Appropriate path leads to sustainable future growth

The just-concluded Fifth Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee has drawn up a roadmap for the realization of a moderately well-off society in an all-round way in the coming five years. To make this plan a reality, China needs to choose an appropriate economic growth path based on the economic trends resulting from its economic transformation, so that a solid foundation can be laid for its sustainable development and the realization of the goal by 2020.

To achieve this by the end of the 13th Five - Year Plan (2016-20) period, China needs an annual economic growth rate of about 6.5 percent during the five years. But changes in the country's economic growth trend, structure and driving force will ensure such a moderate economic growth rate is attainable.

The country's accelerated transformation from a production-dominated manufacturing economy to one driven by services and "Internet-plus" manufacturing will create competitive advantages. Its ongoing urbanization, facilitated by the reform of the hukou or household registration system that divides rural and urban residences, and efforts to promote upgrading of its consumption structure are expected to lubricate the country's much-anticipated transformation from the consumption of mostly visible commodities to the consumption of mostly invisible commodities. The expected growth of services-led consumption by the end of 2020 will sharply increase the added value of services and boost the role of consumption in national economic growth.