BEIJING, Oct. 17-- China's top advisory body has applauded proposals by the Communist Party of China's(CPC) Central Committee setting out the next five years of the country's development.

Members of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), which closed a four-day session yesterday, said the proposal reflected the strategy of building a harmonious society by following a"scientific concept of development."

The proposal, passed by the CPC Central Committee last week, has been hailed as a strategic re-orientation from"growth for growth's sake" towards greater sustainability and social harmony.

Rather than obsessively pursuing a bigger gross domestic product(GDP), the programme sets out that China's GDP in 2010 should double that of 2000 on a per capita basis. Moreover, it held that the energy consumption needed to generate a proportion of the GDP should be 20 per cent lower in five years.

Aside from GDP, the programme set a series of specific development goals for the next five years, including higher competitiveness of domestic companies, more jobs, a less impoverished population, better education and health care, balanced growth between different areas, and a more open and market-oriented economic system.

"The programme reflects the idea that people who create wealth should share the fruits of reform," said CPPCC Standing Committee member Wang Heling.

Many members also raised suggestions and concerns.

"The programme realizes the importance of change, but the key is how to change," said another CPPCC Standing Committee member Xu Gengsheng.

(Source: China Daily)