What is China’s 5-year plan, and why is it so important?

As next month’s fourth plenary session of the Communist Party’s Central Committee approaches, global attention is turning to China’s next five-year plan, which will be discussed at the gathering and will offer insights into how Beijing plans to navigate uncertainties amid rising tensions with the US.

China has used five-year plans – a strategy and time frame similar to that of the former Soviet Union – in the more than seven decades since the establishment of the People’s Republic. In that time, it has lifted itself out of extreme poverty, emerged as a technological powerhouse and grown into the world’s second-largest economy.

In this explainer, the Post outlines what China’s five-year plan is, its key benchmarks and why Beijing continues to value it as a foundational economic document.

What is China’s five-year plan?

The five-year plan is China’s top-level road map that guides social and economic development over a five-year period.

It sets out both quantitative development goals across different sectors as well as strategic priorities such as important areas or industries to develop.

China adopted the model from the Soviet Union, whose first two plans sparked a wave of industrialisation that Chinese leaders sought to emulate as they rebuilt the nation after decades of war.

Beijing has released such a plan every five years since 1953, apart from a hiatus from 1963 to 1965 following the failure of the Great Leap Forward.

South China Morning Post