China will pursue a new model of economic growth in the coming years, as defined by the country's 11th five-year plan, a senior government official said on March 19.

Ma Kai, the minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission told the China Development Forum that over the next five years China must truly get on the road of scientific and harmonious development.

Ma Kai, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, gives a talk at the China Development Forum 2006, which kicked off on March 19, 2006. [Xinhua]

To achieve this, he said China must undertake six fundamental changes.

China must strive to stimulate its domestic consumption instead of relying on investment and exports.

China must seek a harmonious development among its primary, secondary and tertiary industries and upgrade its economic structure, and not rely solely on the expansion of manufacturing.

To make its development more sustainable it must protect the environment and conserve nonrenewable resources by reducing its dependence on nonrenewable resources and improving the efficiency of its consumption of those resources, he said.

Instead of relying on the input of capital and physical resources, China must seek development through scientific and technological progress and the development of human resources. This, he said, could only be achieved by putting the emphasis on innovations.

Another important change, Ma said, is instead of relying on government intervention, China must allow market forces to play a bigger role in the allocation of resources.

Lastly, China must make the improvement of people's living standards as its first and foremost goal. China must shift its attention from the growth of physical wealth to the comprehensive development of human beings and balancing social and economic development, Ma said.