Government lowers the annual growth target to 7.5 percent

New annual data confirmed that China’s economy had overtaken Japan’s by nominal GDP. The milestone reflected decades of state-led investment, export manufacturing and labor mobilization, but aggregate...

The law consolidated basic pension, medical, unemployment, work-injury and maternity insurance rules. It formalized a broader social-protection framework, but portability, funding and access...

The plan proposed faster household consumption, improved social services, innovation and lower dependence on exports and investment. It acknowledged structural imbalances but left the mechanisms and...

The 2011-2015 plan formalized goals for income growth, services, urbanization and environmental limits. It continued planning as a central instrument while calling for a more consumption-oriented...

The national framework became operative, setting rules for enrollment and benefits across several insurance branches. It represented a major institutional expansion, though migrant workers and...

The pilot authorized local experimentation in private finance, lending and cross-border investment. It responded to the credit needs of small firms often underserved by formal banks, while seeking...

The congress reviewed a decade of growth and called for a more balanced development path. It marked the end of the Hu-Wen era and opened a new phase of debate over inequality, consumption and...

The leadership transition closed the period covered here. China had entered global trade deeply and expanded state capacity, but faced unresolved challenges in household demand, labor rights, social...

The zone tested investment, trade, finance and administrative changes through a geographically bounded pilot. It extended China’s strategy of selective opening: market access was expanded in a...

The Third Plenum’s decision called for the market to play a “decisive” role in resource allocation while affirming the state’s larger role. This mixed formula framed the decade: market mechanisms...