The Communist Party’s Central Committee will discuss the next five-year plan – the country’s 15th – at a meeting next month
China has used five-year plans – a strategy and time frame similar to that of the former Soviet Union – in the more than seven decades since the establishment of the People’s Republic. In that time, it has lifted itself out of extreme poverty, emerged as a technological powerhouse and grown into the world’s second-largest economy.
In this explainer, the Post outlines what China’s five-year plan is, its key benchmarks and why Beijing continues to value it as a foundational economic document.
The five-year plan is China’s top-level road map that guides social and economic development over a five-year period.
It sets out both quantitative development goals across different sectors as well as strategic priorities such as important areas or industries to develop.
