China prioritizes quality, efficient development in five-year plan

BEIJING -- China will prioritize quality and efficient development in the next five years starting 2016, according to a communique released on Thursday following a four-day key meeting of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

China will accelerate the formation of a development pattern that can lead the economy in the "new normal" period, the communique said.

One of the most rapidly-growing economies, China is developing into a new economic period that features slower but quality growth. The economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2015, the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2009, but the economic structure is improving and fresh economic drivers, including service sector, are rising.

The communique said China should highlight innovation, coordinated and green development, opening up and inclusiveness to fulfill the economic goals in the next five year period.

The country will ensure it builds a moderately prosperous society as scheduled, the CPC said. It is aiming to double its 2010 GDP and per capita income of residents both in cities and rural areas by 2020.

To realize the goal, the country will continue to deepen reforms and stick to the rule of law and the leadership of the CPC, according to the communique.

The CPC leaders convened in Beijing on Monday to discuss an economic blueprint that will set the direction for the world's second largest economy over the 2016-2020 period. A final plan will be ratified by the annual session of China's top legislature in March next year.