Govt to launch cutting-edge projects, premier says

The central government will launch a host of projects that involve cutting-edge technologies, Internet applications, high-end equipment and key industries, Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday.

These projects will be included in the guidelines for China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the country's overall development blueprint for the coming five years.

Implementing the projects will enable China to gain strategic competitiveness and offer better and more diversified services to the public, Li said at a conference discussing the guidelines.

The government will also invest a lot to improve urbanization, transportation infrastructure, agriculture, Internet service and environmental protection, he added.

"The coming five years will be a crucial stage for us to build a moderately prosperous nation. ...

"If we can fulfill this important step, then China will be able to circumvent the middle income trap," Li told the conference. "Therefore we must make sure these guidelines are longsighted, practical and target-oriented."

The Communist Party of China Central Committee adopted in late October a proposal on formulating the five-year plan on national economic and social development, which aims to build a "moderately prosperous nation" and double 2010 GDP and per capita income by 2020.

The premier stressed that the government will continue to deepen China's overall reform to overcome obstacles for socioeconomic development and justice, saying startups and innovation will be nurtured to unleash opportunities in the market.

The government is determined to eliminate poverty and make the people the beneficiary of the nation's development, Li stated.

He said innovative macroeconomic adjustments will be adopted to respond to economic downturns.

Li urged government departments to make full use of the Internet and big-data technology to solicit opinions and suggestions on the guidelines from the public.