Leading High-Quality Development with High-Quality Planning

Development planning is an important method of governance by our Party and the general program guiding economic and social development, playing a significant role in the construction of the national governance system. As early as 1985, Comrade Xi Jinping, then Executive Vice Mayor of Xiamen, took the lead in drafting the "Xiamen Economic and Social Development Strategy (1985–2000)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Development Strategy") [1]1 . This far-sighted blueprint was the earliest economic and social development plan compiled among the national special economic zones [2], and also the earliest strategic plan spanning 15 years compiled by a local government in China. It embodies the bold vision and wisdom of Comrade Xi Jinping in deeply considering and scientifically planning for the development of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone, laying a solid foundation for Xiamen's later take-off. Although forty years have passed since the compilation of this plan, the scientific concepts and methods of thinking it contains possess timeless contemporary value, providing a practical model for the current scientific planning, compilation, and implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan [3].

发展规划是我们党治国理政的重要方式，也是引领经济社会发展的总纲领，在国家治理体系建设中发挥着重要作用。早在1985年，时任厦门市常务副市长的习近平同志牵头绘制了《1985年—2000年厦门经济社会发展战略》（以下简称《发展战略》），这一富有远见卓识的擘画是全国经济特区中最早编制的一部经济社会发展规划，也是中国地方政府最早编制的一个纵跨15年的经济社会发展战略规划。它凝结着习近平同志为厦门经济特区发展深谋远虑、科学规划的胆略和智慧，为厦门后来的腾飞奠定了坚实基础。虽然这项规划编制工作已过去40个年头，但是其中蕴含的科学理念和思维方法具有历久弥新的时代价值，为当前科学谋划编制和实施“十五五”规划提供了实践范本。

I

一

Adhere to the people-centered value orientation throughout the entire process of planning compilation and implementation. "The people's aspiration for a better life is our goal," [4] and the fundamental orientation of planning must respond to the demands of people's livelihoods. At the beginning of reform and opening up [5], Xiamen had a small urban scale, a weak economic base, and an outdated cityscape; its economic development and people's living standards lagged behind those of coastal developed cities. The Development Strategy clearly set the goal of "making Xiamen a seaport city with a prosperous economy, advanced science and technology, a beautiful environment, relatively complete urban functions, and a relatively affluent life for the people." In order to effectively transform development achievements into people's well-being and meet the growing material and spiritual needs of the people, the Development Strategy not only specified livelihood development indicators such as the annual per capita wage income of all employees and the annual per capita income of farmers in suburban counties, but also particularly emphasized enriching the people's spiritual life and social construction content such as medical security. During the compilation process of the Development Strategy, it actively promoted a social participation mechanism, adhered to "opening the door for advice," [6] widely solicited opinions and suggestions from citizens, "unified strengthening top-level design with insisting on seeking advice from the people," [7] ensuring it truly reflected public opinion and concentrated people's wisdom, thereby improving the scientific and democratic decision-making of the strategic plan.

坚持以人民为中心的价值导向，贯穿规划编制实施全过程。“人民对美好生活的向往，就是我们的奋斗目标”，规划的根本导向必须回应民生需求。改革开放之初，厦门城市规模小、经济基础差、市容市貌旧，经济发展和人民群众生活水平与沿海发达城市存在差距，《发展战略》明确提出要“使厦门成为经济繁荣，科技先进，环境优美，城市功能较为齐全，人民生活比较富裕的海港城市”。为了将发展成果切实转化为民生福祉，满足人民群众日益增长的物质和精神需求，《发展战略》不仅明确了全部职工年人均工资收入、县郊农民人均年收入等民生发展指标，还特别强调要丰富群众精神生活和医疗保障等社会建设内容。在《发展战略》编制过程中，积极推动社会参与机制，坚持“开门问策”，广泛征求市民意见建议，“把加强顶层设计和坚持问计于民统一起来”，确保真正反映民意、集中民智，提高战略规划的科学决策和民主决策。

Adhere to foresight as the fulcrum of planning, scientifically plan long-term development goals. Planning must be laid out in advance and seize development opportunities; only by playing the first move well can one take the initiative. The Development Strategy conducted systematic, holistic, and coordinated strategic design over a 15-year period, proactively proposed the strategic planning goal of building a "seaport city," and devoted a special chapter to planning ecological environmental protection, proposing the concept of "ecological niche," clearly stating that while developing the special zone's economy, environmental pollution must be prevented and ecological balance maintained. It placed visions such as "beautiful environment" and "relatively complete urban functions" alongside "prosperous economy" and "advanced science and technology," highlighting the inherent logic of coordinated development of economy, society, ecology, and people's livelihoods. Looking at the general trend of the world economy, the Development Strategy was also the first among the four national special economic zones to propose a "three-step" strategic concept for building a free port [8], and "gradually carry out offshore financial business at an appropriate time." These forward-looking planning contents at that time still have important practical guiding significance today.

坚持把前瞻性作为规划支点，科学谋划长远发展目标。规划要超前布局、抢占发展先机，唯有下好先手棋，方能打好主动仗。《发展战略》以15年为周期开展系统性、整体性、协调性的战略设计，前瞻性地提出建设“海港城市”的战略规划目标，并专章谋划生态环境保护，提出“生态位”概念，明确在发展特区经济的同时一定要防止环境污染，保持生态平衡；将“环境优美”“城市功能较为齐全”等愿景与“经济繁荣”“科技先进”并列，彰显经济、社会、生态、民生协同发展的内在逻辑。着眼于世界经济发展大势，《发展战略》还在全国四个经济特区中率先提出建设自由港“三步走”战略构想，并“在适当的时候逐步开展离岸金融业务”。这些在当时极具前瞻性的规划内容，至今仍有重要实践指导意义。

Adhere to systematicity as the methodological foundation, build a systematic and complete development pattern. Systematic thinking requires planning work to achieve holistic planning, coordinated promotion, and dynamic adjustment. The Development Strategy creatively broke down departmental divisions and field barriers, using systematic thinking to coordinate the overall situation. It mainly consists of the overall thinking of Xiamen's economic and social development strategy and 21 strategic thematic studies, covering multiple fields such as economic system, urban construction, and ecological environment, forming a three-level three-dimensional planning system from comprehensive to thematic to key points. The Development Strategy embodies the methodology of overall policy implementation. At the level of industrial planning, it emphasized the leading role of industry while comprehensively coordinating the coordinated development of tourism, finance, real estate, and other industries. At the level of spatial layout, it proposed a "stars surrounding the moon" type urban structure [9] with Xiamen Island and Gulangyu as the center and Jimei, Xinglin, and Haicang as foils, breaking the urban spatial development limitation of "single-center development," providing a method for promoting overall policy implementation for Xiamen's leap from a "small island city" to a high-quality, high-appearance, and high-quality modern metropolis, vividly interpreting that systematic planning is the "core engine" of high-quality development.

坚持把系统性作为方法基石，构建系统完备的发展格局。系统观念要求在规划工作中要做到全局性谋划、协同性推进、动态性调整。《发展战略》创造性打破部门分割、领域壁垒，以系统思维统筹全局，其主要由厦门经济社会发展战略总体设想和21个战略专题研究构成，涵盖了经济体制、城市建设、生态环境等多个领域，形成了从综合到专题再到重点的三级立体规划体系。《发展战略》中蕴蓄着整体施策的方法论，在产业规划层面，既强调工业主导地位，又全面统筹旅游、金融、房地产等产业协同发展；在空间布局层面，提出以厦门本岛和鼓浪屿为中心，以集美、杏林、海沧为衬托的“众星拱月”型城镇结构，打破了“单中心发展”的城市空间发展局限，为厦门从“海岛小城”跃升为高素质、高颜值、高质量的现代化都市提供了整体施策的推进方法，生动诠释了系统性规划是高质量发展的“核心引擎”。

Adhere to the work style of seeking truth from facts, transform planning outcomes into actual development results. Compilation of plans must be down-to-earth so that grassroots can understand and execute them. Pragmatic planning must take people's livelihood needs as the fundamental starting point, operability as the basic requirement, and historical patience as the implementation criterion. The reason the Development Strategy has enduring guiding power is that it was deeply rooted in Xiamen's reality, directly faced the core contradictions and real bottlenecks in the development process, and proposed clear, specific, and feasible solutions. In order to better compile the Development Strategy, Comrade Xi Jinping carried forward the spirit of investigation and research, personally led a team to Beijing to consult experts and scholars, organized a research group to visit Singapore to study free port construction, and simultaneously conducted in-depth research in Xiamen, ensuring the plan met the actual development needs of Xiamen's economy and society. This pragmatic style of "planning first and then deciding" [10] can effectively avoid blind decisions and short-term behaviors, laying a scientific foundation for high-quality economic development. Xiamen's practice profoundly confirms that pragmatic planning is the "lifeline" of high-quality development.

坚持求真务实的工作作风，推动规划成果转化为发展实效。编制规划要接地气，让基层能明白、可执行。务实性的规划要以民生需求为根本出发点、以可操作性为基本要求、以历史耐心为实施准则。《发展战略》之所以具有不落幕的引领力，在于其深刻扎根于厦门实际，直面发展过程中的核心矛盾和现实瓶颈，提出了清晰、具体、可行的解决方案。为了更好地编制《发展战略》，习近平同志发扬调查研究精神，亲自带队到北京请教专家学者，组织课题组赴新加坡考察自由港建设，同时在厦门开展深入调研，确保规划符合厦门经济社会的实际发展需求。这种先谋后定、规划先行的务实作风，能够有效避免盲目决策和短期行为，为经济高质量发展奠定了科学基础。厦门实践深刻印证了务实性规划是高质量发展的“生命线”。

Adhere to historical patience as the strategic cornerstone, ensuring the development determination of "carrying out the blueprint to the end." [11] General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "Scientific planning is the greatest benefit, planning mistakes are the greatest waste, and planning disruptions are the greatest taboo," and "We must do practical things that the people can see, touch, and benefit from, and also do good things that pave the way, lay the foundation, and bring long-term benefits for future generations. We must do both visible achievements and invisible achievements, not caring about personal fame, pursuing the good reputation of the people and the true evaluation after historical precipitation." The Development Strategy, drafted under the leadership of Comrade Xi Jinping, precisely with the historical responsibility of "achievements must have me," [12] organically unifies the foresight of planning with the continuity of practice, anchoring the scientific course for the development of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone. This strategic plan not only outlined the grand vision of a "seaport city," but also, with the clear declaration of "one crop after another," [13] transformed the long-term blueprint into a practical logic of cross-tenure continuous struggle. The vitality of the Development Strategy is reflected in its transcendence of short-term political performance over time and space; it not only set 15-year phased goals, but also ensured through institutional arrangements that the blueprint conforming to the people's wishes would not stop abruptly due to personnel changes or government transitions, transforming the scientific nature of planning into a lasting driving force for high-quality development. Xiamen's practice vividly illustrates how to transcend term cycles through institutional arrangements, making strategic plans that conform to the people's long-term interests the core engine driving transformation and upgrading.

坚持历史耐心的战略基石，确保“一张蓝图绘到底”的发展定力。习近平总书记指出，“规划科学是最大的效益，规划失误是最大的浪费，规划折腾是最大的忌讳”“既要做让老百姓看得见、摸得着、得实惠的实事，也要做为后人作铺垫、打基础、利长远的好事，既要做显功，也要做潜功，不计较个人功名，追求人民群众的好口碑、历史沉淀之后真正的评价”。习近平同志牵头制定的《发展战略》，正是以“功成必定有我”的历史担当，将规划的前瞻性与实践的连续性有机统一，为厦门特区发展锚定了科学航向。这一战略规划不仅擘画了“海港城市”的宏伟愿景，更以“一茬接着一茬干”的鲜明宣示，将长远蓝图转化为跨越任期、接续奋斗的实践逻辑。《发展战略》的生命力，正体现为其超越短期政绩的时空性中，其不仅设定了15年分阶段目标，而且通过制度性安排确保符合人民愿望的蓝图不因人事更迭或者政府换届而戛然而止，将规划的科学性转化为高质量发展的持久动能。厦门实践生动诠释了如何通过制度性安排超越任期周期，使符合人民长远利益的战略规划成为驱动转型升级的核心引擎。

II

二

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC [14], General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized strengthening strategic thinking on different occasions, considering issues from an overall and long-term perspective, and planning and implementing a series of major strategic plans related to the development of the Party and the country. Currently, China's economy has entered the stage of high-quality development, facing a complex situation where various contradictions and problems are intertwined and influence each other. This requires us to adopt a historical perspective and a global vision, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the new development philosophy [15], and lead high-quality development with high-quality planning.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记在不同场合、多次强调要加强战略思维，从全局和长远角度思考问题，谋划实施了一系列事关党和国家发展的重大战略规划。当前我国经济已经步入高质量发展阶段，面对着各种矛盾和问题相互交织、相互影响的复杂局面，这就要求我们以历史眼光和全球视野，完整、准确、全面贯彻新发展理念，以高质量规划引领高质量发展。

Anchor with the people's heart, consolidate the value foundation. People-centeredness is the value basis of planning work in the New Era [16]. "A government thrives when it follows the people's will" [17] — people-centeredness has always been the most fundamental political attribute of China's development plans. The Development Strategy used practice to interpret the governance philosophy that "for matters beneficial to the people, even a hair's breadth must be promoted." [18] Currently, in formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must always keep the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the people in mind, establish a set of scientific dynamic response mechanisms for people's livelihood needs and policy supply, transform the people's "urgent difficulties and worries" [19] in employment, education, medical care, etc., into the "most important matters of the state" of the plan [20], carry forward the tradition of "seeking advice from the people," so that development plans truly become a common program that condenses the wisdom of hundreds of millions of people. When every data indicator in the planning text corresponds to the people's sense of gain, and when every major project carries the people's sense of happiness, such a plan can withstand the test of history and practice. This is precisely the strategic determination that needs to be most firmly upheld in the transition from the 14th to the 15th Five-Year Plan.

以民心为锚，筑牢价值根基。人民性是新时代规划工作的价值基点。政之所兴在顺民心，人民性始终是我国发展规划最根本的政治属性。《发展战略》用实践诠释了“利民之事，丝发必兴”的治理哲学。当前制定“十五五”规划，要始终把最广大人民群众根本利益放在心上，建立一套科学的民生需求与政策供给的动态响应机制，将就业、教育、医疗等群众“急难愁盼”转化为规划的“国之大者”，发扬“问计于民”的传统，让发展规划真正成为凝聚亿万人智慧的共同纲领。当规划文本的每一个数据指标都对应着百姓的获得感，当每一项重大工程都承载着群众的幸福感，这样的规划才能经得起历史和实践的检验。这正是“十四五”转向“十五五”进程中，最需要坚守的战略定力。

Take foresight as the lamp, gain insight into the trend of the times. The vitality of strategic planning lies in its forward-looking and leading nature. The reason the Development Strategy was able to point the direction for Xiamen's development in the early days of reform and opening up and create the Xiamen experience of coordinated progress in economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods is that it grasped the opportunities of the economic globalization wave and special zone construction with a super-advanced strategic vision. Currently, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is deepening, and international power comparisons are undergoing profound adjustments. The compilation of the 15th Five-Year Plan should carry forward the wisdom of "planning according to the situation, acting according to the trend, and following the momentum," [21] pre-emptively laying out in future industries such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology, seizing opportunities in the green and low-carbon transformation, and shaping advantages in building a new development pattern [22]. The practice of the Development Strategy shows that only by taking foresight as the lamp can we maintain strategic determination in complex changes and grasp the initiative in development amid risks and challenges. This is the profound revelation given to us by history, and also the strategic thinking that must be upheld for the future.

以远见为灯，洞察时代大势。战略规划的生命力在于其前瞻性与引领性。《发展战略》之所以能在改革开放初期为厦门发展指明方向，创造了经济发展与民生改善协同共进的厦门经验，关键在于其以超前的战略眼光把握了经济全球化浪潮与特区建设的时代机遇。当前，新一轮科技革命和产业变革深入发展，国际力量对比深刻调整，“十五五”规划编制要发扬“因势而谋、应势而动、顺势而为”的智慧，在人工智能、量子科技等未来产业领域提前布局，在绿色低碳转型中把握先机，在构建新发展格局中塑造优势。《发展战略》的实践表明，唯有以远见为灯，才能在复杂变局中保持战略定力，在风险挑战中把握发展主动。这是历史给予我们的深刻启示，也是面向未来必须坚守的战略思维。

Take the overall situation as a net, be adept at systematic methods. Systematic thinking is the methodological cornerstone of planning work in the New Era. "He who does not plan for the whole is insufficient to plan for a part." [23] General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, "Systematic thinking is a foundational way of thinking and working." The practice of the Development Strategy shows that excellent strategic planning must possess the systematic vision of "reaching the vast and yet grasping the subtle," [24] strengthen systematic thinking, and coordinate and promote the synergy and linkage of all fields of economic and social development. Planning should construct a multi-dimensional coordinated policy network system, establish a multi-level three-dimensional policy framework for industrial development, people's livelihood security, ecological protection, etc., simultaneously calculate the employment driving effect when laying out major projects, and comprehensively assess environmental carrying capacity in infrastructure construction. To play the whole country as one chess game, [25] coordinated development is the key to winning. Planning should establish closer regional coordination mechanisms, strengthen the pattern of coordinated regional development, optimize resource allocation on a larger scale through infrastructure connectivity, industrial chain complementarity and joint construction, etc., and weave the development demands of the people into an organic and unified policy network.

以全局为网，善用系统方法。系统思维是新时代规划工作的方法论基石，不谋全局者，不足谋一域。习近平总书记强调，“系统观念是具有基础性的思想和工作方法”。《发展战略》的实践表明，优秀的战略规划必须具备“致广大而尽精微”的系统视野，强化系统思维，统筹推进经济社会发展各领域协同联动。规划应当构建多维协同的政策网络体，建立产业发展、民生保障、生态保护等多层级的立体政策框架，在重大项目布局时同步测算就业带动效应，在基础设施建设中统筹评估环境承载力。下好全国一盘棋，协调发展是制胜要诀，规划要建立更紧密的区域协作机制，强化区域协同发展格局，通过基础设施互联互通、产业链互补共建等方式，在更大范围内优化资源配置，将人民群众的发展诉求编织成有机统一的政策网络。

Take actual results as the measure, sharpen the pragmatic character. Pragmatism is a fine tradition of Chinese Communists and the lifeline of planning work. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, "We must adhere to seeking truth from facts, be pragmatic, plan work starting from reality, so that the ideas, policies, and plans proposed conform to the actual situation, objective laws, and scientific spirit, and implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee with creative work. We must adhere to genuine hard work and grasp implementation; all work must be done practically and produce actual results." The reason the Development Strategy became a model in the early days of reform and opening up is that it upheld the pragmatic spirit of "not seeking false fame, not engaging in falsehoods," [26] transforming strategic concepts into quantifiable, assessable, and traceable specific indicators. This practical character of "the doer often succeeds, the traveler often arrives" [27] ensures that planning can both look up at the stars and stand on solid ground. Strategic determination must be built on the practical character of seeking truth and being pragmatic. Set clear phased goals in key areas such as technological innovation and green transformation, establish normalized supervision mechanisms, so that planning transforms from a blueprint on paper to a road on the ground. Only by taking actual results as the yardstick can planning truly become an action program for advancing Chinese-path modernization [28].

以实效为尺，砥砺务实品格。务实是中国共产党人的优良传统，也是规划工作的生命线。习近平总书记指出，“要坚持实事求是、求真务实，从实际出发谋划事业和工作，使提出的点子、政策、方案符合实际情况、符合客观规律、符合科学精神，以创造性工作把党中央决策部署落到实处。要坚持真抓实干、狠抓落实，一切工作都要往实里做、做出实效”。《发展战略》之所以成为改革开放初期的典范，关键在于其秉持“不采华名，不兴伪事”的务实精神，将战略构想转化为可量化、可考核、可追溯的具体指标。这种“为者常成，行者常至”的实践品格，确保了规划既能仰望星空又可脚踏实地。战略定力必须建立在务实求真的实践品格之上。在科技创新、绿色转型等重点领域设置清晰的阶段性目标，建立常态化督导机制，让规划从纸上蓝图变为地上通途。唯有以实效为衡量标尺，才能使规划真正成为推动中国式现代化的行动纲领。

Take perseverance as the boat, cultivate historical patience. Strategic determination is a distinctive character of the CPC's governance and the core support for the steady and long-term progress of development plans. "Those who dig wells start from a three-inch pit to reach a depth of ten thousand fathoms." [29] The Xiamen experience profoundly enlightens us that strategic wisdom lies not only in scientific planning but also in persistent and continuous struggle. It shows that the depth of development comes from the strength of persistence. Currently, in compiling the 15th Five-Year Plan, it is particularly necessary to build a sustainable development mechanism, set long-stage gradient goals in strategic areas such as technological innovation and green transformation, and continue the struggle, so that the national development plan truly becomes a coordinate of struggle that spans time and space. From special zone experiments to national practice, from the 20th century to the New Era, the practical logic of development strategy has always been consistent. When every five-year plan becomes a solid baton in the historical relay race, such development can reach the shore of modernization. This is precisely the historical wisdom that needs to be most inherited in the process toward the long-term goal of 2035 [30].

以恒心为舟，涵养历史耐心。战略定力是中国共产党治国理政的鲜明品格，也是发展规划行稳致远的核心支撑。凿井者，起于三寸之坎，以就万仞之深。厦门经验深刻启示我们，战略智慧不仅在于科学谋划，更在于持之以恒地接续奋斗。它昭示，发展的深度源自坚守的力度。当前编制“十五五”规划，尤需构建可持续发展机制，在科技创新、绿色转型等战略领域设置较长阶段的梯度目标，接续奋斗，使国家发展规划真正成为跨越时空的奋斗坐标。从特区试验到全国实践，从20世纪到新时代，发展战略的实践逻辑始终如一。当每一个五年规划都成为历史接力赛中的坚实一棒，这样的发展方能抵达现代化的彼岸。这正是面向2035年远景目标进程中，最需要传承的历史智慧。

The strategic wisdom and experiential inspiration contained in the Development Strategy, a classic work spanning centuries, shine ever brighter in the long river of history. Standing at the key juncture of the transition from the 14th to the 15th Five-Year Plan, looking back at the Xiamen model, we become even clearer that the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization must unfold in the dialectical unity of respecting the people's subjectivity, strengthening systematic synergy, enhancing development foresight, highlighting policy effectiveness, and maintaining strategic stability. Only in this way can the scientific nature of top-level design be transformed into vivid practice benefiting hundreds of millions of people, the precision of phased deployment be integrated into the magnificent journey of national rejuvenation, and every five-year plan become a strategic coordinate that withstands the test of history and the people, ultimately converging into an irresistible mighty force for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation [31].

《发展战略》这部跨越世纪的经典之作蕴含的战略智慧与经验启示，在历史长河中愈发闪耀光芒。站在“十四五”向“十五五”过渡的关键节点，回望厦门样本，我们愈加明晰，中国式现代化的宏伟蓝图必须在尊重人民主体性、强化系统协同性、提升发展前瞻性、突出政策实效性、保持战略稳定性的辩证统一中铺展。唯有如此，方能将顶层设计的科学性转化为惠及亿万人民的生动实践，将阶段性部署的精准性融入民族复兴的壮阔征程，使每一个五年规划都成为经得起历史与人民检验的战略坐标，最终汇聚成实现中华民族伟大复兴不可阻挡的磅礴力量。

(Author: Jin Min, is Deputy Director of the Fujian Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era [32], and Executive Vice President of the Party School of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPC [33].)

（作者：金敏，系福建省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心副主任、福建省委党校分管日常工作的副校长）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心