The long-term orientation of government performance in China

Editor's note: Ma Liang is a professor at the School of Government at Peking University. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

National development and state governance is a long-term course, and strategic resilience and patience is core to sustainable development. China's long-term approach emphasizes the role of strategic planning and performance measurement in ensuring policy continuity and effective implementation, which is relevant to other developing countries struggling for balanced governance.

It takes time to produce government performance, particularly in areas such as infrastructure development, ecological environment repairing and technological innovation. Patience capital is crucial to sustaining high-level government performance in investing in people, and government should be incentivized to be long-term oriented. The visible aspects of government performance are driven by invisible performance areas sustaining for a long period of time and requiring a high level of patience.

Short-term governance prioritizes getting things done immediately, but political uncertainty and discontinuity often stifles business investment and social development if government is short-term oriented. If government is characterized by myopia in policymaking and implementation, it is reluctant to invest in infrastructure, such as public transportation, internet connections and public housing, jeopardizing people's everyday lives. Such short-sighted governance is problematic in sustaining national development, and usually at the expense of citizens. Also, the sustainability of economic and social development would be challenged if government is of short-termism.

China's governance of time horizon is rooted in the traditional concept of Yin and Yang, which is a paradox perspective to integrate both long- and short-term modes. Instead of a trade-off between long- and short-term development, China highlights their relevance and integration in strategic planning and policy coordination. China is dedicated to the long-term development, which is realized through creative institutional arrangements such as the Five-Year Plan (FYP) system and the cadre evaluation and personnel management mechanism.

The Communist Party of China designated the Two Centenary Goals to be achieved in 2021 and 2049, which are to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and basically achieve socialist modernization respectively. Also, China as a responsible mega country is highly committed to international missions like global climate change, and the government has planned the "Dual Carbon" Targets (peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060). Accordingly, comprehensive climate policies are adopted and implemented by the government to upgrade its economic development model.

The FYP is scientifically and democratically designed through extensive research, deliberation and consultation, and consensus-based key performance targets and indicators are then developed to help achieve the master plan. The performance measures are comprehensive and people-oriented, and they are projected to ensure that the long-term mission could be achieved. Then, these targets are discomposed into years, regions and sectors, and they are consistently monitored and measured.

China is famous for its well-connected and efficient high-speed train network, as well as other public transportation infrastructure. These large-scale and long-term mega-projects require political endorsement, strategic planning and cross-boundary coordination, and they vividly evidence how China has institutionalized the logic of performance in socioeconomic development. Meanwhile, state-owned enterprises focus on public interests, and their engagement helps to ensure these projects are people-first and service-oriented.

Local cadres are evaluated by their performance in implementing the FYP and achieving the designated targets, and such a merit-based personnel management system strongly incentivizes them to be committed to China's long-term strategic planning. For instance, the FYP designs the mega-projects to be invested, and they are shouldered by sectors and cadres at every level and region, making the whole process of policy implementation under control.

Such approach is not static, but rather proactive and adaptable. During the process of FYP, the targets are evaluated and updated, and government would introduce policy adjustments to achieve them. Also, cadres are held accountable for their decisions made during their term of office, even after they leave their positions and retire. These approaches help to foster a long-term orientation among cadres, and they are more likely to pay attention to sustainable development.

From a comparative perspective, governance systems differ in how they balance short-term responsiveness with long-term strategic planning. In some Western countries operating under regular electoral cycles, governments may face stronger incentives to prioritize policies with more immediate and visible outcomes. As political priorities shift across administrations, maintaining policy continuity in areas requiring sustained investment – such as infrastructure, climate action and technological innovation – can become more challenging. Also, the entrenchment of interest groups disables the government to be independent in protecting public interests, and the parties have to pay back if they win the election.

In contrast with political systems of discontinuities and chaos in Western countries, China's approach is fundamentally different in conceptualizing political achievement and measuring government performance. The long-term orientation of government performance in China is thus a suitable path for other developing countries pursuing sustainable development and common prosperity.