China’s Xi pushes ‘holistic’ execution by local cadres for 5-year plan, warns of disparity

President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough implementation of central government strategies and policies at local levels, as the world’s second-largest economy rallies efforts to achieve a strong start to its five-year plan amid formidable external challenges and domestic headwinds.

The instruction on Tuesday arrived at a delicate time, as Beijing enforces some overriding strategies, such as a whole-of-nation approach to break technological bottlenecks, a campaign to fight vicious price competition, and the removal of local protectionism to create a unified domestic market.

Addressing provincial leaders and ministers at the Central Party School in Beijing, the Chinese president highlighted a “holistic grasp” of China’s 2026-2030 development goals, released in October, which will pave the way for Beijing’s modernisation plan by 2035.

“A holistic, comprehensive understanding means seeing all targets and strategies as a whole to avoid neglecting any aspect,” Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying at the meeting. “To not only know what they are, but also why they are proposed and how to implement and realise them.”

The gathering was themed as a study session about the party’s fourth plenum in October. However, it traditionally serves as an occasion for China’s top leadership to brief the country’s development priorities and emphasise political discipline for the entire year.