Full Text: Report on China's economic, social development plan(8)

Overall, we have progressed smoothly in implementing the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.

1) Of the 11 sub-targets under the seven obligatory targets in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan which have been broken down into annual targets, we reached or exceeded eight of them, including those for water consumption per unit of value-added of industry, chemical oxygen demand, the emissions of sulfur dioxide, total ammonia nitrogen, the number of urban residents covered by the basic old-age insurance, the coverage rates of the three basic medical insurance schemes for urban and rural residents, the urban low-income housing projects, and the national population; however, we failed to meet the other three annual targets: energy consumption per unit of GDP, and the emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide.

2) Of the nine anticipated targets in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan which have been broken down into annual targets, we reached or exceeded seven of them, including those for GDP, the rate of urbanization, the gross enrollment ratio for senior secondary education, urban per capita disposable income, rural per capita net income, the urban registered unemployment rate, and the number of urban jobs newly created; however, we failed to meet the other two annual targets: the proportion of value-added of the service sector in GDP, and spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP.

3) The main reasons for our failure in meeting some annual targets are: the pattern of economic development has not been fundamentally changed, work on economic restructuring needs to speed up, heavy and chemical industries have too big a share of the economy, and the overall level of industrial technology is low; and some obligatory targets set in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan are new, the foundation for this work is weak, comprehensive and effective policies and measures are still not in place, measures that have been taken have not yet produced results, and our practical work needs further improvement.

In the face of grim and complex situations at home and abroad, we maintained good momentum in our country's economic and social development. This achievement did not come easily. It was the result of the scientific response and correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the persistent, solid work of all localities and departments, and the dedicated, concerted efforts of the people of all our ethnic groups, and it has fully demonstrated the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

While fully affirming our achievements, we are keenly aware that the macro-control situation we face in 2012 remains grim and complex.

Internationally, recovery of the world economy faces mounting uncertainties and instabilities; downward pressures on economic growth have increased considerably; the European sovereign debt crisis continues to worsen; the global financial markets are in a state of severe turmoil; and trade and investment protectionism is on the increase. International and regional hotspot issues are continuously cropping up, and the stable supply of global energy and resources is faced with serious challenges.