China plans to cut GDP target to 6.5% in next five-year plan

A recent IMF forecast says China's growth is expected to slow from 7.3 % in 2014 to 6.8 % this year, and to 6.3 % in 2016

China may cut its GDP growth target to 6.5% from the present 7% in its next five-year plan, in view of the continued slowdown of the world's second largest economy.

Economic Information, a newspaper affiliated to state-run Xinhua news agency, cited experts as saying, China may cut its GDP growth target to 6.5% in the next five years, a further decrease from this year's goal of 7%.

Recent IMF forecast said China's growth is expected to slow from 7.3% in 2014 to 6.8% this year and 6.3% in 2016 as the country struggles with its shift from export oriented economy to the one driven by consumption.

The projection of 6.5% as a new target follows the announcement that a meeting of the Plenum, a top policy body of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by President Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing from October 26 to 29 to map the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020).

The new plans takes into the consideration of the current slowdown and lay out institutional Party reform plans to guarantee a better and effective national leadership.

The decision to convene the plenary was taken by politburo meeting of the CPC headed by Xi which has also approved two revised rules on clean governance and punishments for breaking Party rules, a report said.

China has drawn five-year plans since 1953 to map strategies for overall economic and social development, setting growth targets and defining development policies.

Besides efforts to address to halt the slowdown and carry forward the urbanisation process, the new plan's thrust was expected to lift 70.17 million people who are still below poverty in China by 2020.

It meant that a million people have to be lifted to above poverty line every month specially when the world's second largest economy is on down word trajectory.

In the past 15 years, China has lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty, accounting for about 70% of those brought out of poverty worldwide, Hong Tianyun, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development of China said.

Despite this, China still had 70.17 million people in the countryside living below the country's poverty line of 2,300 yuan (USD 376) in annual income at the end of last year.