Xi Jinping: Using medium- to long-term planning to guide economic and social development is an important method of our Party's governance.
I Development concepts are the precursors to developmental action; they govern the overall situation, fundamental principles, direction, and long-term outlook. They are the concentrated expression of developmental thinking, direction, and focal points. When the development concepts are correct, target tasks are easier to set, and policy measures naturally follow. To this end, the "Draft Recommendations" propose the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing, and use these five major development concepts as the main thread for the layout of the document. These five concepts are the concentrated expression of our country’s development thinking, direction, and focal points for the "13th Five-Year Plan" period and beyond. They also encapsulate our country’s developmental experience over the more than 30 years of reform and opening up, reflecting our Party's new understanding of the laws governing China’s development. (Explanatory remarks on the "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," October 26, 2015)
II We must strengthen leadership over the compilation of the "13th Five-Year" Plan Outline and specific sectoral plans, ensuring the implementation of the development concepts, main goals, key tasks, and major measures determined by the "Recommendations." In particular, we must propose concrete measures and indicators centered on implementing the five major development concepts. In formulating local development plans, all regions must integrate them with their specific realities, seek truth from facts, and leave sufficient leeway, avoiding the practice of "layer-by-layer pressure" [1]. We must place implementation in a prominent position, formulate specific schemes, clarify the division of responsibilities, and prevent tasks from falling through. We must resolutely overcome the phenomena of "planning and planning, only to hang it on the wall" or "having one set of plans but doing something else entirely." (Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, October 29, 2015)
III Guiding economic and social development through medium- and long-term planning is an important method for our Party’s governance of the country. Since 1953, China has formulated and implemented 13 five-year plans, eight of which were formulated and implemented during the period of reform and opening up. These plans have powerfully promoted economic and social development, the enhancement of comprehensive national strength, and the improvement of people’s lives, creating the miracle of rapid economic growth and the miracle of long-term social stability—both rare in world history. Practice has proved that medium- and long-term development planning can both give full play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation and better manifest the role of the government. (Speech at a symposium with experts in the fields of economy and society, August 24, 2020)
IV The people’s aspiration for a better life is our goal. Good principles, policies, and development plans should all conform to the people’s will and meet their thoughts and expectations; they should come from the masses and go to the masses. For a long time, before issuing important principles and policies or making major decisions and deployments, our Party has required relevant departments to conduct in-depth investigation and research at the grassroots level to understand and master firsthand materials. "Seek truth from facts" is an important component of our Party’s ideological line. As early as the Yan'an Period [2], Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized that "Communists should be models of seeking truth from facts" and "only by seeking truth from facts can one complete the determined tasks." He believed that the method of investigation and research requires first "keeping one's eyes downward, rather than just holding one's head high and looking at the sky," and second, "holding investigation meetings." The compilation of the five-year plan involves all aspects of economic and social development and is closely related to the production and life of the masses. It is necessary to unify the strengthening of top-level design with the persistence of "asking the people for their advice," encouraging the broad masses of the people and all sectors of society to offer suggestions and advice through various channels. (Speech at a symposium with grassroots representatives, September 17, 2020)
V The "14th Five-Year Plan" period marks the first five years after our country has comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society and realized the First Centenary Goal. We will then build on the momentum to embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and march toward the Second Centenary Goal [3]. Our country will enter a new stage of development. Guiding economic and social development through medium- and long-term planning is an important method for our Party’s governance of the country. We must take a long-term perspective, grasp the general trend, open our doors to seek advice, and pool collective wisdom. We must combine the strengthening of top-level design with the persistence of "asking the people for their advice," fully absorbing social expectations, the wisdom of the masses, expert opinions, and grassroots experience into the compilation of the plan. (Speech at a symposium with expert representatives in the fields of education, culture, health, and sports, September 22, 2020)
VI Soliciting opinions and suggestions from the whole of society via the internet for the compilation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" is a first in the history of our country's five-year plan formulation. This activity has been very effective, with high social participation, yielding many constructive opinions and suggestions. Relevant departments must promptly sort, analyze, and earnestly absorb them. The opinions and suggestions put forward by the broad masses of the people are extensive and specific, fully expressing new expectations for a better life. The people's aspiration for a better life is our goal, and the people’s confidence and support are the driving force for our country's progress. We must summarize the experience and practices of this activity to better play the role of the internet in listening to the people's voices and pooling the people's wisdom in future work, so as to better pool collective wisdom and build consensus. (Instruction on the online solicitation of opinions for the "14th Five-Year Plan" compilation, September 25, 2020)
VII The "Draft Recommendations" propose that economic and social development during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period should take high-quality development as its theme. This is a scientific judgment made based on changes in our country's stage, environment, and conditions of development. China is still in, and will long remain in, the primary stage of socialism; our country is still the largest developing country in the world, and development remains our Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. It must be emphasized that development in the New Era and the new stage must implement the new development philosophy [4] and must be high-quality development. At present, the principal contradiction in our society has been transformed into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing need for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The contradictions and problems in development are concentrated in the quality of development. This requires us to place the issue of development quality in a more prominent position and strive to improve the quality and efficiency of development. (Explanatory remarks on the "Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035," October 26, 2020)
VIII From the 1st Five-Year Plan to the 14th Five-Year Plan, the consistent theme has been building our country into a modern socialist country. We have taken detours and encountered unexpected difficulties and setbacks, but our will and determination to build a modern socialist country have never wavered. In this process, our Party's understanding of building a modern socialist country has deepened, our strategy has matured, and our practice has been enriched. This has accelerated our country's modernization process and laid the practical, theoretical, and institutional foundations for comprehensively building a modern socialist country in the new stage of development. (Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, October 29, 2020)
IX In formulating the current planning recommendations, the Party Central Committee unified the strengthening of top-level design with the persistence of "asking the people for their advice," emphasizing the promotion of democracy, opening doors to seek advice, and pooling collective wisdom. The scope of opinion solicitation, the number of participants, and the variety of forms are unprecedented. We must formulate the "14th Five-Year" Plan Outline, specific sectoral plans, and local plans based on these "Recommendations," remaining mindful to listen to the people's voices and pool their wisdom. In formulating local plans, all regions must integrate them with reality, seek truth from facts, and leave sufficient leeway, avoiding "layer-by-layer pressure." We must persist in and improve the mechanism for effective plan implementation, refining dynamic monitoring, mid-term evaluation, and summary evaluation mechanisms during implementation to improve the execution and realization of the plans. (Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, October 29, 2020)
X Shortly after the founding of New China, our Party proposed the goal of building a modern socialist country. Through 13 five-year plans (programs), we have laid a solid foundation for achieving this goal. The next 30 years will be the new development stage for us to complete this historic grand aspiration. We have already clarified the roadmap and timetable for future development. That is: by 2035, through three five-year plan periods, basically realize socialist modernization. Then, through another three five-year plan periods, by the middle of this century, build our country into a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful great modern socialist country. (Speech at a study session for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres on implementing the spirit of the 19th CPC Central Committee's Fifth Plenary Session, January 11, 2021)
XI Whether the spirit of the 19th CPC Central Committee's Fifth Plenary Session can be well implemented is a matter of the overall development of the Party and the country's cause for the next 5 years, 15 years, and even longer. The "Recommendations" for the "14th Five-Year Plan" adopted at the Plenary Session are rich in content, containing macro-thinking, guiding principles, and strategic ideas, as well as specific requirements; they include strategic deployments consistent since the 18th National Congress [5], as well as new major judgments and strategic measures. One cannot master them without putting in great effort. If they are not mastered, the implementation of the spirit of the Plenary Session will fail to grasp the core, hit the right notes, or reach fruition. Leading cadres at all levels, especially high-ranking cadres, must study the text in its original form, comprehending it article by article and paragraph by paragraph. On the premise of grasping the whole, they should prominently understand the key points and innovations, carry forward the fine academic style of integrating theory with practice, remain grounded in the present while looking to the long term, and enhance the proactivity, initiative, and creativity of their work. (Speech at a study session for provincial and ministerial-level leading cadres on implementing the spirit of the 19th CPC Central Committee's Fifth Plenary Session, January 11, 2021)
XII To comprehensively build a great modern socialist country, the overall strategic arrangement is a two-step process: from 2020 to 2035, basically realize socialist modernization; and from 2035 to the middle of this century, build China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful great modern socialist country.
By 2035, the overall goals of our country's development are: significantly leapfrogging in economic strength, technological strength, and comprehensive national strength, with per capita GDP reaching a new level equivalent to that of a moderately developed country; achieving high-level technological self-reliance and strength, entering the forefront of innovative countries; building a modern economic system and forming a new development pattern, basically realizing new-type industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization; basically realizing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, with the system of whole-process people’s democracy becoming more robust, and the basic completion of a rule-of-law country, government, and society; becoming a leading power in education, science and technology, talent, culture, and sports, and a "Healthy China," with national cultural soft power significantly enhanced; the people’s lives becoming more happy and beautiful, with per capita disposable income reaching a new level, the proportion of the middle-income group significantly increasing, equalization of basic public services being realized, rural areas basically possessing modern living conditions, society maintaining long-term stability, and more obvious substantive progress being made in the well-rounded development of individuals and the common prosperity of all people; widely forming green production and lifestyles, with carbon emissions peaking and then steadily declining, a fundamental improvement in the ecological environment, and the goal of a "Beautiful China" basically realized; and the national security system and capacity being comprehensively strengthened, with the basic realization of the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.
On the basis of basically realizing modernization, we will continue to struggle so that by the middle of this century, we will build China into a great modern socialist country that leads in terms of comprehensive national strength and international influence.
The next five years are the crucial period for getting the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country off to a good start. The main goals and tasks are: achieving new breakthroughs in high-quality economic development, significantly enhancing the capacity for technological self-reliance and strength, and making major progress in building a new development pattern and a modern economic system; taking new steps in reform and opening up, further advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, further improving the socialist market economy system, and basically forming a new system for a higher-level open economy; further improving the level of institutionalization, standardization, and proceduralization of whole-process people’s democracy, and further perfecting the system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics; enriching the people's spiritual and cultural life, and continuously strengthening the cohesion of the Chinese nation and the influence of Chinese culture; ensuring that household income growth is basically synchronized with economic growth, and the increase in labor compensation is basically synchronized with the increase in labor productivity, significantly improving the level of equalization of basic public services, and making the multi-level social security system more robust; significantly improving urban and rural human settlements, achieving notable results in the construction of a "Beautiful China"; further consolidating national security, achieving the centenary goal of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army on schedule, and making solid progress in the construction of a "Peaceful China"; and further enhancing China’s international status and influence, playing a greater role in global governance. (Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, October 16, 2022)
On April 29, 2025, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the State, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, conducted an inspection in Shanghai. Here, Xi Jinping is pictured at the "Model Speed Space" (Mōusù Kōngjiān) Large Model Innovation Ecological Community in Xuhui District, listening to reports on relevant technological research and development as well as corporate production and operations. Photo by Wang Ye, Xinhua News Agency.
XIII
The report to the 20th CPC National Congress profoundly expounded upon the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization; it represents the highest-level top-level design [6] for advancing Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is promoted in stages and across various sectors; achieving the developmental goals of each stage and implementing the developmental strategies of each sector similarly requires top-level design. To undertake top-level design, one must possess a profound insight into the general trends of world development, accurately grasp the common aspirations of the people, and conduct deep explorations into the laws governing economic and social development. This ensures that the formulated plans and policy systems reflect the characteristics of the era, grasp objective regularities, and are rich in creativity—achieving a combination of the long-term and short-term, a connection between the higher and lower levels, and a coordination of content. At the same time, advancing Chinese-path modernization is an exploratory undertaking. There are still many unknown frontiers, which require us to engage in bold exploration through practice and to drive the cause forward via reform and innovation. We must never "carve a mark on the boat to find a sword" [7] or "stand by a stump waiting for a rabbit" [8]. Every region and department must blaze new trails in light of their specific realities. Especially regarding frontier practices and unknown fields, we should encourage bold exploration and being the first to act, seeking concepts and methods to effectively resolve new contradictions and problems, and striving to create fresh experiences that can be replicated and promoted.
(From a speech delivered on February 7, 2023, at a seminar for newly elected members and alternate members of the CPC Central Committee and principal provincial- and ministerial-level leading officials, focusing on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress.)
XIV
This year is the critical year for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Next year will be the concluding year and also the year for planning the 15th Five-Year Plan. Regarding how the 14th Five-Year Plan's goals and tasks are being realized, and what kind of goals and tasks should be determined for the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must conduct research in advance. We must summarize and evaluate the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and effectively carry out the preliminary planning work for the 15th Five-Year Plan.
(From a speech delivered on July 18, 2024, at the second plenary session of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.)
XV
The year 2025 is the concluding year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. We must persist in taking the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide and fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee. We must adhere to the general keynote of seeking progress while maintaining stability, persist in placing the focal point of development on high-quality development, and completely, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy. We must accelerate the construction of the new development paradigm, further comprehensively deepen reform, expand high-level opening up, prevent and defuse risks in key areas and external shocks, promote the continuous recovery and improvement of the economy, maintain social harmony and stability, and advance comprehensively and strictly governing the Party in depth. We will formulate the Proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan and continue to forge ahead toward our grand goals.
(From a speech delivered on January 27, 2025, at the 2025 Spring Festival greeting meeting.)
XVI
Scientifically formulating and successively implementing Five-Year Plans is an important experience of our Party’s governance and a vital political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In planning the economic and social development for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we must accurately grasp the stage-specific requirements of that period. We must focus on the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation, and closely revolve around the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization, rationally determining goals and tasks and proposing conceptual measures sector by sector. For goals and tasks in every aspect, we must conduct in-depth analysis and demonstration to ensure they are scientific and precise and can be achieved on schedule. We must coordinate our planning, seize key and decisive factors, and master the rhythm and pace. We must focus on consolidating and expanding advantages, breaking through bottlenecks and sticking points, strengthening weak links, and improving quality and efficiency, ensuring that the orientation remains consistent with our overall goals.
(From a speech delivered on April 30, 2025, at a symposium on economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period for certain provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.)
Note: These are excerpts from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses between October 2015 and April 2025 regarding how using medium- and long-term planning to guide economic and social development is an important method of our Party’s governance.
Source: Qiushi, Issue No. 12, 2025 Online Editor: Tongxin