PRC - Five Year Plan 2011 - 2015

[Fodla32 3,692]

China's legislature, the National People's Congress, endorsed the country’s 12th Five-Year Plan on 14 March 2011. This far-reaching plan sets the nation's course for the next five years: the social and economic measures contained in the plan will have a deep impact on the business landscape, both within China and in countries that do business with China.

 

Three of the main priorities in this plan are sustainable growth, industrial upgrading and the promotion of domestic consumption. These priorities explain why certain sectors, including energy, automotive, IT infrastructure and biotechnology also receive a high degree of focus.

 

This dedicated web page provides more insights on the implications for business and developments in particular sectors stemming from China's new programme of social and economic development.

 

http://www.kpmg.com/cn/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/publicationseries/5-years-plan/pages/default.aspx

 

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

Good to know what they're up to and what opportunities could be there, but lets not pretend that this is about anything except capitalist development.

[Fodla32 3,692]

Good to know what they're up to and what opportunities could be there, but lets not pretend that this is about anything except capitalist development.

 

 

State Capitalist development, but do we not also use the capitalist system (or try to) to further our aims?

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

State Capitalist development, but do we not also use the capitalist system (or try to) to further our aims?

 

Its a good question whether we should do this at all.  But when we do, our aims are communist ones.  Its hard to see that the aims of the PCC are anything but pure capitalistic ones.  They are reversing communism where it already exists, not advancing it.

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

The full plan can be read here http://cbi.typepad.com/files/full-translation-5-yr-plan-2011-2015.doc

[Fodla32 3,692]

Its a good question whether we should do this at all.  But when we do, our aims are communist ones.  Its hard to see that the aims of the PCC are anything but pure capitalistic ones.  They are reversing communism where it already exists, not advancing it.

 

 

I really don't agree with this.  China does not have much natural resources.  The only way it can get the means to build an industrial power is by importing, for this it needs foreign exchange.  How is it to get it, except through trade?  I think the same goes for us.  Today, State Owned Enterprises employ 50% of Chinese people, including all of what Lenin called "the commanding heights of the economy."  Should be more, of course, but that's an awful lot of people, and light years ahead of most other countries. Another important factor is that the state owns all the banks, so the CCP can reign in any private company that it wants to.

 

I think if you go back to the USSR, Western Socialists tended to dismiss it as it wasn't perfect, or even nearly perfect.  This was throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  It was only when the USSR was gone that we realised all the good it did in the world. There is a danger of doing the same with China.

[Fodla32 3,692]

This looks interesting - Three Essays On China's State Owned Enterprises: An Alternative to Privatisation, By Minqi Lee

 

Dedicated to the workers of the state owned paper-making factory of the City of Zhengzhou,

who in their banner wrote: “Reform must not lead to privatization.”

 

http://content.csbs.utah.edu/~mli/CV/China_State%20Owned%20Enterprises_Book.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nico 2,875]

You'd think the first thing on any Communist country's agenda, especially one with an economy like China's, would be to eliminate poverty, but yet millions still continue to live in abject poverty. China is a haven for entrepreneurs and big businesses, ready and willing to exploit the working class! 

[Fodla32 3,692]

You'd think the first thing on any Communist country's agenda, especially one with an economy like China's, would be to eliminate poverty, but yet millions still continue to live in abject poverty. China is a haven for entrepreneurs and big businesses, ready and willing to exploit the working class! 

 

 

Very true, but the fact is that poverty has been greatly reduced.  The World Bank claims that 600 million people have been raised out of poverty in China over the last 30 years.  It also has to be said that one of the main criticisms that China's state companies get is that they employ millions of people "just to give them jobs." The UN predicts that China's poverty rate will be 5% by 2015. That's an incredible achievement, given what China was like under imperialist misrule.

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1202142/chinas-formula-reduce-poverty-could-help-developing-nations

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

I really don't agree with this.  China does not have much natural resources.  The only way it can get the means to build an industrial power is by importing, for this it needs foreign exchange.  How is it to get it, except through trade?  I think the same goes for us.  Today, State Owned Enterprises employ 50% of Chinese people, including all of what Lenin called "the commanding heights of the economy."  Should be more, of course, but that's an awful lot of people, and light years ahead of most other countries. Another important factor is that the state owns all the banks, so the CCP can reign in any private company that it wants to.

 

I think if you go back to the USSR, Western Socialists tended to dismiss it as it wasn't perfect, or even nearly perfect.  This was throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  It was only when the USSR was gone that we realised all the good it did in the world. There is a danger of doing the same with China.

 

The ILO puts the figure in 1994 at approx 35% of the workforce (i'm unaware of any factor whereby that would have increased this significantly, I suspect it has decreased), which is high by international standards, but not exceptional and nowhere near Egypt or India.  The state capitalist model does have advantages over the market capitalist model.  China however is liberalising its economy, it is encouraging more and more private enterprise, it is moving away from communism.  Communists should be challenging this.  Its certainly no reason to support the fall of the PRC in favour of a pure market economy, but its moving that way by itself. 

 

If the expansion of the private sector continues, it won't be long until the banks are under the de facto control of the capitalists rather than the CCP, if this hasn't happened already.  Nominal state ownership of banks is worthless, as our own experience in Ireland clearly shows us.

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

You'd think the first thing on any Communist country's agenda, especially one with an economy like China's, would be to eliminate poverty, but yet millions still continue to live in abject poverty. China is a haven for entrepreneurs and big businesses, ready and willing to exploit the working class! 

 

It is interesting to note that the expansion of social welfare is a key element in the 5 year plan.  Its something we don't really hear about, and something I admit that I know relatively little about.

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

From the 5 year plan

 

 

Objective:

 

• Stick to the strategy of social protection reform in China, notably wide coverage, ensured basic benefits, multi-levels and sustainability

• Accelerate the establishment of social security system, which will cover both urban and rural residents,

• Raise the level of social insurances steadily

 

1. Accelerate the improvement of social insurance system

   • Achieve the full coverage of the new rural social pension insurance scheme

   • Improve the pension insurance scheme for urban workers and non-working urban residents (reaching the basic pension insurance at provincial pooling level; reaching basic pension funds at national pooling level and accomplishing the portability of pension insurance )

   • Promote gradually the effective interface/link between urban and rural pension schemes.

   • Initiate the reform of pension scheme for civil servants and staff of public agencies

   • Develop the enterprise annuity and occupational pension

   • Improve the working injury insurance scheme (increasing coverage, raising benefit level, establishing an integrated working injury insurance system covering prevention, compensation and rehabilitation).

   • Improve unemployment insurance and maternity insurance schemes.

   • Bring commercial insurance into play for its complementary role.

 

2. Strengthen the establishment of social assistance system

• Improve the urban and rural minimum living standard security systems

• Improve the dynamic adjustment mechanism of minimum living standard and increase the subsidy standard

• Strengthen the policy links between the urban-rural minimum living standards, minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and poverty reduction. Raise the support level of rural five guarantees

• Strengthen the special care and placement system

• Improving natural disaster system and temporary relief system

 

3. Active development of social welfare and philanthropy

• Enlarge gradually the scope and the benefit level of social welfare security.

• Improve social welfare service system by combination of family, community and welfare agency.

• Strengthen the welfare service for the disabled and the orphan.

• Speed up the development of philanthropy through raising awareness, developing charities and putting the tax preference policy for public welfare donations into effect.

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

On affordable housing

 

 

 

Chapter 35: Improve construction of affordable houses

 

Combine government control with market regulation; accelerate improvement of housing mechanism and policy system that are in line with the national conditions; gradually form a housing supply and demand pattern featuring substantially balanced total aggregates, reasonable structure, harmonisation between housing prices and consumption capabilities; achieve the goal that everyone has a home to live in.

 

1. Improve housing supply system

2. Increase the supply of low-income housing

3. Improve the real estate market regulation

 

 

Persist in the combination of the government control and the market regulation, to perfect the housing mechanism and the policy system that applies to the Chinese condition. Gradually set up a housing demand - and - supply pattern under which the gross is balanced in general, the structure is reasonable in general, the housing price and the consumption capacity adapt in general, so as to realize the housing assurance for the public.

 

Section 1 Perfect the Housing Supplying system

Aim at assuring the basic needs, direct the reasonable consumption, accelerate the establishment of the housing demand - and - supply system in which the basic assurance are provided mainly by the government while the demand of multi-level are filled mainly by the market itself. For the low-income families with housing difficulties in town, to practice the low-price renting mechanism, for the lower-middle-income families with housing difficulties, to practice the public renting mechanism, for the up-middle-income families with housing difficulties, to practice the mechanism that combine the renting and purchasing of the commercial house. Establish and perfect the housing standard system which is commercial, adaptable, environmental friendly and resources saving, advocate the consumption model that applies to the domestic condition.

 

Section 2 Enhance the supply of the affordable house

Strengthen the governmental responsibility, put more effort on the construction of the affordable housing project, basically release the supply deficiency of the affordable house. Collect the low-price renting house resources from multi-channel, perfect the renting subsidy mechanism. Give priority to the development of the public renting house, gradually make it the main body of the affordable house. Accelerate the reconstruction of the shanty towns. Standardize the development of the affordable house. Establish a stable investment mechanism, enhance the support of the fiscal fund, the house fund loan and the bank loan, steer the public participation and the construction of the affordable house. Strengthen the management of the affordable house, make a just, open and transparent policy and supervision procedure, strictly follow the standard for access, retreat and charge.

 

Section 3 Improve the market control for the real estate

Further fulfil the local government's responsibility and the accountability system, bring it into the development goal of various regions that to ensure basic housing, stabilize the house price and intensify the market monitoring, provincial governments take the overall responsibility while the governments at municipal and county level take the direct responsibility. Perfect the land supplying policy, increase the land gross for housing, give priority to the arrangement of the affordable housing land , effectively expand the supply of the general commercial house. Speed up the formulation of the basic housing assurance law, modify the urban real estate management law and relevant regulations, perfect the housing fund mechanism, reinforce the management and expand the coverage. Intensify the market supervision, standardize the order of the real estate market. Speed up the construction of the housing information system, improve the information publication system.

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

On improving basic health service

 

 

Chapter 34: Improve basic health care system

 

1. Strengthen the building of public health service system

2. Strengthen the building of urban and rural medical service system

3. Improve the medical insurance system

4. Improve the medicine supply system

5. Actively and steadily advance the reform of public hospitals

6. Support the development of traditional Chinese medicine

 

                Key medical and health projects

                01 Basic medical insurance system

                02 Public health service system

                03 Medical service system

                04 Training basis for general practitioner doctors

                05 Application of information technology in medical and health system

 

In accordance with the requirements basic protection, grassroots strengthening and mechanism building, we increase the government investment, deepen the reform of pharmaceutical and healthcare system, set up and improve the basic medical and health care system, speed up the development of medical and health care, give a priority to meet the basic medical and health of urban and rural residents.

 

1. Strengthen the development of public health care system

 

We will improve the public health care network to prevent and control the outbreak of major diseases, increase the standard of average expenditure on basic public health services, expand the basic national public health service programme, implement major public health projects, strengthen the prevention and control of major communicable diseases as well as chronic, occupational, endemic and mental illness and enhance our capacity to respond to public health emergencies. We will gradually complete the construction of health service network in rural areas, move toward universal access to health education, implement the national health plan and make people fully aware of no smoking in public. The electronic health record will be put in place for 70% of urban and rural residents. The mortality rate of pregnant and post-natal women will be decreased to 22/ 100,000, the mortality rate of infant will be decreased to 12‰.

 

 

2. Strengthen the construction of medical service system in urban and rural areas.

 

To have the county hospitals play the leading role, township and village hospitals serve as a basis, we will strengthen the construction of the three tiered county, township and village health service network in rural areas. Improve the new type of urban medical service system based on the community health service, increase medical care resources in favour of rural areas and urban communities. Accelerate the comprehensive innovation of primary medical care unit, set up multi-channel subsidies to facilitate a new operating mechanism. We will build up the ranks of basic medical service staffs, with the emphasis on cultivation of the general medical practitioner, perfect the incentive policies for them to work in grassroot level, the share of the general medical practitioner will reach 0.2 per 1000 persons. We will press forward the grading treatment and two way transfers system to create a situation in which all kinds of urban and rural medical institutions can benefit from division of labor and coordination of work. We will improve the regional health planning, encourage and guide the nongovernmental investors to establish medical institutions in order to form a diversified hospital running system.

 

3. Improve medical insurance system

 

We will improve the basic medical insurance system covering urban and rural residents, promote the development of basic medical insurance systems for urban workers and residents, new type of cooperative medical care system in rural areas and medical assistance. Gradually increase the fund raising standard, level of guarantee and minimize the gap of urban medical insurance and rural cooperative medical care. Increase the maximum payment and in-patient pay scale of medical insurance systems for urban workers and residents and new type of cooperative medical care system in rural areas to promote out-patient management. We will work out methods for connecting each system, integrate resources and raise the level of management step by setp, realize the transformation and continuity of the medical insurance and remote settlement of expenses for medical treatment. We will promote immediate settlement of basic medical expenses and innovate the means of payment. Commercial medical insurance will be actively developed the as a supplementary to the medical insurance system.

 

4. Improve the drug supply guarantee system

 

We will put in place a sound system to guarantee supplies of basic drugs based on the national system. We will fully implement the national system for basic drugs at the primary level and gradually equip to its utmost and preferentially use the basic drugs in other medical institutions. Establish dynamic list adjustment system of basic drugs, improve the systems of both price formation and dynamic adjustment, and increase the actual reimbursement level. Strengthen the drug producing oversight, overhaul the distribution order of the drugs, standardize the concentrated drug procurement and drug safety of medical institutions.

 

5. Actively yet prudently push forward the reforms of the public hospital

 

Adhered to the non-profit nature of the public hospital, we will actively explore the effective ways that institutions stop performing government functions, that supervision be separated from day to day operations, that healthcare be separated from pharmacy and that for profit institutions be separated from non-profit ones. Accelerate administrative system of modern hospital, establish scientific and reasonable system for selecting and employing personnel and system for distribution. Reform the subsidy system for public hospital and actively press forward the reform on means of payment. In light of patient centred spirit, we will strongly improve the internal management of public hospital, optimize the service process, and standardize the diagnosis and treatment in order to make it convenient for communities. Advance the system whereby the registered doctors are allowed to work in more than one practice, establish standardized training system for residents, close attention should be paid to mobilize the activity of medical staff.

 

 

6. Support the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

 

We will attach equal importance to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, develop the functions of treatment and preventive health care of Traditional Chinese Medicine and advance its inheritance and innovation, we will also pay greater attention to the development of ethnic minorities medicines. We will strengthen the institution construction and human resource development, strengthen the resource protection, research and exploration and reasonable utilization, push forward quality certification and standard formulation. Traditional Chinese Medicine should be encouraged to provide and make use of the medical security policy and essential drugs policy.

 

[Lugh Ildánach 2,352]

Developing an insurance based social welfare system, health insurance, removing governmental functions from hospital workers, provision of social housing and rent assistance for lower income families, with home purchase plans for upper income families.

 

This is the kind of communism that the CCP is striving for.  What's the difference between this system and what we have in Ireland today?

[Fodla32 3,692]

Developing an insurance based social welfare system, health insurance, removing governmental functions from hospital workers, provision of social housing and rent assistance for lower income families, with home purchase plans for upper income families.

 

This is the kind of communism that the CCP is striving for.  What's the difference between this system and what we have in Ireland today?

 

 

I agree with what your saying - though when was the last time the free state built social housing?  The liberals certainly have the upper hand, but the CCP is a very large party.  If you look for signs of retreat, you will certainly see them.  I'm just asking that we also be aware of the signs of progress.  I have no doubt that liberalism is being resisted, and we should be aware of that resistance and support it.

 

In my view, liberalism is greatly weakened in the the world, and Marxists are finding their old confidence.

[Fodla32 3,692]

The ILO puts the figure in 1994 at approx 35% of the workforce (i'm unaware of any factor whereby that would have increased this significantly, I suspect it has decreased), which is high by international standards, but not exceptional and nowhere near Egypt or India.  The state capitalist model does have advantages over the market capitalist model.  China however is liberalising its economy, it is encouraging more and more private enterprise, it is moving away from communism.  Communists should be challenging this.  Its certainly no reason to support the fall of the PRC in favour of a pure market economy, but its moving that way by itself. 

 

If the expansion of the private sector continues, it won't be long until the banks are under the de facto control of the capitalists rather than the CCP, if this hasn't happened already.  Nominal state ownership of banks is worthless, as our own experience in Ireland clearly shows us.

 

 

 

I got the figure of 50% from this article:

 

There are about 150,000 state owned enterprises (SOEs) in China, and many of them are under the direct management of a public body the State Assets Supervision and Administration Committee (Sasac).

 

When China launched its economic reforms in 1978, SOEs generated about 80% of China's gross domestic product. This has now dropped to about 18%, but SOEs remain a powerful force in the Chinese economy as they still employ about half of China's 750 million workforce and control just over 50% of its industrial assets. Further, they dominate some key sectors of the economic landscape such as power, telecommunications, financial services and transport.

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/blog/2012/jan/03/china-public-sector-leadership

 

 

As for the banks, it seems the SOE's still get preference:

 

According to Xinhua, at the end of 2011, there were 144,700 state-owned enterprises with total assets of 85.4 trillion yuan, revenues of 39.25 trillion yuan, and profits of 2.6 trillion yuan (43 percent of China’s total industrial and business profit).

 

85 percent of loans in 2009 were issued to SOEs, because banks themselves are state-owned, and are directed to let credit flow to other state-owned businesses. SOEs can get money more cheaply, paying lower rates for borrowing, and are more blasé about repaying these loans: SOE borrowing was a major source of non-performing loans in past crises.

 

http://thediplomat.com/2013/06/19/reforming-chinas-state-owned-enterprises/