BEIJING: The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) started its fourth plenary session in Beijing on Monday morning, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and expounded on the Party leadership’s draft proposals for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for national economic and social development, according to Xinhua.
The much-awaited meeting has attracted wide attention, as how China formulates the country’s next five-year plan not only carries exceptional weight for the country to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035 but also injects valuable stability and certainty into the volatile world of today, experts said on Monday, expressing high expectations for the visionary roadmap.
Covering the 2026-30 period, a defining phase on China’s path toward basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, the plan is expected to be formulated through a comprehensive assessment of global trends and will serve as a blueprint for China’s development in line with changing conditions, according to Xinhua.
Yu Miaojie, president of Liaoning University, told the Global Times on Monday that with the plan set for implementation next year, advancing Chinese modernization under the strong leadership of the CPC is poised to break new ground on all fronts.
Building on leveraging local conditions to develop new quality productive forces, the 15th Five-Year Plan period is expected to see accelerated efforts to modernize the industrial system and boost high-quality development fueled by sci-tech innovations, Yu said.
A CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting held on September 29 discussing issues related to 15th Five-Year Plan formulation stressed the need to stay committed to high-quality development, foster new quality productive forces in line with local conditions, and comprehensively deepen reform while further expanding high-level opening-up.
Faced with new situations and new tasks, steadfastly deepening reform and advancing high-level opening-up is necessary for achieving high-quality socio-economic development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and realizing Chinese modernization, Wan Zhe, an economist and professor at the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday.
In July 2024, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC put forward over 300 reform measures covering such fields as economy, politics, culture, social life and ecological protection, which fall within the next five-year period, injecting sustained momentum and social vitality into the construction of Chinese modernization, according to Xinhua.
“In addition to reform in various fields, achieving high-level opening-up is also an essential part of promoting high-quality development. By continuously expanding high-level opening-up, China will continue to make greater contributions to world economic recovery,” Yu said, noting that he expects the rollout of more opening-up measures during the next five years.
As the world’s second-largest economy, China’s five-year plans consistently generate significant spillover effects. For instance, by prioritizing technological self-reliance and upgrading the manufacturing sector, these plans effectively create new opportunities for the global supply chain while stabilizing global economic growth expectations, Wan said.
What’s equally important is to ensure both development and security and effectively prevent and defuse risks in key areas, according to Wan. “Amid escalating global uncertainties, addressing challenges such as technological bottlenecks, geopolitical conflicts, and economic headwinds by diversifying markets and attracting global resources with domestic circulation will not only strengthen China’s comprehensive national capabilities but safeguards technological safety and improves people’s well-being, she said. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
