Chemical projects outlined for the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan during an exhibition on the centennial development of China’s chemical industry Photo: IC PHOTO

The FYP system emerged after the founding of the PRC as an institutional arrangement designed to address the country’s postwar reconstruction, jumpstart industrialization, and ensure orderly national development. Grounded in domestic needs and informed by international experience, it evolved through innovation suited to China’s realities and gradually became a vital mechanism for advancing and measuring the course of Chinese modernization.

The first FYP, officially launched in 1953, concentrated national efforts on industrial construction through 156 key projects, establishing the initial foundation for China’s socialist industrialization. It represented not only an early exploration of the laws governing socialist development, but also an important practical step in translating long-term vision into phased, achievable goals to realize Chinese modernization.

Following reform and opening up, China established a socialist market economy without discarding planning altogether. Instead, it reformed the planning approach to better leverage its strengths. In essence, the FYP system embodies the CPC’s governance wisdom in translating grand visions into executable pathways to resolve major social contradictions and serve the people’s fundamental interests. The system is both a manifestation of China’s institutional advantage and a key tool for continuously driving and scientifically measuring Chinese modernization, providing steady rhythm and measurable benchmarks for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Scientific nature, democratic principles

As a programmatic document guiding national economic and social development, each FYP follows a rigorous process of research, drafting, legal promulgation, and implementation. Its formulation, for example, involves multiple stakeholders and scientific assessment, following the principle of “open-door planning,” which integrates top-level design with public consultation.

The FYP’s creation is a systematic endeavor that integrates top-down coordination with diverse bottom-up participation, typically progressing through four stages: preliminary research, draft preparation, opinion solicitation, and deliberation and release. This process, far from being merely technical policymaking, serves as a crucial mechanism for the scientific measurement and systematic advancement of Chinese modernization, ensuring rigor and democracy through institutional design.

Specifically, the process involves extensive research, rigorous analysis, broad consultation, top-level coordination, and the advancement of planning within the rule of law. Each FYP’s formulation forms a closed loop of “research–demonstration–consultation–legalization,” guaranteeing scientific precision and measurability while fostering social consensus for modernization through broad participation.

It is vital to emphasize that the most critical and fundamental aspect of the planning process is upholding the leadership of the CPC. By transforming Party principles into national policy and collective societal action, the FYP process embeds Party leadership throughout all stages of economic and social development, ensuring the effective implementation of each plan’s objectives and tasks.

People-centered approach

Throughout their formulation and implementation, the FYPs have consistently placed the wellbeing and needs of the people at the heart of their objectives. The design of indicators and the evaluation of outcomes clearly and comprehensively embody the guiding principle that “development is for the people, reliant on the people, and that its fruits should be shared by the people.”

For instance, when setting targets, the FYPs consistently take the people’s needs as their primary focus, demonstrating the enduring conviction that “development is for the people.” In doing so, they translate the grand vision of Chinese modernization—embodied in ideals such as “common prosperity” and “well-rounded human development”—into concrete, measurable indicators that directly reflect improvements in people’s livelihoods.

Throughout the planning process, policymakers conduct extensive research, hold wide-ranging public consultations, and engage in discussions to incorporate the people’s concerns about housing, education, employment, healthcare, and other areas into the plan. This “from-the-people” approach to indicator design not only harnesses collective wisdom but also fosters social consensus and cooperation, ensuring that the advancement of Chinese modernization is firmly grounded in broad public participation and support.

In evaluating results, FYPs go beyond economic growth rates, consistently focusing instead on the “people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security,” applying the principle that the benefits of development should be shared by the people. Assessments of plans emphasize tangible progress in areas critical to people’s wellbeing—rural revitalization, employment, and public services—underscoring improvements to quality of life and the protection of rights.

Ensuring strategies’ long-term stability, dynamic adaptability

Through three key mechanisms—goal alignment, institutional continuity, and legal safeguards—the FYPs provide solid underpinnings for the consistency of national strategies over the long term. The developmental dividends generated by this continuity permeate all areas of economic and social progress, highlighting the systematic approach and execution capacity of the Chinese governance model.

From the perspective of goal-setting, each FYP aligns with medium- and long-term national strategies, establishing a clear transmission chain from overarching objectives to phased goals and annual tasks, translating the grand blueprint of Chinese modernization into actionable pathways.

The “Three-Step” development strategy provides a vivid illustration of China’s systematic approach to modernization. The first step involved doubling the 1980 GNP by the end of the 1980s and ensuring that the people would have adequate food and clothing. The second step involved doubling the 1990 GNP by the end of the 20th century and ensuring the people a moderately prosperous life. The third step involved increasing the per capita GNP level to that of moderately developed countries, ensuring the people a relatively affluent life, and realizing basic modernization by the middle of the 21st century.

Within this overarching framework, the 8th to 10th FYPs concentrated on the transition from ensuring basic subsistence to attaining moderate prosperity, while the 11th to 13th FYPs carried forward the goal of “building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.” The 14th FYP dovetails seamlessly with the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious—steadily turning the vision of Chinese modernization into reality.

Mechanistically, to address long-term tasks fundamental to Chinese modernization—such as poverty alleviation, scientific and technological innovation, and infrastructure development—successive plans have maintained sustained investment and coordinated implementation, generating strong and continuous policy momentum. For example, from the “poverty alleviation and development” emphasis in the 11th FYP, to the “targeted poverty alleviation” strategy in the 13th plan, and further to the “effective linkage between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization” in the 14th FYP, the policy framework has been steadily refined and strengthened through this sequence of initiatives. This reflects both persistent advancement and dynamic assessment of key tasks in Chinese modernization.

Procedurally, each plan is deliberated and approved by the National People’s Congress, which grants it explicit legal authority. This statutory process not only minimizes the risks posed by short-term policy fluctuations but also establishes enduring institutional safeguards for Chinese modernization, ensuring that strategic advancement proceeds without disruption from external factors. The developmental dividends arising from this continuity are visible across multiple economic and social domains and serve as a key benchmark for gauging China’s modernization progress.

Zhang Guanzi is director general of the National Academy of Chinese Modernization at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.