The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has put forward a series of forward-looking and strategic measures, charting the course for China's economic development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Among them, "promoting broader international economic flows" is a new proposal built on the previous "dual circulation" development paradigm. It responds to the current situation where some countries have severely undermined the rules-based multilateral trading system and imposed a host of restrictive measures and economic sanctions on multiple nations, including China.

In recent years, through the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has continuously expanded its international economic cooperation network. It has signed cooperation documents with over 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations, forming an extensive international economic "circle of friends."

Meanwhile, China has steadily advanced institutional opening-up, implementing a range of high-standard opening-up measures in areas such as the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone and Hainan Free Trade Port. These efforts have reduced barriers and restrictions for foreign goods and capital entering the domestic market, enhancing the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. All these measures have effectively broadened and deepened China's participation in the international economic cycle.

The proposal of "promoting broader international economic flows" this time is a robust move by China to better navigate the complex international landscape. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will further expand the scope, broaden the fields, and elevate the level of international circulation. This aims to counter the impact of trade protectionism, enable international circulation to more effectively boost the efficiency and quality of domestic circulation, and strengthen the autonomy of China's economic development.

The session outlined explicit requirements for China's economic development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. On the supply side, it adheres to driving the development of new quality productive forces through industrial upgrading and scientific and technological innovation. The session emphasized that economic development must be firmly anchored in the real economy, and calls for building a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone through mechanization, informatization, and the application of smart technologies.

At the same time, China will strengthen green technology innovation to drive industrial greening and achieve a balance between economic growth and environmental protection. Furthermore, it will promote industrial integration, advancing the in-depth convergence of advanced manufacturing and modern services to foster new business forms and models.

More importantly, the plenary session has set "substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength" as one of the main goals for economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. This aims to foster new quality productive forces by strengthening the national strategic sci-tech strength, increasing investment in basic research and the tackling of core and critical technologies, leveraging the strengths of the new whole-nation system, and focusing on resolving "bottleneck" problems.

On the demand side, it firmly bases itself on the strategic anchor of "expanding domestic demand." The session proposed building a strong domestic market, adhering to the close integration of improving people's well-being with boosting consumption, and combining investment in physical assets with investment in human capital.

On one hand, through measures such as raising residents' income levels and improving the social security system, it will enhance residents' consumption capacity and boost consumption confidence, while fostering new consumption patterns like green consumption and digital consumption. On the other hand, it will optimize the investment structure—not only increasing investment in areas such as infrastructure and scientific and technological innovation, but also focusing on investment in people by strengthening investment in social sectors such as education, healthcare, and culture to improve the quality of human capital.

At the same time, the session also proposed breaking down local protectionism and market segmentation to smooth the domestic economic cycle, and achieve a virtuous cycle "where new demand drives new supply, and new supply helps create fresh demand." This will be accomplished by improving market mechanisms and strengthening market supervision to break regional blockades and industry monopolies, promote the free flow of production factors and the optimal allocation of resources, and enhance the unity and efficiency of the domestic market.

By synergizing efforts on both the supply and demand sides, China will jointly advance high-quality economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, ensuring decisive progress toward the basic realization of socialist modernization.

Currently, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise globally, geopolitical rifts are deepening, and the global economic recovery faces an arduous journey. Against this backdrop, the international community has naturally turned its attention to countries that demonstrate stability, continuity, and predictability, hoping to find solutions to common challenges from them.

China has a population of over 1.4 billion and has been the world's top contributor to global economic growth for 10 consecutive years. The convening of the 4th Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee to map out and deploy its future development has inevitably attracted global attention, carrying unique and significant global implications. China's vast market is not only an internal driver of its domestic growth but also widely regarded as a global public good. Amidst the complex and changing external environment, China will overcome difficulties, mitigate risks, and meet challenges, contributing greater certainty and positive energy to the world.

Bao Shujun is researcher at the International Cooperation Center of the National Development and Reform Commission.