The Communique issued following the conclusion of the Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee called for “further deepening reforms across the board” while continuing to improve people’s living standards. The 5,000-word document emphasized technological upgrading, security and self-reliance to fend off headwinds. While building upon existing policy priorities, the document also offered signs of the challenges the Committee anticipates for China in the rest of the decade, with the frequency of the word “fight” exceeding its usage in a similar readout from five years ago. “Dare to fight, and be good at fighting,” a favored expression of President Xi Jinping, was used directly. “We must have the courage to face major tests amid high winds, rough waves and even raging storms, and tackle difficulties, risks and challenges with a spirit of historical initiative – focusing on doing our own work well to write a new chapter in sustaining China’s economic growth and long-term social stability,” according to the Communique.
“The message from the post-meeting communique is one of policy continuity, with technological upgrading and economic security still topping the agenda,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China Economics at Capital Economics, in a report. One major long-range target, frequently mentioned by officials, is for the country to accumulate a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) equivalent to that of a “moderately” developed country by 2035 – or doubling the figure of 2020.
Domestically, China has faced several persistent economic problems, including sluggish demand, a property crisis, a rapidly aging population and a reluctance among young adults to have children, both of which have fueled concerns over the country’s long-term demographic stability. “The outline of the coming five-year plan came with few surprises, but underlines China’s goal to become a tech superpower with a high degree of self-reliance,” said Allan von Mehren, Chief Analyst and China Economist at Danske Bank, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
The Global Times adds that the Communique offers the world a key text for understanding China's development logic and anticipating its future trajectory. Reading it, one can clearly perceive China's guiding philosophy, goals, approaches and development path. The Communique embodies the aspiration of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people for a better life; and the people-centered philosophy that underpins China's domestic development also informs its external efforts to build a community with a shared future for humanity. China's credibility – its consistency between words and actions – forms the foundation of public trust in the Party and government at home, and makes China, in the eyes of global investors and partners, one of the most stable and predictable forces in the world. From “ensuring that policies aimed at strengthening agriculture, benefiting farmers, and achieving rural prosperity deliver greater outcomes” to “moving forward with people-centered new urbanization,” and from “working harder to ensure and improve public well-being” to “making solid strides toward delivering common prosperity for all,” the 15th Five Year Plan consistently centers on enhancing the improvement of people's well-being. This development philosophy ensures that the fruits of economic and social progress are shared by the vast majority of the people, effectively avoiding issues such as wealth polarization and social fragmentation commonly seen in Western developed societies, according to the Global Times, concluding that “stable growth, stable policies and stable expectations are the key messages the Communique conveys to the world.”
The China Daily commented that the country’s development will enter a phase in which strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and uncertainties and unforeseen factors continue to grow. Efforts should be made to proactively identify, respond to and steer changes, and to have both the courage and ability to be both brave and adept in carrying out the struggle. The Communique stressed that China must focus on running its own affairs well, build a modernized industrial system and strengthen the foundations of the real economy, while advancing in the direction of smarter, greener and more integrated development. To achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and steer the development of new quality productive forces, it called for advancing original innovation and achieving breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields. It urged vigorous promotion of consumption, expansion of effective investment, and the resolute removal of barriers impeding the building of a unified national market.
The Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five Year Plan for Economic and Social Development were adopted at the Plenum, but the plan itself will only be published during the annual meeting of the National People's Congress in March next year.
The Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is available here
