China has maintained steady growth momentum and the public is confident about the country’s development, according to the 2014 RUC China Development Index (RCDI) and Survey of Public Confidence in China’s Development recently released by the National Survey Research Center (NSRC) at Renmin University of China (RUC).

The RCDI is comprised of health, education, quality of life and social environment indexes among its total of 15 indicators that reflect the comprehensive development level of the Chinese mainland’s 31 provincial administrative regions.

On a national level, 14 of the 15 indicators were up compared to 2013. The sole exception was a drop in the air quality index (AQI) of provincial capitals following the adoption of new air quality standards. The four indexes that exhibited the largest increases were the income per capita of rural residents (up 8.17 percent), average number of ward beds per 10,000 persons (up 4.84 percent), Engel coefficient of urban residents (up 3.89 percent) and GDP per capita (up 3.67 percent).

Peng Fei, deputy director of the NSRC, claimed that the top four indexes indicated positive results of policies that China has implemented to raise incomes in rural areas and improve medical conditions.

Poor AQI levels in provincial capital highlight the environmental cost incurred by China’s rapid economic development. Nonetheless, the lowering of GDP growth, adjustment and optimization of industrial structure, and elimination of backward and excessive capacity suggest that the country is paying more attention to comprehensive development rather than focusing on GDP growth at any cost, Peng said.

In order to listen to public voices, the NSRC surveyed people’s confidence in the Chinese mainland’s development through computer-assisted telephone interviews since 2012. The 2014 survey revealed strong public confidence in overall development, especially in the government’s anti-graft campaign and austerity measures.

The RCDI aims to provide an objective snapshot of China’s socioeconomic development in the context of economic growth. The 2014 report showed impressive growth in balanced regional development, improvement of rural dwellers’ income and increase of input in public facilities. However, concerns about environmental protection, housing price controls and the growing wealth gap continue to loom large.

The report found China’s economy is transitioning from “quantity-driven” development to “quality-driven” development. Liu Shiguo, a research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, noted that this transition has led the economy into a “new normal,” which calls for innovation and people-oriented development.

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 691, January 12, 2014.

　　Translated by Chen Mirong

　　Revised by Tom Fearon