Huang Maoxing and Zhang Jianwei: Scientific Planning for Opening Up a New Situation in Chinese-style Modernization
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Scientifically formulating and successively implementing Five-Year Plans is an important experience of our Party’s governance and a significant political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the Recommendations). This document defines the overall approach, important principles, main objectives, strategic tasks, and major measures for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. It provides concentrated answers to major questions such as what kind of development to achieve and how to achieve it on the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. As a programmatic document guiding development during this period, it fully demonstrates the historical initiative [1] of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. This leadership aims to unite and lead the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups to write a new chapter of the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, while striving to open new horizons for Chinese-path modernization. We must thoroughly implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, use the spirit of historical initiative to overcome difficulties, combat risks, and meet challenges. We must focus on managing our own affairs well, ride the momentum to successively advance the construction of Chinese-path modernization, and turn the blueprint sketched in the Recommendations into a beautiful reality. This will ensure decisive progress toward the basic realization of socialist modernization and strive to create a new situation for Chinese-path modernization.
The "15th Five-Year Plan" period holds an important position as a bridge between the past and the future in the process of basically realizing socialist modernization.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has noted: "Chinese-path modernization works and is stable; it is the only correct path for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation." The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed that the "15th Five-Year Plan" period "holds an important position as a bridge between the past and the future in the process of basically realizing socialist modernization." This period builds upon the continuous development of our country since the Reform and Opening-up, particularly the deep implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan," and initiates the goal of basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035. It is a vital stage in the process of unswervingly following the path of Chinese-path modernization.
From the perspective of the historical process, the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is an important stage for the successive advancement of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Chinese-path modernization is the answer we have provided to the major historical question of how to awaken the 'sleeping lion' [2] and achieve national rejuvenation; it is about choosing our own path and doing our own things." Historical development is a unity of continuity and stages. Since its founding, our Party has united and led the people of the whole country in arduous exploration and successive struggle, successfully opening the path of Chinese-path modernization. It has created the "two miracles" of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, fundamentally solving the development problems that have plagued China since the beginning of modern times, and gradually turning the dream of modernization—which countless ancestors longed for—into a reality on Chinese soil. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our Party has united and led the people in completing the historical task of poverty alleviation and the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society (xiaokang), achieving the First Centenary Goal and embarking on a new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. The 20th CPC National Congress clarified the "two-step" strategic arrangement [3] for building a great modern socialist country: basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035 is the first step, which requires the unremitting efforts and successive struggles of three Five-Year Plan periods from the "14th" to the "16th." The "15th Five-Year Plan" period inherits the long-cherished wish of the Chinese people for national prosperity, rejuvenation, and happiness—especially building on the solid steps taken toward Chinese-path modernization during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. It also serves as the launchpad for achieving major breakthroughs in strategic tasks concerning the overall situation of Chinese-path modernization, continuing the "two miracles," and winning the strategic initiative amidst fierce international competition. Only by firmly grasping this window of time, strengthening historical confidence, and enhancing historical initiative can we continue to open up even brighter prospects for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
From the perspective of the requirements of the times, the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical period for laying a solid foundation and making a comprehensive push toward basically realizing socialist modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "Building a modern socialist country is a consistent goal of our Party, pursued through relay-like advancements from generation to generation, continuously achieving world-shaking and epoch-making historical achievements." After the founding of the People's Republic of China, our Party used Five-Year Plans as an important tool to advance the "Four Modernizations," uniting and leading the people to gradually establish an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system. After the Reform and Opening-up, our Party creatively proposed and established the socialist market economy system, achieving a historical breakthrough from a state of relatively backward productive forces to becoming the world's second-largest economy. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our Party has united and led the people in self-reliance, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, successfully advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization. Particularly during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, facing a complex international situation and the arduous tasks of domestic reform, development, and stability, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core led the people to rise to challenges and forge ahead, bringing China’s economic strength, technological prowess, and comprehensive national power to new heights. The "15th Five-Year Plan" period inherits the great achievements and solid foundation laid since the founding of the New China—especially the good start to the new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal—and initiates the decisive progress required to basically realize socialist modernization by 2035. One important symbolic indicator of this progress is reaching the level of a moderately developed country in terms of per capita GDP. This requires that during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, economic and social development maintains an appropriate speed while promoting synchronized progress in all aspects of socialist modernization, making great strides toward the historical ambition of building a great modern socialist country. Only by seizing this critical period to consolidate advantages, break through bottlenecks, and strengthen weak links can we write a brand-new chapter in building a modern socialist country.
From the perspective of value pursuit, the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a critical window for promoting more obvious and substantive progress in common prosperity for all people. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The people are the subjects of Chinese-path modernization. We must rely closely on the people, respect their creative spirit, and gather the wisdom and strength of all people to continuously push Chinese-path modernization forward." For over a century, our Party has led the people through bloody battles and unyielding struggle, completing the historical tasks of national independence and people’s liberation. It has made the people's aspiration for a better life the starting point and end goal of modernization, leading all people to continue striving for national prosperity and happiness. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has grasped the new changes in the stage of development, placing the gradual realization of common prosperity in a more prominent position and taking effective measures to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods, thereby completing the building of a moderately prosperous society. Especially during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, our Party has consistently adhered to the people-centered development philosophy, focusing on ensuring that children have access to childcare, students to education, workers to employment, patients to medical services, the elderly to care, residents to housing, and the vulnerable to support. The coverage of basic old-age insurance and basic medical insurance has remained stable at over 95%, further tightening the social safety net. Annual new urban employment has remained above 12 million, keeping the employment situation stable. Public services in education, culture, and health have developed vigorously, improving both national quality and health levels, with more high-quality cultural resources reaching ordinary households. The fruits of development are being shared more equitably among all people, and the people's sense of gain, happiness, and security is continuously increasing, creating good conditions for promoting common prosperity. Entering the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the solid advancement of common prosperity for all people enters a new critical journey. It follows the historical eradication of absolute poverty and the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, and looks forward to the vision of achieving more substantial progress in common prosperity by 2035. We must seize this window of time to further stimulate the people’s sense of ownership, gather the majestic strength of hundreds of millions of people in united struggle, and together paint a harmonious and beautiful picture of national prosperity and people’s happiness.
Scientifically planning the blueprint for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period is another general mobilization and deployment for the successive advancement of Chinese-path modernization.
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee proposed that realizing socialist modernization is a historical process of step-by-step progression and continuous improvement, requiring unremitting efforts and successive struggle. The Plenary Session’s scientific sketching of economic and social development for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period serves as another general mobilization and deployment, pointing the way forward and providing the fundamental guidance for China's development over the next five years and beyond.
Anchoring the historical coordinates of China's development to draw a grand blueprint for the next five years. Accurately judging the historical coordinates and development stage of the cause of the Party and the country is the basic prerequisite for our Party to establish its central tasks for a given stage, and the fundamental basis for planning various lines, principles, and policies. Based on the "two-step" strategic arrangement made by the 20th CPC National Congress, the Recommendations of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee anchor the historical position of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period in the process of comprehensively promoting the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. It clearly states that "the '15th Five-Year Plan' period is a critical period for laying a solid foundation and making a comprehensive push toward basically realizing socialist modernization." It clarifies the main objectives for this period: achieving significant results in high-quality development, greatly increasing the level of scientific and technological self-reliance, achieving new breakthroughs in further comprehensively deepening reform, significantly improving the level of social civilization, continuously improving the quality of people's lives, making major new progress in the construction of a Beautiful China, and further consolidating the national security barrier. This series of objectives and tasks draws a clear roadmap for China's development over the next five years, reflecting both the consistency and integrity of our Party's strategic goals for socialist modernization and the specific requirements of the current stage of practical development. As the "15th Five-Year Plan" period begins, the successive advancement of Chinese-path modernization must accurately grasp these historical coordinates, acting in accordance with the times, grasping the key links, and aiming at specific targets.
Focusing on key areas and priority tasks of socialist modernization to make systematic deployments for China's development over the next five years. Goals lead the direction of development. Focusing on the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation, and centered on the goal of basically realizing socialist modernization, the Fourth Plenary Session targeted key issues of overall and long-term significance. It deployed strategic tasks and major measures for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period across various fields: building a modern industrial system and consolidating the foundation of the real economy; accelerating high-level scientific and technological self-reliance to lead the development of new quality productive forces; building a strong domestic market to accelerate the construction of the new development pattern; accelerating the construction of a high-level socialist market economy system to enhance the momentum of high-quality development; expanding high-level opening-up to create a new situation for win-win cooperation; accelerating agricultural and rural modernization to solidly promote comprehensive rural revitalization; optimizing the layout of the regional economy to promote coordinated regional development; stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the whole nation to develop socialist culture; increasing efforts to guarantee and improve people's livelihoods to solidly promote common prosperity; accelerating the comprehensive green transition of economic and social development to build a Beautiful China; promoting the modernization of the national security system and capabilities to build a higher-level Peaceful China; and achieving the centenary goal of the founding of the People's Liberation Army on schedule to promote the modernization of national defense and the armed forces with high quality. This series of strategic deployments accurately grasps the requirements of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period and encompasses the strategic priorities for advancing and expanding Chinese-path modernization. In the coming period, as we move forward, we must focus on these key tasks in key areas to transform these strategic deployments into a powerful force for advancing Chinese-path modernization.
Gathering ideological consensus and the majestic strength of united struggle to inject strong confidence and momentum into China's development over the next five years. The process of compiling a Five-Year Plan is one of promoting democracy, gathering wisdom, and making scientific decisions, as well as a process of unifying thinking, building consensus, and strengthening confidence. In...
During the preparation process of the "15th Five-Year Plan," General Secretary Xi Jinping personally served as the head of the document drafting group, providing guidance throughout and "checking the pulse to determine the direction," [4] playing a decisive role. Simultaneously, the drafting group adhered to the integration of top-level design with "asking the people for their opinions," [5] gathering views from the masses through diverse channels. In April of this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period for certain provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, listening to the opinions and suggestions of the primary responsible comrades from multiple regions. Since then, he has issued several important instructions regarding the drafting of the "15th Five-Year Plan," providing essential compliance for scientifically planning the developmental blueprint for the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. From May to June, the drafting work for the "15th Five-Year Plan" conducted an online public consultation activity, receiving a cumulative total of over 3 million valid suggestions from the masses, providing a beneficial reference for the plan's formulation. This process aggregated the wisdom of the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups nationwide, achieving a "resonance at the same frequency" between "what the Party and government intend to do" and "what the people hope for in their hearts." In the upcoming "15th Five-Year Plan" period, we must consolidate consensus and strength through united struggle to continue advancing Chinese-path modernization and move the grand cause of Chinese-path modernization forward.
Firmly Grasp Major Principles to Ensure Decisive Progress in Basically Achieving Socialist Modernization
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee clarified the "Six Perseverances" (六个坚持) [6] as the important principles that must be followed for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. Standing at a new historical coordinate, we must firmly grasp these important principles, implement the various policy deployments and work requirements determined by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, promote sustained and healthy economic and social development, and continue to write new chapters of the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability.
Persist in the Party’s overall leadership, and give full play to the Party's core leadership role in overseeing the general situation and coordinating all parties. Persisting in and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership is the key to our country creating the two miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, and it is the "stabilizing needle" (定海神针) [7] for overcoming all difficulties and risks. To promote economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, we must persist in and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, integrating it into all aspects and the entire process of economic and social development to ensure the correct direction of our country's socialist modernization. We must resolutely uphold the authority of the Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership, strengthening the "Four Consciousnesses," [8] firming the "Four Confidences," [9] and achieving the Two Upholds. We must continuously improve the Party's capacity and level for leading economic and social development, improve the implementation mechanisms for the Central Committee’s major policy deployments, and give full play to the initiatives of both the central and local governments. We will advance the new great project of Party building in the New Era, persist over the long term in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, and enhance the Party’s ability to lead economic and social development.
Persist in the supremacy of the people, ensuring that the fruits of modernization benefit all people more extensively and equitably. The people are the creators of history and the fundamental force determining the future and destiny of the Party and the country. Promoting economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period must adhere to the principle of "people first," always taking the goal of letting the people lead a better life as the starting and ending point of all our work, and continuously realizing the people's aspirations for a better life. We must persist in ensuring and improving people's livelihoods through development, strengthening the development of inclusive, basic, and "safety net" livelihoods, and effectively resolving the "urgent, difficult, and anxious" issues [10] of the masses, smoothing channels for social mobility, and improving the quality of life for the people. We must always maintain "flesh-and-blood ties" with the masses, consciously drawing wisdom and strength from their great practices, thinking and working together with them, fully mobilizing their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity, and giving play to the creative power of hundreds of millions of people. We will improve the income distribution system, enhance the promotion mechanisms for high-quality and full employment, perfect the social security system, provide education that satisfies the people, and steadily promote the equalization of basic public services.
Persist in high-quality development to promote sustained economic health and comprehensive social progress. High-quality development is the primary task in building a socialist modernized country in all respects. To promote development during the "15th Five-Year Plan," we must accurately and comprehensively implement the New Development Philosophy, accelerate the construction of the New Development Pattern, and promote high-quality development. We must consolidate and strengthen the foundation of the real economy, optimize and upgrade traditional industries, cultivate and expand emerging and future industries, and accelerate the construction of a modernized industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone. We will promote urban-rural integration and coordinated regional development, facilitate the balanced allocation of urban and rural public resources and the free flow of productive factors, extend urban infrastructure and public services to rural areas, and steadily increase the incomes of urban and rural residents. We will unswervingly follow the path of ecological priority and green development, accelerate the refinement of systems and mechanisms for implementing the idea that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," [11] and promote the greening and low-carbon transformation of economic and social development through comprehensive, collaborative, innovative, and secure transitions.
Persist in comprehensively deepening reform to continuously enhance developmental momentum and social vitality. Reform and opening up are the most prominent characteristics of contemporary China. To promote development during the "15th Five-Year Plan," we must further and comprehensively deepen reform, focus on breaking down deep-seated institutional and mechanistic obstacles, and continuously enhance the momentum and vitality of socialist modernization. We must deepen economic structural reform, adhere to and implement the "Two Unwaveringlys," [12] promote the optimization of the layout and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy, optimize the development environment for private enterprises, and promote the complementary advantages and common development of various ownership economies. We will steadily expand institutional-based opening up, actively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, expand autonomous opening up, promote innovative trade development, and expand the space for two-way investment cooperation. We will advance the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, effectively transforming the institutional advantages of the Party’s leadership into governance effectiveness to maintain healthy economic development and overall social stability.
Persist in combining an effective market with a proactive government, accelerating the construction of a high-level socialist market economy. The combination of an effective market and a proactive government is a distinct feature of the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics and a valuable experience accumulated through long-term developmental practice. To promote development during the "15th Five-Year Plan," we must persist in this combination, using scientific guidance to allow the market and the government to exert force in tandem, creating an economic order that is both "dynamic without chaos" and "managed without stagnation." We must adhere to and improve the basic socialist economic system, better utilize the leading role of economic structural reform, and enhance the effectiveness of macroeconomic governance to ensure that high-quality development proceeds steadily. We will advance the construction of a unified national market in-depth, regulate low-price and disorderly competition among enterprises in accordance with laws and regulations, clean up and abolish various regulations and practices that hinder fair competition, and break down market monopolies, "involutionary" competition, [13] and other forms of unfair competition. We will strengthen the strategic guidance of national development plans and improve the coordination of fiscal and monetary policies. We will also strengthen counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, enhance the consistency of macro-policy orientations, and optimize the comprehensive performance evaluation for high-quality development.
Persist in coordinating development and security, using a New Security Pattern to safeguard the New Development Pattern. Development and security are "two wings of one body" and "two wheels of a single vehicle"; they must be balanced and advanced simultaneously. To promote development during the "15th Five-Year Plan," we must coordinate development and security, promoting high-level security through high-quality development and safeguarding high-quality development through high-level security. We must unswervingly implement the Holistic Approach to National Security, follow the path of socialist social governance with Chinese characteristics, and ensure that society is both vibrant and orderly. We will advance the modernization of the national security system and capacity, improve the urban and rural grassroots governance system that combines autonomy, the rule of law, and the rule of virtue under the leadership of Party organizations, and strengthen the human, financial, and material support for responding to sudden public events, effectively building a New Security Pattern. We will continue to prevent and resolve risks in key areas, steadily defuse local government debt risks, prevent and resolve risks in the financial sector, and firmly hold the bottom line of preventing systemic risks.