Institutional planning key to China’s devt

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OPINION

By Zhang Lizhong

From October 20-23, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China successfully convened its fourth plenary session in Beijing.

The session deliberated over and adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as “the Recommendations”), drawing up the top-level design for China’s economic and social development in the next five years.

From the launch of the first Five-Year Plan in 1953 to the imminent conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan this year, China has transformed from an impoverished agrarian society into the world’s largest manufacturing powerhouse and second-largest economy.

The Five-Year Plans serve as a key to decoding the logic of China’s governance, and their sequential execution has consistently propelled Chinese modernisation.

Five-year plans: A distinctive strength of China’s governance model

The scientific formulation and continuous implementation of Five-Year Plans represent a vital component of the Communist Party of China’s governance approach and a notable advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

This institutional arrangement successfully achieves an innovative integration of an effective market and a proactive government, unifying strategic top-level design with democratic decision-making that incorporates public input. This synergy fully demonstrates the institutional strength of pooling resources to accomplish large-scale undertakings.

Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Five-Year Plans maintain both policy continuity and stability, while demonstrating an adaptive capacity to keep pace with the times, forming a unique long-term governance model. While institutional planning was not pioneered by China, its 70 years of consistent practice have yielded an unmatched developmental achievement on the global stage. This governance capacity to translate long-term vision into tangible action constitutes a crucial institutional key to understanding China’s development miracle.

Driving global growth: global significance of China’s governance

Over the past five years, faced with accelerating global transformation not seen in a century and a more severe and complex world, China has navigated pressing tasks in reform, development and stability at home.

Against this backdrop, the country achieved major accomplishments during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, injecting valuable certainty into a turbulent world.

China drives global growth with its economic stability. Achieving an approximately 5.5% economic growth, China has contributed to 30% of global growth. It has signed 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions. The country’s import volume is projected to exceed $1.5 trillion, while its outward direct investment has generated over $300b in tax revenue for host countries, boosting local employment and livelihoods.

China stabilises global chains as a manufacturing powerhouse. For 15 consecutive years, China has ranked first globally in manufacturing output, leading the world in the production of more than 220 major industrial products.

By establishing co-operation platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the Canton Fair, China dovetails precisely global supply and demand, promoting synergetic development of industrial and supply chains. China demonstrates global responsibility through poverty reduction co-operation.

China has proposed and implemented the Global Development Initiative, providing assistance for more than 1,800 projects to over 160 countries and international organisations through South-South co-operation.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation-Uganda trilateral co-operation project stands as an outstanding case of South-South co-operation, delivering tangible benefits to its people. China provides solutions for global innovation and green development. China’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index has climbed from 34th in 2012 to 10th in 2025.

The country has established the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, driving down the costs of wind and photovoltaic power by over 60% and 80% respectively. This has significantly enhanced the accessibility and affordability of clean energy technologies for developing countries.

Charting strategic goals: A bright outlook for China’s development prospects

The 19th CPC National Congress outlined a two-stage roadmap: achieving basic socialist modernisation from 2020-2035, then building a great modern socialist country — prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful — from 2035 to mid-21st century.

This vision underlines China’s unwavering commitment to its development path and its contribution to global peace and development. The period covered by the 15th Five-Year Plan (from 2026 to 2030) is critical for reinforcing the foundations and pushing ahead on all fronts, serving as a link between the past and the future.

The recommendations focus on the overarching long-term issues of China’s social and economic development over the next five years. Seven major objectives for this period are put forward: significant achievements in high-quality development; substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength; fresh breakthroughs in further deepening reform comprehensively; notable cultural and ethical progress across society; further improvements in quality of life; major new strides in advancing the Beautiful China Initiative; and further advances in strengthening the national security shield.

Over the next five years, we will witness the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics, China’s enormous market, its complete industrial system, and abundant human resources all coming to fore. China share the same path to modernisation with Africa. It will provide new opportunities and inject new momentum for African countries, including Uganda, and for the joint pursuit of modernisation by China and Africa.

Sharing experience, shared futures: a vision for China-Uganda co-operation

Over the past five years, China-Uganda bilateral relations have achieved a qualitative leap, with the two countries establishing a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership.

Sustained high-level exchanges have cemented political mutual trust, practical co-operation across various fields has yielded fruitful results, and people-to-people exchanges have featured many highlights. China stands as a sincere friend and reliable partner on Uganda’s path to development and revitalisation.

In the next five years, China will write another chapter on the miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability based on the systematic plans made at this meeting.

Uganda will also continue pursuing the goals of its Vision 2040 through the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV). I believe our two sides can seize the opportunity and deepen co-operation in the following areas:

First, maintain the vibrant momentum of high-level exchanges to further consolidate political mutual trust.

Second, jointly tap for more potential from the benefits of China’s zero-tariff preferential policies.

Third, strengthen collaboration in advantageous capacity and industrial system establishment to enhance self-development capacity.

Fourth, share technologies and experience in agricultural modernisation to achieve our common goal of food security.

Fifth, foster new growth drivers in green development and the digital economy l Sixth, expand co-operation in culture, education, and health to promote harmonious development between people and society.

The writer is the Ambassador of People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Uganda