Wen calls goal to double China's per capita GDP by 2010 "active, prudent"

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the goal of doubling China's 2000 per capita gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010 is "active and prudent".

The goal is based on an overall consideration of economic performance from 2001 to 2005 and conditions for development in the coming five years, he said in his explanation, released Wednesday, of the Communist Party of China's proposal for the nation's 2006-2010 blueprint for economic and social development.

Wen also described the goal of reducing energy cost for per unit GDP by 20 percent in the coming five years as "achievable".

This reflects the requirement for the building of an energy-saving and environmental friendly society and sustainable development, he said.

Wen acknowledged that in recent years, the speed of energy consumption was tangibly faster than economic growth, showing that there is still much potential for saving energy and raising the efficiency of energy use.

Asia's second biggest economy expanded at a stunning 9.5 percent in the first six months of the year and is widely expected to see only a slight slowdown in 2006.

But the Chinese economy, Wen warned, excessively rides on increased investment and material input. The inefficient growth pattern, sparking increasingly acute contradictions between resources and the environment, "can no longer continue," the premier said.

Wen highlighted the "scientific concept of development," a term frequently used by top Chinese leaders, indicating the shift in the government's development philosophy from growth-centered to people-centered.

The proposal of the CPC Central Committee is based on the "scientific concept of development" that will also be the guide in the whole process of China's reform and open-up drive, he said.

He also stressed the need to boost coordinated development of rural and urban areas, step up industrial restructuring, change the mode of economic growth, and continue to improve the people's living standards.

Source: Xinhua