The recently concluded eighth plenary session of the 14th CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee unveiled an official proposal for formulating Zhejiang's 14th five-year plan (2021-25) and its long-term objectives through the year 2035.

The proposal summarized Zhejiang's recent achievements in socioeconomic development. In 2019, the province's gross domestic product was close to that of the Netherlands (ranking 17th among all countries and regions worldwide) and its GDP per capita was $15,600, exceeding the $12,700 threshold to be considered a high-income economy set by the World Bank.

Zhejiang has become a national leader in technological innovation. Added value created by digital economy made up 43.3 percent of the province's GDP. The strength of Zhejiang enterprises in technological innovation has ranked 3rd nationwide for four consecutive years.

Zhejiang has among the smallest urban-rural and regional income gaps in the country: the per capita income ratio of the province's urban residents to rural residents is 2.01:1, while the per capita income ratio of residents in the province's most prosperous city to residents in the poorest city is 1.67:1.

In the proposal, Zhejiang authorities set a goal for the province to achieve high-level modernization and become a strong showcase of the systematic strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics. To achieve this, Zhejiang must complete 11 specific tasks, including talent recruitment and cultivation, consumption stimulation, industrial restructuring, market reforms, rural revitalization, and environmental protection.

By preliminary estimates, Zhejiang's per capita GDP will surpass $20,000 by 2025, and its major socioeconomic indicators are expected to outperform the vast majority of other Chinese provinces.