China-India relations have enjoyed fast growth in the past years.

"The upcoming 13th Five-Year Plan is not only about China’s reform and innovation, but also about the close integration and shared development of China and the world”.

Le noticed that the word “development” was mentioned 95 times in the 6,000-word communiqué of the session. "As the world's largest developing country, China still has 70 million of its population in poverty and needs to create 10 million new jobs every year. Thus its growth rate cannot be too low."

China welcomes all countries to board its fast train of development, in pursuit of the shared dream of win-win cooperation, he said.