BEIJING: China has unveiled plans to use a county near Shanghai as a template to bridge the vast wealth gap in the nation, some of the metrics employed to measure progress towards "general prosperity". illuminates.
Jiashan County has been designated as a key test area for "general prosperity", according to a directive issued on Tuesday by the country's top economic planning organization, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
As Beijing slammed the Eastern Province. Zhejiang is designated as a demonstration. region last year in its effort to reduce inequality and create a more equal society.
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The document outlined several specific goals, including increasing the percentage of the local population to 82 percent by 2025 and balancing per capita disposable income between urban and rural residents. According to the plan, R&D expenditure will also be 4% of regional economic output.
By 2035, officials predict that the 648,000-plus person area will become "a model of high-quality, county-level development." NDRC officials said in the statement that "[it] is very important in all aspects to help build a modern socialist country."
At the 20th Party Congress held last month, Chinese leaders placed greater emphasis on closing the wealth gap and included the goal of "gradually achieving common prosperity for all" in the updated party constitution.
According to the report of the 20th Party Congress, the middle class should grow "substantially" by 2035.
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However, after President Xi Jinping announced strict monitoring of the way money is deposited in the country, speculation is rife about what strategy Beijing might adopt to achieve "general prosperity" and how the government will measure progress.
Han Baojiang, professor and director of the Department of Economics at the Communist Party's Central Party School, suggested that the Jiashan Plan may have reinforced the idea that Beijing closely monitors the income gap between urban and rural residents.
He said during a webinar in September that officials wanted to bring the national gap down to about two. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, during the first three quarters of the year, the per capita disposable income of urban residents was about 2.57 times higher than that of rural residents.
According to data from local officials, the difference in Jiashan was 1.7 in the first three months of the year, but it narrowed to 1.35 times at the end of June, well short of the blueprint's target of 1.55.
According to data from the State Information Center, a government organization that has direct links to the NDRC, 35% of China's population was classified as middle-income last year.
According to the NDRC, the level is below 70% in many European countries, including France, Germany and Norway, as well as Canada. Additionally, at 54.9 percent, it is lower than the United States rate.
According to Liu Shangxi, head of the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences, China still has a lot of work to do before its goals become a reality, especially considering how urban and rural Chinese citizens fall under socioeconomic classifications.
According to him, only by reducing the "dual" structure for the rural population and removing the institutional barriers, the country can increase the middle income group and overall prosperity.
To promote agricultural development, the Jiashan Plan called for the integration of urban and rural economies as well as a more thorough reform of rural cooperative organizations.
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As per the plan, the county will also implement a pilot program for Qualified Foreign Limited Partnerships to attract more foreign investors. To enhance the local business climate, the region will be allowed to change the way investments are approved.