【Text by Elias Jabour, Translation by Whale Life】

After four days of deliberation, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China closed on October 23. This session discussed a historic issue that not only concerns China but also the entire world - the proposal for the 15th Five-Year Plan, which will be launched in 2026. In the history of socialist planned economy, no plan has ever attracted such high levels of attention from global experts and governments as this one.

When the Soviet Union launched its first Five-Year Plan in 1928, it was almost completely isolated from the capitalist world. A similar situation existed in China for a long time, until the reform and opening up since 1978 gradually integrated China into global exchanges. Today, China is the world's largest exporter, second-largest importer, a major net creditor, and the largest trading partner of more than 160 countries. The direction of China's economy directly affects the global supply and demand structure.

From poverty to technological leadership

The current goal of China - to rank among the world's leading countries in key technology areas and achieve self-reliance and strength in economic and technological aspects - marks an important turning point in human history and the Global South. This country, still deep in poverty in 1949, is now striving to break the Western monopoly in science, technology, and innovation. After achieving the key achievement of eliminating absolute poverty during the 14th Five-Year Plan, China once again has an opportunity to demonstrate the superiority of socialism: through self-reliance, rapid expansion of material foundations, continuously improving people's living standards, and building a strong and vibrant modernized country.

Planning: The cornerstone of socialism

Although its mechanisms have evolved over decades, the Five-Year Plan has always been the core of China's socialist governance system. Deng Xiaoping pointed out that planned economy does not equal socialism, and market economy does not equal capitalism - this judgment remains far-sighted to this day. However, planning remains a core characteristic of socialism. Through planning, humanity demonstrates the ability to shape history according to collective needs and common ideals.

Compared with the economic stagnation and social decline of the current Western world, China's institutionalized planning system - the "Five-Year Plan" system - has proven to be one of the most influential economic innovations of the 20th century and continues to shape the world order of the 21st century.

Accomplishments of the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

Despite the U.S. technological containment and global uncertainties, the achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period are remarkable:

Economic growth: China's GDP increased from 10.35 trillion yuan in 2020 to approximately 13.49 trillion yuan in 2024, with an average actual growth rate of about 5.5%, firmly maintaining its position as the world's second-largest economy.

Innovation breakthroughs: With continuous increases in R&D investment, China has entered the global forefront in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and space exploration.

Sustainable development: China has made significant progress in achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, with a significant increase in solar and wind power installed capacity, and a continuous decrease in carbon emission intensity per unit of GDP.

Social stability: The employment scale of the population lifted out of poverty has remained above 30 million, and more than 6 million people at risk of returning to poverty have received targeted assistance.

Advancing towards high-quality and self-reliant development

The Fourth Plenary Session provided important clues for understanding China's development direction in the next five years. Reform will remain the central theme throughout. Facing a complex and changing international environment, China is accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, and the emphasis on self-reliance and strength is undeniable. Building a powerful science and technology country and becoming a leader in developing new productive forces has been regarded as a fundamental task concerning the fate of the nation.

At the same time, high-quality development will become the core goal for China's path toward a "carbon-neutral economy." China has already led the transition to clean energy, and it plans to make the vision of a "beautiful China, green China" more visible in the future. In the agricultural sector, the focus of development will shift to food security. New reforms on production relations and property rights structures are expected to take place and will be combined with the urbanization process in the new stage.

The良性 interaction between urban and rural development will elevate China's planning capabilities to a new level - achieving integrated development of urban and rural economies, promoting urban expansion without repeating the structural contradictions of capitalist megacities.

When the 15th Five-Year Plan is successfully completed, it is highly likely that socialism with Chinese characteristics will enter an unprecedented development stage - a stage that classic Marxist theorists did not foresee, but is now increasingly clear before all countries that yearn for peace and progress.

(The original text was published on the Brasil 247 website. The translation is for reference only and does not represent the views of Observers Network.)

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