Xie Chuntao,

Vice President of the Party School of the Central Committee of CPC in charge of daily operation

It is a great pleasure to attend the Understanding China Conference. The recently concluded Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC adopted the Proposal for Formulating the “15th Five-Year Plan”, which has attracted significant attention from the international community. There are high expectations for China’s high-quality development to bring new opportunities for global progress, as well as a keen interest in understanding the success of China’s governance. To understand China, it is essential to understand Chinese modernization and the strategic planning undertaken to achieve this grand goal. Here, I would like to share with you China’s experience and practices in formulating and implementing development plans.

The CPC has always prioritized the scientific formulation and sequential implementation of national development strategies and plans as pioneering and leading task. President Xi emphasizes that accurate strategic judgment, scientific strategic planning, and gaining the strategic initiative hold great promise for the cause of the Party and the people. Through continuous exploration and practice, China has established a strategic and planning system that integrates long-term and short-term goals, ensures coherence between higher and lower levels, and achieves functional complementarity. This system has realized a high degree of unity between policy continuity and phased progression. This is not only a key experience in the CPC’s governance but also a significant political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The first level involves defining medium to long-term development strategies.

Centered on the consistent theme of building a modern socialist country, the CPC has established phased strategic objectives and delineated incremental strategic steps. On the eve of the victory of the Chinese revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong put forward the goal of “steadily transforming China from an agricultural nation into an industrial nation.” After the founding of the PRC, the “Four Modernizations” were introduced in the 1950s.

Following the launch of reform and opening up, we have planned national development strategies in step with the times, scientifically defining a phased and progressive timetable and road map — from addressing basic subsistence needs to achieving moderate prosperity in general, from building a moderately prosperous society in all respects to basically realizing socialist modernization by 2035, and then to fully establishing a great modern socialist country by the mid-21st century. Throughout this process, clear strategic planning has consistently guided modernization efforts, ensuring that the guiding principles are scientific and precise, and that tasks and measures are practical and effective.

As some foreign political leaders have remarked, there are likely few ruling parties in the world like the CPC that can chart the nation’s development for decades into the future and systematically achieve these development goals.

While formulating the overall national development strategy, China has also planned and implemented a series of major national strategies, such as the strategy for invigorating the country through science and education, the innovation-driven development strategy, the regional coordinated development strategy, and the rural revitalization strategy, achieving systematic integration of development strategies. Among these, the strategy for invigorating the country through science and education has been implemented for 30 years, and China is projected to become a country strong in education, science and technology, and talent by 2035.

In my exchanges with foreign political leaders, I often hear high praise for China’s achievements in poverty alleviation. This great accomplishment is the result of China’s continuous implementation of poverty reduction strategies. In particular, President Xi personally planned and promoted targeted poverty alleviation, lifting nearly 100 million rural people out of poverty within eight years, creating a miracle in the history of poverty reduction. Following this, the rural revitalization strategy was fully implemented. This is a vivid illustration of using medium- and long-term strategies to address major practical issues.

Over the decades, guided by medium and long term development strategies, China has comprehensively deepened reforms across all sectors and continuously expanded opening-up, achieving two miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. Chinese modernization is advancing steadily, with bright prospects for building a great modern socialist country.

The second level involves the formulation and implementation of Five-Year Plans.

China's strategic planning constitutes a comprehensive system, with the national-level Five-Year Plans serving as its cornerstone and key component. Through the sequential formulation and implementation of these plans, the achievement of phased objectives ensures the realization of medium and long term strategies. Since the launch of the “First Five-Year Plan” in 1953, over seventy years of exploration have accumulated extensive experience and developed a complete set of scientific methodologies.

For instance, China adheres to the principle of integrating top-level design with public consultation. The formulation of each plan involves in-depth research, extensive democratic deliberation, and the consolidation of wisdom from across the Party and the nation. During the development of the upcoming “15th Five-Year Plan”, more than 3 million comments were received via the internet alone, from which over 1,500 suggestions were synthesized by relevant authorities. It can be said that the planning process itself is a vivid practice of promoting intra-Party democracy and whole-process people’s democracy.

In addition to the overarching national plan, China also formulates specialized sectoral plans and regional plans. All departments, sectors, and local governments are required to develop and implement corresponding development plans based on their actual conditions, ensuring the coordinated implementation of the national comprehensive plan and facilitating the “last mile” of policy execution. This also reflects the advantage of China's unitary state system in concentrating resources to accomplish major undertakings.

The CPC has always honored its commitments, focusing not only on the formulation of plans but also on their execution and implementation. During the “14th Five-Year Plan” period that is soon to conclude, China has achieved new groundbreaking progress, transformative changes, and historic accomplishments in its economic and social development, despite facing complex international conditions and arduous domestic tasks in reform, development, and stability.

The next five years will be a critical period for laying a solid foundation and exerting comprehensive efforts to basically achieve socialist modernization. China’s economy boasts a stable foundation, numerous advantages, strong resilience, and vast potential. The supporting conditions and fundamental trend of long-term growth remain unchanged, while the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, the strength of a mega market, a complete industrial system, and abundant talent resources are becoming even more pronounced.

The proposal for the “15th Five-Year Plan” outlines a series of major strategic tasks to advance Chinese modernization. It emphasizes building China into a leader in 16 key areas, alongside creating a Beautiful China, a Safe China, a Digital China, and a Healthy China. The plan also includes implementing a range of major strategies, initiatives, projects, and programs, such as: Upgrading the pilot free trade zone strategy; Deepening special campaigns to boost consumption; Promoting the innovative development of the industrial internet, and Implementing plans to increase incomes for urban and rural residents. These measures have attracted widespread attention both domestically and internationally. The formulation and implementation of the “15th Five-Year Plan” will undoubtedly guide the giant ship of China to advance steadily and far.

The third level involves the deployment of annual work arrangements.

The achievement of Five-Year Plan objectives largely depends on annual work arrangements. At the central level, annual economic and social development plans are outlined in key meetings such as the Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report. Mid-year assessments are also conducted to promptly evaluate development trends and make adjustments in response to changing circumstances.

This mechanism has proven to be robust and effective, enabling proactive responses to emerging situations and challenges. For example, in September of last year, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee promptly rolled out a package of economic policies, providing strong guidance for sustained economic recovery and improvement.

Against the backdrop of sluggish global economic recovery and intertwined risks and challenges, China’s GDP growth reached 5% for the full year of last year and 5.2% in the first three quarters of this year, continuing to serve as a vital engine for global economic growth.

The fundamental guarantee for all these achievements lies in the strong and effective leadership of the Communist Party of China, particularly the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.  It relies on the concerted and united efforts of all sectors and levels, with the entire nation moving as one to follow through on the same master blueprint.

Since the launch of the new era, the strategic guidance of China's development planning has become increasingly prominent, fully demonstrating the exceptional leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi at its core in setting the direction, planning the overall situation, formulating policies, and driving reform. It also demonstrates the powerful truth of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Distinguished Friends,

By formulating and implementing development plans to advance Chinese modernization, China will not only bring benefits to its 1.4 billion people but also provide new opportunities, new approaches, and new options for global modernization. This will inject greater stability, certainty, and positive energy into world development, thereby contributing to the well-being of people across all nations.

We firmly believe that by working together with all parties to build a community with a shared future for mankind, we can collectively create an even brighter future for human society.

Wishing the 2025 “Understanding China” Conference a complete success! Thank you all!