Global Times: CPC plenum concludes, adopting recommendations for China's 15th Five-Year Plan

BEIJING, Oct. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) convened its fourth plenary session in Beijing from Monday to Thursday. Participants at the session deliberated over and adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, according to a communique of the session released on Thursday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee presided over the meeting. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered important addresses, according to the communique.

The participants heard and discussed a report presented by Xi on the work of the Political Bureau.

Xi also delivered explanatory remarks on the draft recommendations.

Chinese experts said the highly-anticipated meeting sets the top-level design and strategic blueprint for national development over the next five years by accurately grasping the crucial stage of the Party and the country and conducting in-depth analysis of the profound and complex changes faced by China's development.

Building on the achievements made during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the top meeting is another mobilization and deployment to seize momentum and advance Chinese modernization in a sustained manner, they said, stressing that this will have profound implications for China's development while also serving as a beacon for the volatile world.

Main goals

At the session, the CPC Central Committee fully affirmed the work of the Political Bureau since the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee.

China is now on the verge of accomplishing the major objectives and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan, according to the communique.

Participants at the session gave a highly positive assessment of China's major development achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), which has marked a momentous and extraordinary period in the country's development.

The 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) will be critical as the country works to reinforce the foundations and push ahead on all fronts toward basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, and it will thus serve as a key link between the past and the future, according to the communique.

"All of us in the Party must acquire a deep understanding of the decisive significance of establishing Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and of establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era," said the communique.

The CPC Central Committee set the following major objectives for the 15th Five-Year Plan period: significant advancements in high-quality development; substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength; fresh breakthroughs in further deepening reform comprehensively; notable cultural and ethical progress across society; further improvements in quality of life; major new strides in advancing the Beautiful China Initiative; and further advances in strengthening the national security shield.

"Firmly anchoring the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035, the recommendations stressed vigorously promoting high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period," Li Daokui, director of the Institute for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

China should build a modernized industrial system and reinforce the foundations of the real economy. The country should achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and steer the development of new quality productive forces. It should build a robust domestic market and work faster to foster a new pattern of development, according to the communique.

"The next five years is a critical period for laying a solid foundation and comprehensively building momentum for the longer-term 2035 vision of China," Zhou Jingtong, deputy head of the Bank of China Research Institute, told the Global Times on Thursday.

At the session, a call was issued to the whole Party, the entire military, and Chinese people of all ethnic groups to rally more closely around the Party Central Committee with Xi at its core, work hard together toward the goal of basically realizing socialist modernization, and continue breaking new ground in the drive to build a great country and advance national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.

Ensuring both development and security

According to the communique, at present, China remains in a phase of development where strategic opportunities exist alongside risks and challenges, while uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising.

"To run the country well, we must first run the Party well; only a Party that is thriving can make our country strong," said the communique.

It should modernize its national security system and capacity and advance the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level.

China should work to achieve the centenary goals of the People's Liberation Army on schedule and modernize national defense and the armed forces, according to the communique.

The session stressed that China should promote the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, advance peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the great cause of national reunification, Xinhua reported.

"The communique of the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee aligns with the report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, emphasizing the implementation of tasks over the next five years, Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times.

It is a reinforcement of the country's strategies, aiming to ensure both development and security, he added.

The core of the communique lies in steadily advancing while maintaining stability, strengthening implementation and deepening risk prevention, Su said, noting that the interconnected goals synergistically support the goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035.

Global significance

" China remains committed to opening up and shares its development dividends with all parties," Li said on the global significance of China's 15th Five-Year Plan.

The country should promote high-standard opening up and create new horizons for mutually beneficial cooperation, according to the communique.

"Amid the intense evolution of the global political and economic landscape, where risks in areas such as the global economy, technology, and diplomacy continue to escalate, China's goals for the 15th Five-Year Plan period will play an important role in promoting high-quality development and enhancing risk-resistance capability. For the world, the stable economic growth of the world's second-largest economy will continue to make it an engine and stabilizer," Zhou said.

Zhou said China also creates significant opportunities for global trade partners and foreign enterprises through its high-quality development. "Just as the central government has stressed: embracing China is embracing opportunities, believing in China is believing in a better tomorrow, and investing in China is investing in the future," he said.

Despite mounting external pressure and domestic challenges, China's GDP grew 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2025, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's economy maintained an annual average contribution of around 30 percent to global economic growth, serving as the world's most crucial driving force for development and fully demonstrating the resilience and vitality of the major economy, an NBS spokesperson said.

SOURCE Global Times