China's 11th Five-Year Plan

China's 11th Five-Year Plan
Name	Eleventh Five-Year Plan (People's Republic of China)
Native name	十一五计划
Country	People's Republic of China
Period	2006–2010
Adopted	2006
Planners	National Development and Reform Commission; State Council; Communist Party of China
Previous	Tenth Five-Year Plan
Next	Twelfth Five-Year Plan

China's 11th Five-Year Plan The Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006–2010) was a national socio-economic blueprint announced by the Politburo and ratified at the National People's Congress. It was drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission with leadership input from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, endorsed by Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, and influenced by international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The plan sought to rebalance growth promoted under Jiang Zemin and Deng Xiaoping-era policies, addressing industrial restructuring, energy intensity, environmental targets, and social welfare alongside provincial implementation led by Guangdong and Sichuan among others.

Background and formulation

The plan emerged after the Tenth Five-Year Plan and in the wake of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, with formulation involving the Politburo Standing Committee, the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission, and think tanks such as the Development Research Center of the State Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Key actors included leaders Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Premier Wen’s economic team, Vice Premier Huang Ju, and provincial chiefs from Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong, while expert input came from economists associated with Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University. International context featured consultations with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and trade partners like the United States, the European Union, and Japan. Policy debates referenced lessons from the Soviet Five-Year Plans, postwar reconstruction paradigms, and policy experiments in Shenzhen and Pudong.

Economic goals and performance targets

Central numerical targets set by the National People's Congress and the Central Committee included GDP growth guidance, per capita income increases, and urbanization rates, with monitoring by the National Bureau of Statistics and provincial statistical bureaus in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia. The plan articulated a target to reduce energy intensity by 20 percent across the 2006–2010 period, benchmarks for industrial output in sectors such as steel and coal, and service-sector expansion similar to trends in Shanghai and Beijing. Targets intersected with fiscal policy instruments from the Ministry of Finance and monetary oversight by the People’s Bank of China, while trade outcomes impacted exporters in Zhejiang and Fujian and importers linked to the Port of Shanghai and the Port of Ningbo.

Major policy initiatives and sectoral priorities

Policy initiatives prioritized industrial upgrading, technological innovation, and urban-rural integration. Industrial policy measures referenced state-owned enterprise reform in SOEs such as China National Petroleum Corporation and China Mobile, incentives for private firms in Shenzhen and Yiwu, and support for multinational collaborations with firms like Huawei, Lenovo, and ZTE. Science and technology priorities drew on institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology, with investments in high-speed rail projects connecting Beijing, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, and in aerospace activities linked to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Agricultural policies engaged the Ministry of Agriculture, targeted provinces such as Henan and Sichuan, and linked to rural taxation reforms piloted in Anhui and Jiangxi. Social-policy complements referenced health initiatives influenced by the World Health Organization, education upgrades in universities including Nanjing University and Wuhan University, and pension adjustments administered by municipal authorities in Shanghai and Chengdu.

Environmental and energy policies

Environmental provisions established emissions and energy-efficiency targets enforced by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and monitored through provincial bureaus in Hebei, Shanxi, and Guangdong. The plan’s energy agenda engaged state energy enterprises including China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical Corporation, and China Shenhua Energy Company, and promoted renewable investments involving the China National Renewable Energy Centre and firms such as Goldwind and Sinovel. Key measures targeted reductions in sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand, afforestation programs with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and pilot carbon-efficiency projects in Tianjin and Shenzhen. International environmental linkages involved cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme, the Kyoto Protocol framework debates, and technology transfers from firms in Germany and Denmark.

Implementation, governance, and fiscal measures

Implementation relied on a multi-tiered governance apparatus: the State Council, provincial governments in Guangdong and Liaoning, municipal authorities in Shanghai and Chongqing, and county-level administrations. Fiscal measures included central transfers administered by the Ministry of Finance, tax incentives coordinated with the State Administration of Taxation, and bond financing via policy banks such as the China Development Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank of China. Monetary policy tools applied by the People’s Bank of China and regulatory oversight by the China Banking Regulatory Commission framed credit flows to prioritized sectors. Monitoring incorporated performance evaluation mechanisms used by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and auditing by the National Audit Office, while pilot projects in Hainan and Tibet tested deregulation and targeted investment models.

Outcomes, impacts, and evaluations

Evaluations by domestic agencies including the National Bureau of Statistics and external institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund recorded mixed outcomes: strong aggregate GDP growth in coastal provinces like Guangdong and Jiangsu, advances in service-sector expansion in Beijing and Shanghai, and progress toward the 20 percent energy-intensity reduction target albeit with regional variation across Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Critiques from scholars at Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences highlighted persistent regional disparities, pollution legacies in Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta, and challenges in SOE reform exemplified by enterprises such as China Huaneng Group. Legacy effects influenced the subsequent Twelfth Five-Year Plan and informed China's evolving engagement with multilateral institutions including the G20, the Asian Development Bank, and bilateral partners such as the United States and the European Union.

Category:Five-Year Plans of China