It was drafted during the fifth plenum of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held in October 2010.
A full proposal for the plan was released following the plenum and approved by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 14 March 2011.
[2]: 197 The plan sought to expand the services industry in order to increase employment and continue urbanization to help raise real wages.
[2]: 186–197 The plan is representative of China's efforts to rebalance its economy, shifting emphasis from investment towards consumption[2]: 196–197 and development from urban and coastal areas toward rural and inland areas – initially by developing small cities and greenfield districts to absorb coastal migration.
[7]: 39–41 Additionally, the Plan called for gradual implementation of a national carbon trading market in China.