Finding direction amid changes, opening new horizons

Editor's note: Zheng Haizhen, a special commentator for CGTN, is an assistant researcher at the Department for Global Governance and International Organization Studies, China Institute of International Studies. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Five years ago, when China's development entered a stage marked by new historical coordinates and distinctive features with the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), at a seminar for principal officials, Chinese President Xi Jinping elaborated on "understanding the new development stage, implementing the new development philosophy, and fostering a new development paradigm."

Over the past five years, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, geopolitical conflicts have intensified, and global industrial and supply chains are being realigned.

China's own development conditions have also undergone profound changes, with shifts in demographic structure, factor endowments, and growth drivers.

Against this backdrop of intertwined domestic and international trials and tribulations, Xi's exposition offers an enduring strategic vision.

The new development philosophy

The 14th Five-Year Plan marked a critical transition as China moved from a phase of high-speed growth to one of high-quality development. Guided by the new development philosophy, China's economic development has undergone profound change. Development is no longer evaluated merely by speed and scale, but prioritizes quality and structure.

Innovation has become ever more central to the overall modernization drive. The integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation has been accelerated, and new quality productive forces have been nurtured.

Coordinated regional development has advanced, green and low-carbon transition gained momentum, and high-level opening-up expanded. In addition, solid progress has been achieved in enhancing people's well-being.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan

As China stands at the starting point of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), scientific and technological competition and industrial transformation have become key variables shaping the overall development landscape. The more complex and challenging the international environment becomes, the more necessary it is to base development on strengthening China's own capabilities.

The proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan call for accelerating high-level self-reliance and strength in science and technology, developing new quality productive forces, advancing scientific and technological innovation, and fostering new growth drivers. This reflects an accurate understanding of the characteristics of the new development stage and a forward-looking strategy to secure future development.

In practical terms, high-quality development must be guided by scientific and technological innovation and supported by a modern industrial system. By strengthening basic research, achieving breakthroughs in key core technologies, and accelerating the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements, China aims to build an economic system where innovation acts as the primary driver.

Providing certainty in an uncertain world

Building a new development paradigm with the domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other does not mean turning inward. Rather, by enhancing the stability and sustainability of its own development, China seeks to better connect domestic and international markets and resources, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes at a higher level.

The proposals for the 15th Five-Year Plan make it clear that China will advance high-level opening-up, uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries, and continue to provide global public goods and development opportunities.

A China committed to cooperation and mutual benefit, opposed to hegemonism and power politics, and dedicated to common development is increasingly becoming a source of certainty in a volatile world. At a time when global economic growth is weak and uncertainty is rising, China's development is vital not only to itself, but also contributes valuable stability to the world economy and global development governance.

Looking back over the past five years, Xi's exposition on the new development stage, the new development philosophy, and the new development paradigm has fully demonstrated its scientific validity and enduring vitality in practice.

Looking ahead, this systematic and logically coherent thought will continue to guide China in maintaining strategic direction amid complex changes and opening new horizons through reform and innovation. It will provide solid support for advancing Chinese modernization and promoting a global community with a shared future.

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