(by Professor Zheng Changzhong on the Way from the Hotel to Potang Village, Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City, on May 24, 2025)
Dear journalists,
First, I would like to apologize for failing to give the planned introduction during the journey from Ningbo to Shaoxing yesterday. Due to the howling problem of the car microphone, the scheduled explanation had to be interrupted, but it also allowed everyone to take a short rest during the more than one-hour drive. However, please rest assured that I will fully present the prepared content to you today and tomorrow.
According to the arrangement, we will visit Potang Village, Yuecheng District, Shaoxing City. At that time, I will interpret the relevant situation of rural areas by combining what I see and hear. Before starting the topic of rural development and Zhejiang practice, I would like to first introduce to you a key measure behind China’s rapid development – planning work. There is an old Chinese saying: “Planning ensures success; lack of planning spells failure.” This deeply reflects the rational thinking of the Chinese people. We know that whether it is personal actions or national construction, planning is the cornerstone of success. By making systematic arrangements in the time and space dimensions, clarifying goals and tasks, and using various mechanisms to pool the strength of the whole society, China has achieved sustained, stable and rapid development over the past few decades.
This very important planning work began in 1953 and was approved for implementation by the National People’s Congress after the founding of New China in 1954. It has now gone through more than 70 years. At present, China’s planning system includes four main types, namely overall planning (such as the Five-Year Plan), spatial planning, specialized plans and regional plans.
The Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development is the general program for China’s development. It takes an overall view of the situation, clarifies the national overall development goals every five years, and makes systematic arrangements for the allocation of resources in various fields. Since 1953, China has compiled 14 Five-Year Plans and is currently working on the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The formulation of the plan is not done behind closed doors, but is closely integrated with the domestic and international situation and the development stage. During the formulation process, the central government makes unified arrangements, and many experts and scholars participate in in-depth research. At the same time, we also widely solicit public opinions through channels such as the Internet. For example, when formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan, more than 1 million public suggestions were collected through the Internet, fully realizing the organic integration of the leadership of the Communist Party of China, scientific decision-making and democratic decision-making. Finally, the plan needs to be established through the legislative procedure of the People’s Congress and has legal effect to ensure strict implementation.
Spatial planning focuses on the national land space and scientifically divides areas suitable for production, living and nature protection. Last year, when asked by a press delegation from Central and Eastern European countries whether China’s rapid economic development would cause serious damage to the ecological environment, the answer is that economic development does have an impact, but we have built a defense line for the ecological environment through mandatory legislative protection in spatial planning, promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and of the economic society and the ecological environment.
In order to promote the coordinated development of various fields such as economy, politics, society, culture and ecology, various departments and industries have also formulated specialized plans. These plans provide specific guidelines for various tasks in specific fields to ensure the orderly progress of development in various fields.
On the basis of spatial planning and specialized plans, regional plans came into being. For example, the Yangtze River Delta Integration Development Plan covering Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Plan, and the development plans for regions such as Northeast China and Central China. These regional plans promote cooperation and coordinated development among regions according to the economic development characteristics and advantages of different regions, and build a multi-level and all-round planning network across the country.
It is worth mentioning that China’s planning system is not limited to the national level, but also has corresponding plans at the provincial, municipal and county levels. From top to bottom, the whole country continues to advance construction around “one blueprint”, effectively integrating the strength, resources and elements of the whole society to jointly serve the goal of national modernization.
A journalist once asked me what the biggest secret of China’s development is. From the organizational level, the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the fundamental guarantee; from the institutional level, the continuous and stable planning system plays a key role. This system enables the whole society to pool wisdom and strength, give full play to the overall advantages of the country and all aspects, and form a pluralistic and integrated planning system, which is an important code for China’s development.
In addition to the planning system, China has also formulated a series of systems and policies around specific work. For example, in order to promote rural development, our country has issued opinions on rural revitalization and development and carried out pilot projects in areas with better development conditions. For another example, in 2021, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the Opinions on Supporting Zhejiang to High-Quality Develop and Build a Demonstration Zone for Common Prosperity, providing important guidance for Zhejiang to carry out its work. In the next few days, we will combine the reality of Zhejiang to deeply discuss the practice and achievements of this demonstration zone construction.
We are about to arrive at the visit site, so the content for this morning will be introduced here. During the follow-up itinerary, I will continue to share with you more wonderful content about China’s development, especially the practice in Zhejiang. Thank you for listening!
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.