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Daily News Analysis

China Parliament approves 5-year plan  

12th March, 2021 International Relations

Context: China formally approved the outline of its 14th five-year plan (2021-25), which highlights a number of key strategic projects to be pursued as a priority.

 

Details:

The draft outline of the five-year plan (FYP) and objectives through the year 2035 were passed by the National People’s Congress, the ceremonial legislature, as it closed its six-day annual session.

Hydropower:

  • Among the key projects is the building of a hydropower base on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo, which refers to the sections of the river in Tibet just before it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh.
  • While four dams have been approved on the upper and middle reaches, this is the first project in the lower reaches of the rive

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway:

  • The FYP highlighted the railway from Ya’an in Sichuan to Nyingchi in Tibet as a key infrastructure project. It also called to advance the preparatory work for building a railway line from Xigaze in Tibet to Gyirong along the Tibet-Nepal border, which is part of an already agreed plan to build a cross-border railway link connecting China and Nepal.
    • The rail from Ya’an to Nyingchi in Tibet, which lies just across from Arunachal Pradesh, is the first segment of a line that will eventually run to Lhasa and is the second major rail link from China’s hinterland to Tibet.
  • The FYP also emphasised opening up access to key border highways, including the strategically important G219 national highway that runs along the entire length of the India-China border in Xinjiang and Tibet.

High-tech industries:

  • Beyond the strategic infrastructure projects, the broader goal of the FYP and the 2035 outline emphasised establishing China’s self-sufficiency in key high-tech industries.
  • While the FYP for the first time did not outline a growth target, it listed an annual target to increase R&D spending “by more than 7% per year”.
  • It said China will take self-reliance in science and technology as strategic underpinning for national development and will focus on the development of strategic emerging industries including information technology, biotech and new energy.

 

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/china-parliament-approves-5-year-plan/article34048511.ece