Summary:

Every five years the Chinese government announces a five-year plan, setting out the country’s key policies and medium-term targets. Although the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) will not be finalised and published until March, the Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) has issued a statement on the government’s broad aims for this period which are likely to form the basis of the upcoming plan.

According to Proposal on Formulating the Thirteenth Five-year Plan (2016-2020) on National Economic and Social Development, the next five-year period was described as decisive for building a “moderately prosperous society” by 2020. A goal has been set for China’s 2020 GDP to reach double the 2010 value, with the same goal for per capita income of both urban and rural residents.

Other highlights of the statement are innovation, coordination, green development, opening up and sharing. Ensuring a "moderately prosperous society" by 2020 requires medium-high economic growth, higher living standards and a better quality environment, the proposal says. There will be more official moves to upgrade the economy into a global manufacturing power, cultivate strategic industries, modernize the agricultural and service sectors, and ensure better allocation of resources.

In the education sector, the CPC’s main objectives are to improve the quality of education and to reduce the urban-rural gap to improve the equity of compulsory education for all. Tasks or goals listed in this field include:

1) Promote the development and popularisation of education at all levels:
- promote the continued development of compulsory (9-year) education
- promote universal education for students at senior high school level (ages 15-18), including both academic and vocational education, partly through waiving tuition fees for senior high school students from economically disadvantaged families
- further develop pre-school education, encouraging expanded provision of kindergartens to meet the needs of the new two child policy
- improve subsidies for students from poor families to encourage them to stay in school

2) Promote equality in education:
- accelerate the standardisation of compulsory education in urban public schools
- strengthen teaching staff, especially in rural schools, through methods including teacher exchanges between urban and rural areas
- develop special education

3) Improve the teaching standards and innovation ability of higher education institutions:
- bring a number of leading universities and disciplines up to (or close to) the world-class level in terms of teaching, research and leadership management
- develop a modern vocational education system, encouraging more links between schools and industry, as well as direct school-enterprise cooperation
- optimise the structure of academic disciplines and training, partly through transforming qualified 4-year (bachelors’ degree) universities into universities of applied technology

4) Implement other reforms to education and teaching:
- implement reforms to examination and enrolment systems
- establish systems for credit accumulation in lifelong learning, in order to facilitate learning channels and earning qualifications.
- promote further adoption of ICT in education, including the development of distance learning and an expansion of quality education resources
- improve the “supervision and guidance” of education, as well as “social supervision”
- support and standardise the development of private (non-state) education, encouraging diversified education services provided by social investment and private capital

The proposal also calls for more proactive employment policy and encourages the development of entrepreneurship for the general public, along with related reforms such as support for funding methods like incubators, crowdfunding and angel investors. In particular, it calls for the promotion of employment and entrepreneurships of university and college graduates, in order to promote employment and entrepreneurship among young people. This section of the proposal also calls for the development of a lifelong vocational skills training system, with several sub-tasks:

- take action to deliver free vocational skills training for children from poor families, early leavers from junior and senior high schools, migrant workers, unemployed people and job transfer workers, as well as veterans
- develop training modes for skilled workers with integration of work and learning, and school-enterprise cooperation such as new business apprenticeships
- enhance the status of skilled manual workers , improve the job classification system, promote professional skills titles, and link certain levels of skills to qualification for residence permits (hukou) in top tier cities

As in previous Five Year Plans, a number of industries are identified as strategic priorities. This initial proposal lists biotechnology, IT, smart manufacturing, high-end equipment, energy saving / environmental protection and new energy as key industries for support, as well as the upgrading and optimisation of traditional industries.

In the science and technology field, China will continue to encourage mass entrepreneurship through major scientific and technological projects, and by building a number of national laboratories, in the hope that it will lead to new technology.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst Analysis and Liu Xiaoxiao, Education Services Manager:

The goals set out in this proposal are very broad, with detail on specific projects and targets only likely to be revealed when the finished Five Year Plan is published. In addition, most relevant areas discussed in the proposal are a continuation of previous policies rather than brand new ideas. However, the areas listed in the plan do give some insight as to the government’s priorities in the 13th Five Year Plan period.

In particular, the focus on employment and entrepreneurship as a top priority, both in the context of education and more broadly, shows that universities’ industry links will be increasingly important over the next five years. The strategic industries identified as the country’s new priorities will also be important, as higher education institutions will look to improve their provision of relevant courses and build partnerships with overseas institutions in these fields. Meanwhile at the primary and secondary level, the continued attention paid to teacher training and capacity building, especially in underdeveloped areas, may also provide opportunities for cooperation.

Sources:
1. http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2015/1103/c399243-27772351-6.html
2. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015cpcplenarysession/2015-11/03/cont...