The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (the Fourth Plenum) is being held in Beijing from the 20th to the 23rd. The meeting will review the 'CPC Central Committee’s Proposals on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development' (the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan). According to Xinhua News Agency, China will achieve basic socialist modernization by 2035 through three consecutive five-year plans: the 14th, 15th, and 16th five-year plans.
Late at night on the 19th, Xinhua published a lengthy article titled 'Ensuring Decisive Progress in Basically Achieving Socialist Modernization—On the Eve of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Party’s 20th Central Committee.'
The article noted that from 2021 to 2025, the period of the “14th Five-Year Plan” marks the first five years after China has fully built a moderately prosperous society and accomplished its first centenary goal, setting out on a new journey to comprehensively build a socialist modern country and advance toward its second centenary goal.
From 2026 to 2030, focusing on driving the building of a powerful country and national rejuvenation through Chinese-style modernization, the “15th Five-Year Plan” period is a crucial phase to consolidate the foundation for basically achieving socialist modernization and making an all-out effort.
The article stated that, standing at the historical intersection of the 'Two Centenary Goals' (the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP in 2021 and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the PRC in 2049), this plenary session will coordinate the “14th Five-Year Plan” with the long-range goals for 2035 and sketch out the logical main line for China’s future economic and social development.
Xinhua summarized remarks from President Xi Jinping over the past five years, presenting the 'fundamental guiding principles' for China’s economic and social development, including promoting green transformation in economic and social development; coordinating development and security, and further strengthening the security foundations in food, energy, industry, and national defense; and promoting common prosperity for all people.
Xinhua stated that through three consecutive five-year plans—the 14th, 15th, and 16th—China will basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035, completing the first step of the two-stage strategy. The “15th Five-Year Plan” is a crucial five years connecting the past and the future, and is the first five-year plan formulated by the CCP Central Committee after embarking on the new journey.
The so-called “two-stage strategy” was proposed in the 19th Party Congress report: 'From now until 2020 is the decisive period for fully building a moderately prosperous society; from 2020 to the middle of this century, it will be arranged in two stages: The first stage, from 2020 to 2035, will see the basic achievement of socialist modernization; the second stage, from 2035 to the middle of this century, will see the country built into a great modern socialist nation that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.'
The article mentioned that at the Politburo meeting of the Central Committee held on September 29, requirements for economic and social development during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period were put forward: 'We must uphold the Party’s overall leadership,' 'put the people first,' 'insist on high-quality development,' 'deepen reform in all respects and expand high-level opening up,' 'combine an effective market with a capable government,' and 'coordinate development and security.'