China ranks among upper middle income countries: official   

发改委：中国已属于中高收入国家

(ECNS) -- An official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Wednesday that China now ranks among the middle-and-high income countries, the Legal Evening News observed on Thursday.

The remarks were made at a press conference by Xu Lin, head of the planning department at the NDRC.

With the per capita GDP in China reaching $6,700, the country is one of the middle-and-high income nations based on the standards released by the World Bank, according to Xu.

Xu said that as preparation work begins for the development of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the top economic planner will solicit public opinions from research institutes, universities and businesses across the country.

Social networking platforms including Weibo and Weixin will be adopted by the NDRC to help the public share insights into the future socio-economic development path for the country, according to Xu.

A total of 25 issues including environmental protection, poverty alleviation, and the construction of a housing guarantee system have been selected as hot topics for the plan.

The positive impacts of the 13th Five-Year Plan hold the key to whether China can build itself into a high income nation or not, Xu added.