Editor's note: American Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that the U.S. had fallen behind China in developing climate change-preventing technology. China's global dominance in renewable energy is no accident. See how long-term planning boosts China's growth.

"It's difficult to imagine the United States winning the long-term strategic competition with China if we cannot lead the renewable energy revolution. Right now, we're falling behind. China is the largest producer and exporter of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles."

Days ahead of the Earth Day summit, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the U.S. has fallen behind China in developing the technology needed to curb climate change.

China's global dominance in renewable energy is the result of long-term planning.

The country's national renewable targets were first set out in 2005. Now, it is reaping the results of a plan that has exceeded 15 years.

As Foreign Policy magazine said in an article published in 2020, "China is for now winning the global race to invent and manufacture the technologies that will allow a new low-carbon world."

China's renewable energy success is just one example of how long-term planning has been at the heart of the country's transformation into the world's second largest economy within decades.

This strategic visionary planning has been backed up by effective implementation.

In some Western countries, changes in government often result in changes in policies or attempts to change policies. Witness the standoff in the U.S. between the Republicans and Democrats over Obamacare. While they bickered, by 2019, China's basic health insurance scheme had covered more than 95 percent of its people.

In contrast, China does not need to worry about partisan squabbles derailing its carefully thought-out timetable. It can mobilize all resources for its master plans without fear they will be abruptly discarded. That explains why the country demonstrates high efficiency in addressing domestic issues.

"China's governance, contrary to Western prejudices, is a remarkably effective form of governance. It is the most developed form of governance in the world," Martin Jacques, former senior fellow at Cambridge University, said.

But this does not mean that mistakes have not been made along the way, particularly in the early years of China's long-range planning. By blindly copying the centralized Soviet system, China suffered a lot from a disastrous economic campaign in the 1950s.

But the country learned from that experience. It devised attainable goals and consulted widely in subsequent years.

The drafting of the Five Year Plans usually takes three years, according to Xinhua news agency. Input is sought from diverse sources, including government ministries, state enterprises, provincial administrations, scholars and think tanks, grass-root level CPC delegates, non-CPC political parties and the private sector.

That ensures wide acceptance of the plans.

Given the successful implementation over the years, some argue that the U.S. should spend less time sniping at the rise of China and more at taking cues at how it gets things done.

As a commentator for the Forbes said in a 2020 article, "The U.S. would be wise to take a lesson from China's intent to frame a long-term strategy."

Countries may indeed pursue different economic paths. For China, long-term planning is the key to its world-beating continuous growth.

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