The 12th Five-Year Plan of China, officially the 12th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, was a set of economic goals designed to strengthen the Chinese economy between 2011 and 2015. It was drafted during the fifth plenum of the 17th Central Committee of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) held in October 2010.

Drafting

The Twelfth Five-Year Guideline was debated in mid-October 2010 at the fifth plenum of the 17th Central Committee, the same session in which

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

was selected as

Vice Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

. A full proposal for the plan was released following the plenum and approved by the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

(NPC) on 14 March 2011.

Goals

The goals of the plan included addressing rising inequality and creating an environment for more sustainable growth by prioritizing more equitable wealth distribution, increased domestic consumption, and improved social infrastructure and social safety nets. Improvements in the social safety net were intended to reduce precautionary saving. The plan sought to expand the services industry in order to increase employment and continue urbanization to help raise

real wages Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or equivalently wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account for ...

. The plan is representative of China's efforts to rebalance its economy, shifting emphasis from investment towards consumption and development from urban and coastal areas toward rural and inland areas – initially by developing small cities and greenfield districts to absorb coastal migration. Economic rebalancing was the plan's core objective. The plan also continues to advocate objectives set out in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan to enhance environmental protection, accelerate the process of opening and reform, and emphasize Hong Kong's role as a center of international finance. Early in the Twelfth Year Plan period, Chinese policymakers concluded that the China had achieved energy intensity targets set by the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. China had also emerged as a world leader in renewable energy technology. The Twelfth Five-Year Plan targeted the use of non-fossil fuel energy sources to 11.4% of energy use over 2011–2015. The Plan also provided for the development of an ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission corridor to increase the integration of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

from the point of generation to its point of consumption. Additionally, the Plan called for gradual implementation of a national carbon trading market in China. To facilitate

carbon trading Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon pricing, its purpose ...

and to more broadly help assess emissions targets and meet the transparency requirements of the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

, the Plan improved the system for greenhouse gas emissions monitoring. This was the first time that carbon emissions trading had featured in one of China's Five-Year Plans.

Results

By 2015, China had achieved the energy intensity targets set by the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for hydro power, wind power, solar power, carbon intensity, energy intensity, and non-fossil share of primary energy.

References

{{Five-year plans of China 2011 in China 2012 in China 2013 in China 2014 in China 2015 in China 2010s in China 2010s in economic history 12

Drafting

Goals

Results

See also

References