国内英语新闻:Xi Focus: Xi chairs leadership meeting on 13th Five-Year Plan implementation

BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Thursday held a meeting to hear a summary and evaluation report on the implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered an important speech.

The implementation of the 13th Five-Year Plan has been smooth, as the key strategic tasks and 165 major projects have all been carried out, the major indicators will be achieved as scheduled, and all targets and tasks set in the plan will be accomplished, Xi said.

China's strength in economic, scientific and technological fields, as well as its overall national strength, have entered a new stage after its development in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), with improvements in economic structure, rural modernization, poverty relief, ecological environment and deepening all-round reform, according to Xi.

The opening up has been continuously expanded, people's living conditions have seen marked improvements, and the modernization of the governance system and capacity has been accelerated, Xi said.

In particular, the advantages of the CPC's leadership and the socialist system have been further demonstrated over the period, offering a powerful political guarantee and impetus for China to embark on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country, Xi said.

It was pointed out at the meeting that the country should do a good job in wrapping up the 13th Five-Year Plan and formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan, with emphases on poverty alleviation, pollution control, preventing and defusing major risks, as well as improving people's lives, so as to ensure that the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects will be accomplished.

Further attention should be given to the planning for development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period, according to the meeting.

Meanwhile, awareness must be raised about the new features and requirements brought about by the changing major contradictions in Chinese society, the new contradictions and challenges brought by the complex international environment, as well as the important judgment that China will enter a new development stage in the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Efforts should also be made to nurture a new development pattern that takes the domestic market as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets boost each other, connect China's two centenary goals and secure a good start in fully building a modern socialist country, according to the meeting.