Online Reporter
Hu Zexi
As the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) approaches, President Xi Jinping has clearly stated: “We must closely centre around the party’s core tasks in the new era and on the new journey, effectively plan and implement the goals, tasks, and strategic measures for development during the 15th five-year plan period, ensuring decisive progress in basically achieving socialist modernisation.”
As international observers seek to understand China’s development trajectory and decode the secrets of its governance, more eyes are turning to “China’s plans.”
Planning ahead is a common practice in national development. Why, then, does “China’s planning” repeatedly capture global attention and admiration?
President Xi Jinping has profoundly noted: “Scientifically formulating and continuously implementing five-year plans is an important experience in our Party’s governance and a significant political strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”
This strength lies in the seamless integration of foresight and execution.
Planning serves to chart a blueprint for development and provide clear direction for action. Its essence lies in strategic thinking—seeing the potential for widespread development when “only the tip of the mast is visible” and seizing the opportunity, as well as “making judgments and decisions from a holistic, long-term, and overarching perspective.”
“Strengthening the dominant role of enterprises in innovation” is a key focus of innovation in the 14th five-year plan, continuously fostering new drivers of development.
In December 2017, President Xi visited Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) in Jiangsu Province, emphasizing that “innovation is the source of a company’s core competitiveness, and many core technologies cannot be acquired or purchased.” Over the years, benefiting from local measures to concentrate innovative resources in enterprises, XCMG has continued to innovate independently, achieving technological advancements and industrial upgrades.
The all-terrain wheel crane series that President Xi once rode now boasts new breakthroughs. The 4 000-tonne XCMG XCA4000 wheel crane has repeatedly set records as the “world’s largest crane.”
The leap from “3 000-tonne” to “4 000-tonne” represents over 2 000 structural tests, showcasing unwavering determination and perseverance in technological R&D.
By unwaveringly adhering to the new development philosophy, focusing on high-quality development, and accelerating the formation of a new development paradigm, the 14th five-year plan’s major deployments have adapted to changing circumstances, seized development opportunities, and ensured the certainty of China’s progress amid global uncertainties.
Today’s impressive achievements are the best testament to the foresight of planning: during the 14th five-year plan period, economic growth is expected to exceed 35 trillion yuan, per capita GDP has surpassed US$13 000 for two consecutive years, placing China among upper-middle-income countries. China has maintained its position as the world’s largest manufacturer for 15 consecutive years, with its average annual contribution to global economic growth remaining around 30 percent.
Impressed by China’s combination of five-year plans and century-long goals, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti remarked: “China is a country that truly thinks long-term—it is genuinely forward-looking.”
Transforming plans into development practices requires strong execution backed by institutional guarantees.
Horizontally, adhering to the principle of “the nation as a unified whole,” regions “accurately position themselves within the national context and strengthen planning coordination,” fostering a powerful synergy for coordinated development.
Those who fail to plan for the whole cannot effectively plan for a part. President Xi has explicitly required that “each region should identify its position and comparative advantages within the domestic and international dual circulation,” warning against “pursuing self-sufficiency in everything” or engaging in regional blockades under the guise of “domestic circulation.”
Western provinces leverage their wind and solar resources to build clean energy bases, injecting green momentum into national development.
Northeast China’s old industrial bases aim for high-end equipment manufacturing, shouldering the responsibility of safeguarding national industrial security. Central regions utilize their transportation hub advantages to build modern logistics systems, ensuring smooth domestic circulation. By defining their roles and leveraging their strengths within the national framework, regions achieve dynamic growth locally and collective advancement nationally.
Vertically, adhering to the principle of “persistent implementation of a single blueprint,” China demonstrates unwavering commitment, turning small steps into great strides.
Globally, planning is a common challenge in modern national governance. Foreign scholars have pointed out that many countries struggle to implement development plans effectively due to frequent policy changes, making consistent execution a persistent issue.
Belgium’s “Brussels Signal” recently highlighted China’s high-speed rail construction, lamenting that while China forges ahead, Europe—the birthplace of railways—lags far behind, warning that the European Commission’s “dream of a new era of continental transport” might remain just a PowerPoint presentation.
By staying focused on goals and building on past achievements, China’s practice reflects steadfast commitment and institutional strengths.
When formulating the 14th five-year plan, President Xi explained the internal logic linking the five-year plan with the “Two Centenary Goals.” The interplay of medium- and long-term goals with short-term objectives, forming a coherent whole, has become a distinctive feature of China’s planning, giving rise to the resilience of “persistent implementation of a single blueprint.”
In Lizu Village, Houzhai Street, Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, a small village with 706 permanent residents now hosts 271 agricultural entrepreneurs and 73 new business formats. Its vitality stems from the “10 Million Project” planned and deployed by then-Zhejiang Provincial Party Secretary Xi Jinping over two decades ago.
