According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan includes 23 columns and proposes 165 major projects and initiatives aimed at shoring up weaknesses, enhancing sustainability, promoting balance, and raising standards.

[Scientific and Technological Innovation] Science and Technology Innovation 2030—15 major projects and initiatives are particularly eye-catching

Innovation is the primary driving force for development and the first of the five development concepts. The draft outline emphasizes "placing the development foundation on innovation" and "taking scientific and technological innovation as the core." The draft outline newly proposes the Science and Technology Innovation 2030 - Major Projects, including 15 major projects and initiatives—6 scientific and technological projects such as aero engines and gas turbines, deep-sea space stations, quantum communication and quantum computers, brain science and brain-inspired research, and 9 engineering projects such as independent innovation in the seed industry, smart grids, integrated space-ground information networks, smart manufacturing and robots.

"The determination of these scientific and technological projects reflects the important scientific issues recognized by the scientific community and the major needs of the country. The implementation of these projects will also prove that China has the ability to solve world-class problems and will drive the development of many industries, such as brain science and brain-inspired research, which will promote computer, information industry, robotics, and other intelligence-related industries," said Duan Shumin, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, director of the Medical Department of Zhejiang University, and a researcher in neurobiology.

[Transformation and Upgrading] Strategic Emerging Industry Actions—Major projects in 8 areas including finance and new industries to help economic upgrading

Leafing through the thick draft outline, in terms of advancing economic transformation and upgrading, a number of major projects are distributed across 8 areas: finance, agriculture, high-end equipment, strategic emerging industries, informatization, new urbanization, special types of regions, and oceans.

The strategic emerging industries launch eight major actions: not only building 5G, advanced sensors, and wearable devices into new growth points, but also planning to accelerate the large-scale application of biotechnologies such as genomics, accelerate the commercial application of Beidou and remote sensing satellites, and propose goals such as "the cumulative production and sales of new energy vehicles reaching 5 million units." From "ensuring the construction of 800 million mu of high-standard farmland, striving for 1 billion mu" to "adding 100 million mu of efficient water-saving irrigation area," from "implementing 'Internet+' modern agriculture" to "establishing a traceability information system for agricultural product quality and safety supervision"... these projects run through all aspects of agriculture. Major informatization projects focus on new concepts such as Broadband China, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, government informatization, e-commerce, and cybersecurity. New urbanization will implement 8 major projects, including the urbanization of "three 100 million people," characteristic small towns, smart cities, sponge cities, and beautiful villages.

[Infrastructure] High-speed rail operating mileage to reach 30,000 kilometers—solidifying the foundation in transportation, energy, and other fields and opening up new space

Only with extensive 4G signals can there be the widespread use of mobile Internet such as online shopping and WeChat—this shows the extreme importance of infrastructure. To strengthen infrastructure support capacity, during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, a series of major projects in transportation construction, energy development, and water security will be implemented.

In the high-speed rail sector, 8 high-speed rail corridors such as Beijing-Hong Kong (Taipei) will be built, and regional connecting lines will be expanded. High-speed rail operating mileage will reach 30,000 kilometers, covering more than 80% of large cities. In the expressway sector, accelerate the construction of the national expressway network composed of 7 capital radial lines, 11 north-south longitudinal lines, 18 east-west horizontal lines, as well as regional ring lines, parallel lines, and connecting lines. In the civil airport sector, build world-class airport clusters in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta, and add more than 50 new civil transport airports. A series of key projects will also be launched in the "four along" corridors, port and shipping facilities, urban agglomeration transportation, rural transportation, transportation hubs, and intelligent transportation. In energy development, a number of new coastal nuclear power projects will commence construction, and the natural gas backbone pipeline network mainly consisting of the West-East Gas Pipeline, the Shaanxi-Beijing Line, and the Sichuan-East Gas Pipeline will be improved. In water security, major projects such as the completion of supporting facilities and water-saving renovation in 434 large irrigation districts will be carried out.

Wu Hong, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Jiusan Society, said that the implementation of these major projects will expand the space for infrastructure construction, accelerate the improvement of a safe, efficient, intelligent, green, and interconnected modern infrastructure network, and better play a supporting and leading role in economic and social development.

[Ecological Environment] 19 major ecological projects—promoting green development to a new level

Protecting the ecological environment is protecting productivity. The draft outline shows that 19 major projects will be implemented in the ecological environment field, of which 5 focus on resource conservation and intensive recycling, 6 are dedicated to environmental governance and protection, and 8 build ecological systems of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, and lakes.

Key actions for environmental governance include: carrying out treatment and restoration of 10 million mu of contaminated farmland and risk control of 40 million mu of contaminated farmland; building 5 low- and medium-level radioactive waste disposal sites and 1 underground laboratory for high-level radioactive waste treatment; adding 270,000 square kilometers of soil erosion control area; and ensuring the national wetland area is no less than 800 million mu...

[Improving People's Livelihood] Healthy China Action Plan—giving the public a greater sense of gain

The next 5 years are the decisive stage for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The draft outline, based on social construction and improving people's livelihood, proposes major projects and action plans in 7 areas including poverty alleviation, education modernization, Healthy China, public services, employment promotion, social care, and culture, to enhance the country's soft power and give the public a greater sense of gain through improved livelihoods.

In the key poverty alleviation projects, more than 30 million poor people will be lifted out of poverty through characteristic industries, 10 million people will be relocated for employment and poverty alleviation, 10 million poor people will be relocated, and one million kilometers of rural roads will be upgraded and built. In addition, the major projects proposed in the Healthy China Action Plan include: reducing the premature mortality rate of major chronic diseases by 10%; creating a 30-minute primary medical service circle; promoting a 15-minute fitness circle in urban communities; and achieving a youth physical fitness compliance rate of over 95%.