From Liu Yushan
67-year-old Ms. Zhu finally stopped dreading lunch. Not because of a miracle cure for her diabetes condition, and certainly not because she paid for an expensive private doctor. Like many ordinary residents in her neighborhood, she got a dedicated public health management team ready to step in before a glucose spike triggers her panic.
When we talk about development or modernization, we often talk about skylines, the robots, and industrial capacity. But the metric that actually changes a life rarely shows up in macro statistics. A city’s warmth isn’t measured by the height of its skyscrapers. It’s measured by whether an elderly woman can manage her blood sugar without fear, whether a truck driver has a place to rest, whether children can enjoy reading safely in a school near home.
That idea sits at the center of one episode in a podcast series I’ve been working on about how China plans its modernization. In preparation for the writing, I kept noticing the same pattern: when development plans are based on the practical, specific needs of ordinary people, the results are tangible. When they aren’t, even impressive statistics can feel irrelevant. It made me realize that “meeting the people’s aspirations for a better life” isn’t just a political slogan. It has to be a practical working method.
Why the small things matter most
Mega-projects are impressive in their own right, but they don’t always reflect daily life. A country can build the world’s longest highway network, but if a long-haul trucker has nowhere to enjoy a good night’s sleep, the infrastructure provision leaves much to be desired. It can construct world-class medical centers, but if an elderly still lacks the means to manage chronic diabetes at home, healthcare hasn’t truly delivered intended results.
Development works better when it addresses everyday friction. That is what stood out to me while examining China’s 15th Five-Year Plan from 2026-2030.
Of the 20 major indicators, seven are directly related to people’s well-being. This again reflects the people-centered development philosophy implemented under the leadership of Xi Jinping in China’s national planning and top-level design.
From blood sugar monitoring to health management teams
Sanming City in eastern China’s Fujian Province offers a good example. In the health education room at Shaxian General Hospital, Ms. Zhu took out her phone, skillfully opened a WeChat mini-program, and showed her blood sugar curve for the week to her health manager, Le Lijuan. “Xiaole, look! My post-meal glucose reading was 6.8, and my morning fasting level was 5.3. I’m pretty much ‘graduating’ from blood sugar worries, am I not?” she asked with a smile.
Three months earlier, however, Ms. Zhu had been in a very different situation. She had lived with diabetes for three years and had been taking insulin for two, yet she still couldn’t figure out why her blood sugar kept going up and down. To ease her anxiety, a specialist physician adjusted her medication regimen, while a traditional Chinese medicine doctor taught her to soak her feet in warm water and massage pressure-relief acupoints every day. Last but not least, a health management specialist taught her how to use a continuous glucose monitor, turning her attention from “What can’t I eat?” into “How can I eat more healthily?”
In Sanming City, this three-tier support model isn’t reserved for a privileged few; it covers roughly 90% of local residents diagnosed with hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. Behind it is the city’s “whole-body, whole-life-cycle health service” system.
This is what people-centered reform looks like in real life when it works. It’s not symbolic. It fills gaps, builds systems, and creates a sense that development is shared rather than imposed.
From a truck driver’s request to provincial policy
The same principle applies beyond healthcare. Long Bing, a truck driver from Changde in central China’s Hunan Province, felt this deeply. Having driven heavy trucks for more than a decade, he knows all too well what truck drivers really want—it’s simple: a place to pull over for a sip of hot water and a solid rest during long-haul trips.
And his voice was heard at a “special” meeting in 2020.
Thinking back to that moment, he said: “Back in September 2020, I had the opportunity to attend a grassroots representatives’ meeting chaired by General Secretary Xi. I was really nervous at the time, but I still spoke honestly about what was on my mind. I told them I hoped we could have a safe, cozy place to rest, and a freight information platform of our own. The General Secretary listened carefully and said to us: ‘We value grassroots voices a great deal.’ And I remember thinking—me, as a truck driver—could I really make a difference for my fellow drivers?”
Within less than three months, provincial transport authorities began rolling out dedicated “Drivers’ Homes”—roadside stations equipped with laundry rooms, hot water, basic beds, and secure, monitored parking bays. Today, over 120 of these facilities operate across Hunan.
For the workers who move the country’s daily freight, the real signs of modernization isn’t just another hundred kilometers of asphalt; it is finally having a place to pull over with dignity.
Making sure the public have a say
When the people call, the government responds. During the preparation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, an online public consultation campaign was launched, receiving more than 3.1 million suggestions from internet users. These inputs provided valuable references for drafting the plan. In August 2025, Xi Jinping specifically emphasized that the campaign had seen active participation and wide coverage, and the public had put forward many valuable opinions and suggestions. He called on relevant departments to thoroughly study and integrate them into the plan.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 through 2025, China’s indicators of well-being showed noticeable uptick, from per capita disposable income growing by an average of 5.4% annually to 62.42 million urban jobs created. Behind these macro-level achievements was extensive consultation with people at the grassroots level.
At a time when global tensions often dominate headlines, it’s worth remembering that a better life is rarely built through grand gestures. More often, it’s built through steady, patient work—answering every phone call, creating every patch of green space, renovating every old residential building. As we walk through each city, we are, after all, dealing with individual people, one by one. –The Author is a reporter with CGTN. She is also one of the editors of the podcast show stories of Xi Jinping.
