The “Five-Year Plan” Advances the Process of Chinese-Path Modernization in a Relay Fashion

Using the “Five-Year Plan” to guide economic and social development is an important method of governance for our Party. Studying its formulation, implementation, and achievements holds significant theoretical value and practical significance for analyzing the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the continuity of national strategy, and the institutional and mechanistic advantages of concentrating resources to accomplish major undertakings that are embodied in it, especially for the successful implementation of the upcoming “15th Five-Year Plan.”

用“五年规划”指导经济社会发展，是我们党治国理政的一种重要方式。研究其制定、实施情况及成就，对于解析其背后所体现的中国共产党的领导力、国家战略的连续性、集中力量办大事的体制机制优势等，特别是对于实施好接下来的“十五五”规划，将具有非常重要的理论价值和实践意义。

The “Five-Year Plan,” as a uniquely Chinese development paradigm, embodies the institutional advantages of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance.

“五年规划”作为中国独有的发展范式，体现了中国共产党治国理政的制度优势

China’s practice of continuously formulating and implementing “Five-Year Plans” is a distinctive feature and key instrument of the Chinese Communist Party’s governance, and a model of national governance unparalleled globally. The origin of the “Five-Year Plan” was an institutional arrangement explored and formed after the founding of New China to address the national condition of a hundred things waiting to be done, to promote the start of industrialization and the orderly development of the country. This institutional arrangement, based on domestic development needs, also drew on international experience and innovated in light of China’s actual conditions, gradually evolving into an important mechanism for systematically promoting and measuring the process of Chinese-path modernization. In 1953, the first Five-Year Plan (the “First Five-Year” Plan) was formally implemented. The core objective of this plan was to concentrate major forces on advancing industrial construction centered on 156 construction projects, establishing the initial foundation for China’s socialist industrialization. This was not only an early exploration of the laws of socialist construction but also an important practice of decomposing long-term goals through phased planning and promoting the implementation of Chinese-path modernization. After reform and opening up, China established a socialist market economy system but did not abandon the planning method; instead, it reformed it to allow it to play a better role. Especially starting from the “11th Five-Year Plan,” it was changed to “Five-Year Plan.” [1]1 The change from “计划 (jìhuà, plan)” to “规划 (guīhuà, plan/program)” in the Chinese name from the 11th Five-Year Plan onward reflected a shift from a mandatory, Soviet-style planning approach to a more indicative, strategic, and market-oriented form of guidance. In essence, the “Five-Year Plan” demonstrates the governance wisdom of the Chinese Communist Party in transforming grand visions into executable paths to resolve the principal contradiction in society at the time and realize the fundamental interests of the people. It is both a manifestation of China’s institutional advantages and a key tool for continuously promoting and scientifically measuring the process of Chinese-path modernization, providing a stable sense of rhythm and a measurable yardstick of progress for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

中国连续编制实施“五年规划”的做法，是中国共产党治国理政的鲜明特色和重要抓手，是全球范围内绝无仅有的国家治理模式。“五年规划”的缘起是新中国成立后为应对百废待兴的国情、推动工业化起步与国家有序发展，探索形成的制度安排。这一制度安排既立足本土发展需求，也借鉴国际经验并结合中国实际进行创新，逐步演变为系统推动和度量中国式现代化进程的重要机制。1953年，第一个五年计划（“一五”计划）正式实施。这一计划的核心目标是集中主要力量推进以156个建设项目为中心的工业建设，建立我国社会主义工业化的初步基础。这不仅是对社会主义建设规律的早期探索，更是以阶段性规划分解长远目标、推动中国式现代化落地的重要实践。改革开放后，中国建立社会主义市场经济体制，但并没有抛弃计划方式，而是对它进行改革，使之更好地发挥作用。特别是从“十一五”开始，改成“五年规划”。从本质上看，“五年规划”彰显了中国共产党为解决当时国内的社会主要矛盾，为了实现人民根本利益，将宏大愿景转化为可执行路径的治理智慧。它既是中国制度优势的体现，也是持续推动并科学度量中国式现代化进程的关键工具，为中国特色社会主义发展提供了稳定的节奏感和可衡量的进展标尺。

The formulation and release of the “Five-Year Plan” fully embodies scientificity and democracy.

“五年规划”的编制发布充分体现了科学性和民主性

As a programmatic document guiding national economic and social development, the “Five-Year Plan” has a set of rigorous and standardized procedures for its research, formulation, statutory enactment, and implementation guarantee. The research and formulation process must involve multi-party participation and scientific argumentation, consistently adhering to “open-door planning” and emphasizing the unification of top-level design with seeking advice from the people. The formulation of the “Five-Year Plan” is a systematic project that combines “top-down” overall guidance with “bottom-up” diverse participation, usually divided into four core stages: preliminary research, draft formulation, solicitation of opinions, and deliberation and release. This process is not merely technical policy-making but a key mechanism for systematically promoting and scientifically measuring the process of Chinese-path modernization, with the scientificity and democracy of the plan guaranteed throughout by institutionalized design.

“五年规划”作为指导国民经济和社会发展的纲领性文件，其研究编制、依法颁布和实施保障有一套严谨规范的流程。研究编制过程必须经过多方参与、科学论证，始终坚持“开门编规划”，注重把顶层设计和问计于民统一起来。“五年规划”的编制是兼具“自上而下”统筹引领与“自下而上”多元参与的系统工程，通常分为前期调研、草案编制、征求意见、审议发布四个核心阶段。这一过程不仅是技术层面的政策制定，更是系统推动和科学度量中国式现代化进程的关键机制，全程以制度化设计保障规划的科学性与民主性。

Specifically, first is conducting investigation and research. Carrying out different forms of investigation and research is a fine tradition and the primary link in formulating the “Five-Year Plan.” Investigation and research must be comprehensive and in-depth, including both research by the drafting departments and research by different research groups; both general research and special-topic research; and both research on achievements and experiences and research on shortcomings and deficiencies. Any investigation must adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts. Only on an objective and truthful basis can the key tasks and projects for the future be determined, existing problems be effectively solved, and a truly scientific, feasible, effective, and useful plan be formulated. Second is strengthening scientific argumentation. Formulating the “Five-Year Plan” generally involves listing a series of major topics and organizing relevant departments and experts to conduct in-depth research. After forming a preliminary plan, further scientific argumentation is needed on some major issues, important policies, and major projects. For difficult and thorny issues, repeated and rigorous argumentation is necessary, listening to the opinions of different experts, envisioning various plans and outcomes, weighing pros and cons, and forming consensus. Third is extensively soliciting opinions. The process of formulating the “Five-Year Plan” is a process of listening to public opinion, concentrating popular wisdom, pooling ideas, and building consensus. Fourth is adhering to top-level design. The “Five-Year Plan” is a strategic deployment that oversees the overall situation. The scientificity of the top-level design determines the success or failure of the plan. Top-level design should, at a higher level, combine strategic goals with practical needs, integrate the demands of the masses with the overall national situation, and align the interests of all parties with different needs, fully reflecting the systematic, holistic, and synergistic nature of the objectives, tasks, policies, and measures, and fully embodying and leveraging the strategic guiding role of the “Five-Year Plan.” Fifth is advancing the rule of law in planning. Development plans concern the overall situation of national development, especially spatial planning, which directly involves the vital interests of the people and includes many complex social relations and legal issues. Formulating and implementing high-quality development plans must first have laws to follow and strictly act in accordance with the law.

具体来说，一是开展调查研究。开展不同形式的调查研究，是制定“五年规划”的优良传统和首要环节。调查研究要全面、深入，既有起草部门的调查研究，也有不同课题组的调查研究；既有普遍性的调查研究，也有专项性的调查研究；既有成绩和经验的调查研究，也有短板和不足的调查研究。任何调查必须坚持实事求是的原则，唯有在客观真实的基础上，才能确定未来重点要抓的工作和项目，切实解决存在的问题，制定出真正科学、可行、管用、有用的规划。二是加强科学论证。制定“五年规划”，一般都要列出一系列重大课题，组织有关部门和专家进行深入研究。在形成规划初步方案之后，还需要对一些重大问题、重要政策、重大项目进行进一步科学论证。对于困难、棘手的问题，更要反复、严谨论证，听取不同专家的意见，设想各种不同的方案和结果，权衡利弊、形成共识。三是广泛听取意见。制定“五年规划”的过程，就是一个听取民意、集中民智、集思广益、凝聚共识的过程。四是坚持顶层设计。“五年规划”是总揽全局的战略部署，顶层设计的科学性如何，决定着规划的成败。顶层设计应该在更高层面上，把战略目标与现实需要结合起来，把群众要求与国家大局结合起来，把各方利益与不同需求结合起来，充分体现目标任务和政策举措的系统性、整体性、协同性，充分体现和发挥“五年规划”的战略指导作用。五是推进规划法治。发展规划关系国家发展大局，特别是空间规划直接涉及人民群众的切身利益，包括很多复杂的社会关系和法律问题。制定和实施高质量的发展规划，必须首先有法可依，严格依法办事。

It can be seen that the entire process of formulating the “Five-Year Plan” forms a closed-loop mechanism of “investigation—argumentation—consultation—legalization,” which not only ensures the scientificity and measurability of goals through professional means but also gathers social synergy to advance modernization through broad participation, thereby achieving systematic promotion and whole-process measurement of Chinese-path modernization. It should be noted that in summarizing the process of planning formulation and implementation, the most important and fundamental principle is to uphold the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, effectively transform the Party’s propositions into the will of the state and the common actions of the whole society, and embed Party leadership throughout all fields and the entire process of economic and social development, ensuring that the planning objectives and tasks are implemented and produce results.

可以看到，“五年规划”的编制全程形成“调研—论证—协商—法定”的闭环机制，既以专业手段保障目标的科学性和可度量性，也通过广泛参与凝聚推进现代化的社会合力，从而实现对中国式现代化的系统性推动和全过程度量。需要说明的是，在总结规划编制实施的过程中，最重要、最根本的一条就是坚持中国共产党的领导，将党的主张切实转化为国家意志和全社会共同行动，将党的领导贯穿经济社会发展各领域全过程，确保规划目标任务落地见效。

The “Five-Year Plan” embodies and practices the people-centered development philosophy.

“五年规划”体现并践行以人民为中心的发展思想

The “Five-Year Plan” consistently runs the people-centered development philosophy through all aspects and the entire process. Its indicator design and outcome measurement profoundly embody the core logic of “development for the people, development relying on the people, and development achievements shared by the people.” For example, in setting indicators, the “Five-Year Plan” consistently takes the people’s needs as the core orientation, reflecting the fundamental stance of “development for the people.” This effectively translates grand visions of Chinese-path modernization, such as “common prosperity” and “well-rounded development of the individual,” into specific, measurable indicators of people’s wellbeing. During the planning formulation process, through extensive research, public opinion collection, symposiums, and discussions, the demands of the masses in areas such as housing, education, employment, and healthcare are transformed into planning content. This indicator design approach of “coming from the masses” not only pools the wisdom of the masses but also enhances social identity and the force of coordinated advancement, ensuring that the construction process of Chinese-path modernization has a solid foundation of public opinion and breadth of participation. In terms of outcome measurement, the “Five-Year Plan” never uses simple economic growth rates as the sole criterion for evaluation but consistently takes the “people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security” as the core yardstick, practicing “development achievements shared by the people.” Planning evaluation focuses on the actual progress in livelihood areas such as rural revitalization, employment security, and public services, and values the improvement of residents’ quality of life and the protection of their rights and interests.

“五年规划”始终将以人民为中心的发展思想贯穿各方面和全过程，其指标设计与成果衡量深刻体现了“发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享”的核心逻辑。比如，“五年规划”在指标设定上，始终把人民需求作为核心导向，体现“发展为了人民”的根本立场。这实际上是将中国式现代化“共同富裕”“人的全面发展”等宏大愿景，转化为具体、可衡量的民生发展指标。在规划编制过程中，通过广泛调研、民意征集、座谈研讨等方式，将群众在住房、教育、就业、医疗等方面的诉求转化为规划内容。这种“从群众中来”的指标设计思路，使规划不仅凝聚起群众智慧，也增强了社会认同与协同推进力量，确保中国式现代化的建设过程具有坚实的民意基础和参与广度。在成果衡量上，“五年规划”从不以单纯的经济增速作为评判标准，而是始终以“人民获得感、幸福感、安全感”为核心标尺，践行“发展成果由人民共享”。规划评估重点关注乡村振兴、就业保障、公共服务等民生领域的实际进展，看重居民生活质量的提升和权益保障。

It can be said that the “Five-Year Plan” is essentially an institutionalized mode of governance by the Chinese Communist Party, which, proceeding from the long-term development of the country and the overall interests of the people, formulates goals, concepts, and strategies for national and social development at different stages of socialist modernization, targeting the principal social contradiction and central tasks of each period, and fully mobilizing forces and resources from all sides. The core mechanism of the “Five-Year Plan” for integrating national resources and concentrating efforts to accomplish major tasks is the system of “goal guidance—resource coordination—collaborative implementation” under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party. Through the plan, it clarifies phased goals and thereby mobilizes and allocates national resources, ensuring that the blueprint for Chinese-path modernization is transformed into an executable and assessable practical pathway. For example, the fight against poverty is a model of how this mechanism has driven Chinese-path modernization to achieve landmark accomplishments. From the 11th Five-Year Plan to the 13th Five-Year Plan, poverty alleviation was continuously taken as a key task; the 13th Five-Year Plan even set “poverty alleviation” as a binding target, specifying the hard goal of “lifting all rural poor out of poverty by 2020 under the current standard.” This goal is not only a concrete manifestation of the essential requirement of “common prosperity for all the people” in Chinese-path modernization but also provides a clear direction for integrating national resources, making poverty alleviation a key yardstick for measuring the modernization process. This process, through setting goals in the plan, mobilizing resources, and assessing results, fully demonstrates how the “Five-Year Plan” serves as a mechanism to drive substantive progress in Chinese-path modernization.

可以说，“五年规划”实质上是中国共产党从国家长远发展和人民整体利益出发，在社会主义现代化建设不同阶段，针对每一时期的社会主要矛盾和中心任务，充分动员各方面力量和资源，制定国家和社会发展的目标、理念、战略等的制度化治国理政方式。“五年规划”整合全国资源、集中力量办大事的核心机制，是党的集中统一领导下的“目标引领—资源统筹—协同执行”体系。它通过规划明确阶段性目标，并以此动员和配置全国资源，确保中国式现代化蓝图转化为可执行、可评估的现实路径。譬如，脱贫攻坚就是这一机制推动中国式现代化取得标志性成就的典范。“十一五”规划到“十三五”规划持续将扶贫作为重点任务，“十三五”规划更将“脱贫攻坚”设为约束性指标，明确“到2020年现行标准下农村贫困人口全部脱贫”的硬目标。这一目标既是中国式现代化“全体人民共同富裕”本质要求的具体体现，也为整合全国资源提供了清晰方向，使脱贫攻坚成为衡量现代化进程的关键标尺。这一过程通过规划设定目标、动员资源、评估成效，完整展现了如何以“五年规划”为机制，推动中国式现代化取得实质性进展。

The “Five-Year Plan” ensures the long-term nature and stability of major national development strategies, while also possessing dynamic adjustment and a certain degree of adaptability.

“五年规划”保障国家重大发展战略的长期性和稳定性，又有动态调整和一定的适应性

Through the triple logic of “goal linkage, mechanism inheritance, and statutory guarantee,” the “Five-Year Plan” provides solid support for the long-term nature and stability of national strategies. The development dividends released by its continuity permeate all fields of economic and social development, centrally manifesting the systematic nature and execution capacity of Chinese governance, and also becoming an important mechanism for systematically promoting and scientifically measuring the process of Chinese-path modernization. From the goal dimension, each “Five-Year Plan” anchors the medium- and long-term strategic direction of the country, constructing a clear transmission chain of “overall goal—phased goal—annual tasks,” breaking down the grand blueprint of Chinese-path modernization into executable and assessable phased pathways. For example, in advancing the “three-step” strategy, from the 8th Five-Year Plan to the 10th Five-Year Plan, the focus was on the leap “from meeting basic needs to achieving moderate prosperity in general”; from the 11th Five-Year Plan to the 13th Five-Year Plan, efforts were concentrated on “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects”; the 14th Five-Year Plan precisely links up with the “second centenary goal,” gradually pushing Chinese-path modernization from vision to reality. At the mechanism level, for long-term tasks involved in Chinese-path modernization, such as poverty alleviation, scientific and technological innovation, and infrastructure construction, multiple rounds of plans continuously relay investment, forming a development inertia where policies do not break off and intensity does not weaken. Taking poverty alleviation as an example, from the “poverty alleviation and development” of the 11th Five-Year Plan to the “targeted poverty alleviation” of the 13th Five-Year Plan, and then to the “effective connection between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization” of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the policy system has continuously deepened in the relay of plans, reflecting the sustained promotion and dynamic measurement of key tasks in Chinese-path modernization. In terms of procedural guarantees, the plan must be reviewed and approved by the National People’s Congress, possessing clear legal effect. This statutory process not only avoids the directional deviations that short-term policy swings might cause but also provides institutional protection for the advancement of Chinese-path modernization, ensuring that the strategic process is not interrupted by external disturbances. The development dividends brought by this continuity are prominently reflected in various fields of the economy and society, and also become an important yardstick for measuring the progress of Chinese-path modernization.

“五年规划”通过“目标衔接、机制传承、法定保障”三重逻辑，为国家战略的长期性与稳定性提供坚实支撑，其延续性所释放的发展红利贯穿经济社会发展各领域，集中彰显了中国治理的系统性与执行力，也成为系统推动和科学度量中国式现代化进程的重要机制。从目标维度看，每个“五年规划”均锚定国家中长期战略方向，构建起“总目标—阶段目标—年度任务”的清晰传导链条，将中国式现代化的宏伟蓝图分解为可执行、可评估的阶段性路径。例如，在“三步走”战略推进中，“八五”规划至“十五”规划聚焦“从解决温饱到总体小康”的跨越，“十一五”规划至“十三五”规划着力推进“全面建成小康社会”，“十四五”规划则精准衔接“第二个百年奋斗目标”，逐步推动中国式现代化从愿景走向现实。在机制层面，针对中国式现代化所涉及的长期任务，如脱贫攻坚、科技创新、基础设施建设等，多轮规划持续接力投入，形成政策不断档、力度不减弱的发展惯性。以脱贫攻坚为例，从“十一五”规划的“扶贫开发”到“十三五”规划的“精准扶贫”，再到“十四五”规划的“脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴有效衔接”，政策体系在规划接力中持续深化，体现了对中国式现代化关键任务的持续推进与动态度量。从程序保障而言，规划需经全国人民代表大会审议批准，具备明确法律效力。这一法定流程不仅规避了短期政策摇摆可能导致的方向偏离，也为中国式现代化的推进提供了制度性护航，确保战略进程不因外界干扰而中断。这种由连续性带来的发展红利，在经济社会各领域均有显著体现，也成为衡量中国式现代化进展的重要标尺。

Through the strategic implementation mechanism of “carrying the blueprint through to the end,” the “Five-Year Plan” effectively ensures the smooth linkage from the “three-step” strategy to the “two centenary goals.” Especially since the New Era, facing changes unseen in a century in the world, the “Five-Year Plan” has constructed a dynamic adjustment mechanism, demonstrating the adaptive innovation of strategic planning, ensuring that China’s development always advances steadily along the correct direction. The dynamic adjustment of the “Five-Year Plan” does not deviate from established goals; rather, it is a scientific optimization under the premise of adhering to long-term strategy, essentially the unity of “strategic resolve” and “tactical vitality.” This mechanism not only highlights the flexibility and resilience of China’s governance system in responding to complex challenges but also achieves, at the practical level, the dynamic promotion and process measurement of Chinese-path modernization, ensuring that the path of modernization construction is always scientific and its pace always controllable.

“五年规划”通过“一张蓝图绘到底”的战略实施机制，有力保障了我国“三步走”战略到“两个一百年”奋斗目标的平稳衔接。特别是新时代以来，面对世界百年未有之大变局，“五年规划”构建动态调整机制，展现战略规划的适应性创新，保障我国发展始终沿着正确方向稳步前进。“五年规划”的动态调整并非偏离既定目标，而是坚守长期战略前提下的科学优化，本质是“战略定力”与“策略活力”的统一。这一机制不仅彰显了中国治理体系应对复杂挑战的弹性与韧性，更在实践层面实现了对中国式现代化进程的动态推动与过程度量，确保现代化建设的路径始终科学、节奏始终可控。

The dynamic adjustment of the “Five-Year Plan” has already formed a series of clear institutional designs and standardized scientific implementation pathways. For example, mid-term evaluation and adjustment can focus on suitability optimization; annual plan linkage can achieve precise fine-tuning; emergency response adjustment can focus on breaking through shortcomings. The governance flexibility reflected in the dynamic adjustment of the “Five-Year Plan,” the dialectical unity of “upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, and pursuing progress while maintaining stability,” is an important methodology enabling the sustained and steady advancement of Chinese-path modernization. This adjustment mechanism indicates that Chinese-path modernization is not a completely unchanging static blueprint, but a dynamic process, under the continuous guidance of the “Five-Year Plan,” of constantly optimizing implementation pathways and assessing phased results. Through the organic combination of long-term strategic resolve and short-term tactical flexibility, the “Five-Year Plan” not only ensures the overall direction of modernization construction remains stable but also enhances the capacity to adapt to complex environments.

“五年规划”的动态调整已经形成了一系列明确的制度设计和规范科学的实施路径，比如中期评估调整可以聚焦适配性优化，年度计划衔接可以实现精准微调，应急响应调整可以聚焦短板突破。“五年规划”的动态调整所反映的治理弹性，“守正创新、稳中求进”的辩证统一，是中国式现代化能够持续稳健推进的重要方法论。这种调整机制表明，中国式现代化并非完全不变的静态蓝图，而是在“五年规划”的持续引导下，不断优化实施路径、评估阶段成效的动态进程。“五年规划”通过长期战略定力与短期策略灵活性的有机结合，既确保了现代化建设的整体方向稳定，也增强了对复杂环境的适应能力。

(The author is the President of the Chinese Academy of Chinese-Path Modernization, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者系中国社会科学院中国式现代化研究院院长）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧