The plenum stressed that in contemporary China, the adherence to development as a task of overriding importance means sticking to scientific development, laying more stress on the "people first" principle, paying more attention to comprehensive, sustainable development and overall planning and coordination, and putting more emphasis on securing and improving people's livelihood to promote social equality and justice. Acceleration of the transformation of the economic development pattern marks a profound reform in both economic and social sectors and must proceed throughout every realm and all the course of economic and social development. Economic strategic restructuring should be a major task of the transformation of economic development mode. The promotion of scientific and technological progress and innovation should be taken as an important support to the transformation, while ensuring and improving people's livelihood should be the very aim and fundamental end of the move. The building of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society should be a focal point in the transformation of the economic development mode. It is imperative to take reform and opening-up as a powerful driving force for speeding up the transformation, and score more comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable growth to seek sound and fast economic and social development.

After comprehensive considerations of future development trends and conditions, the plenum proposed the following as the major targets for economic and social development in the next five years: to maintain stable and relatively fast economic growth; to achieve major development in economic restructuring; to universally raise people's incomes at a relatively fast pace; to remarkably enhance social construction; to continuously deepen reform and opening-up; to achieve substantial progress in transforming the economic development pattern; to remarkably strengthen the country's comprehensive national power, international competitiveness and capability in shielding against risks; to make notable progress in meeting people's living and cultural demands; and to further consolidate the foundation for the making of a better-off society in an all-round way.

Participants at the plenum stressed adherence to the policy of boosting domestic demand, maintaining stable and relatively fast economic development, and strengthening and improving macro-control measures. The plenum called for the establishment of a long-term mechanism to expand consumption, the optimization of investment structures, and quickened pace of the building of a new growth pattern that is jointly driven by consumption, investment and exports. Efforts should be made to push forward rural modernization, accelerate the construction of new socialist rural area, maintain coordinated development in rural and urban regions, promote the development of modern agriculture, improve public services and infrastructure construction in rural areas, and seek new ways to increase farmers' incomes. The rural development system will also be improved to build contented homes for farmers. The plenum underscored the establishment of a modern industrial system and enhancement of the core competitiveness of industries by transforming and upgrading the manufacturing sector, developing strategic emerging industries, and accelerating the growth of the service sector. It is stressed that the construction of the modern energy industry and the building of a comprehensive transport system should be boosted, while raising the level of informatization and encouraging the marine economy. Balanced development between regions should be maintained and urbanization should be pushed forward in a positive and sound manner. The master strategy of regional development and the strategy of main functional regions will be implemented, and the urbanization pattern will be improved with enhanced urban management. Poverty alleviation work that targets old revolutionary base areas, ethnic regions, border areas and poverty-stricken areas will be strengthened. Great importance should be attached to building a regional development pattern that enables regions to make their advantages complementary with main functions clearly defined, enables more efficient spatial use of the land, and achieves a harmonious relation between humans and nature. It is urged that the building of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society should be accelerated, and the ecological conservation culture should be promoted. More work should be done to proactively combat global climate change, increase environment protection, develop the recycling economy, improve resource conservation and management, speed up the construction of the ecological protection system and that of disaster prevention and reduction, and enhance the ability of maintaining sustainable development. The plenum urged further enforcement of the strategy of rejuvenating the nation through science and education and through the cultivation of talented personnel to build an innovative country. The plenum called for upgrading China's scientific innovation ability, improving the innovation system and accelerating educational reform and development, which encourages talent and lays a solid foundation in terms of science and technology and human resources for the transformation of economic development pattern and achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way.

The plenum called for ensuring and improving people's livelihoods by gradually perfecting the fundamental public service system that should be working in line with China's overall situation, relatively comprehensive, covering urban and rural areas, and sustainable; by enhancing the government's capacity for safeguarding people's livelihoods; and by promoting equal fundamental public services. Efforts should also be made to reinforce social construction and establish and improve a fundamental public service system, to promote employment and harmonious labor relations, to reasonably adjust income distribution, to increase the ratio of people's incomes to the national income and the ratio of workers' incomes in the primary distribution of national income, to perfect the social security system that covers urban and rural residents, to accelerate the reform and development of the healthcare sector, to do a good job in population management, to enhance and innovate in social management, to properly handle contradictions among the people, and to take concrete measures to secure social harmony and stability.

The plenum pointed out that culture is the spirit and soul of a nation, and is the power to propel development of a country and the revitalization of a nation. Efforts should be made to help the culture sector prosper, to boost the country's soft power in cultural fields, to consistently advance the development of the socialist culture, and to improve the Chinese people's civil education. The plenum also called for efforts to promote cultural innovation, to deepen the reform of the cultural system, and to boost cultural undertakings and the cultural industry. Efforts should also be made to satisfy the people's ever-growing demand for cultural products, to basically build up a public service system of culture, to make the culture industry one of the pillar industries for the national economy, to give full play to the role of culture in guiding, educating people and promoting development, to build a spiritual home for the Chinese nation, and to boost cohesion and creativity of the nation.

The plenum emphasized that reform is a powerful driving force for accelerating the transformation of the economic development mode, and reform in every realm must be pushed forward in an all-round way with greater resolve and courage. Great impetus should be given to economic system reform, while vigorous yet steady efforts should be made to promote political restructuring. Work should be done to accelerate reform in cultural and social systems to make sure the superstructure adapts to development and changes in economy and to provide a strong guarantee for scientific development. The fundamental economic system should be stuck to and improved; administrative system reform should be promoted; reforms of fiscal and taxation systems should be accelerated; financial system reform should be deepened; reform in resource products pricing and market should be advanced; and reform in social program system should be quickened. A mutually-beneficial strategy of opening-up should be pursued and more efforts should be made to further open up to the outside world, optimize the foreign trade structure, improve the quality of foreign investment utilization and accelerate the pace in implementing the "going global" strategy. It is necessary to actively participate in global economic governance and regional cooperation, to push forward development, deepen reform and promote innovation by opening up, and to vigorously create new advantages for participating in global economic cooperation and competition.

The plenum stressed that the leadership by the Party is the fundamental guarantee for achieving the goals of economic and social development during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Work in improving the CPC's ruling capacity and maintaining the Party's advanced nature must be strengthened to promote the Party's competence in leading the country's economic and social development. Party committees at all levels should accurately understand the trends of development, scientifically make development blueprint, diligently innovate in the pattern of development, promote the overall and balanced planning and coordination of development, and effectively boost the quality of development. All Party members should unswervingly practise the theory of the Party, follow the line of the Party and implement the Party's principles and policies, and firmly cherish the idea of scientific development. Concrete efforts should be made to intensify the building of the Party at grassroots organizations, to deepen the campaign of contending for excellence, and to lead the general public to boost the sound and fast development of the economy and society. Officials at all levels must adhere to the fundamental tenet of serving the people with heart and soul, follow the Party's mass line, always keep a flesh-and-blood relationship with the people, foster a proper view of political achievements, and work hard to make real achievements that can stand the tests of practice, the people and history. It is necessary to intensify efforts to combat corruption and promote clean government, and to energetically carry forward the glorious traditions and exemplary work styles of the Party so as to create a good Party conduct, which will help unite the Party members and win the support of the people to form a great force for advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.