Global Times: Xi Jinping Thought on Economy guides long-term steady economic growth for China: Jin Sheping

BEIJING, Dec. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) was anything but ordinary - China's economy has advanced steadily and reached new heights, fully demonstrating its distinctive advantages.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has profoundly grasped the laws of economic development and the country's overall situation. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made an important assessment: "We are seeing the strengths of socialism with Chinese characteristics, with China's enormous market, its complete industrial system, and its abundant human resources all coming to the fore."

Fully recognizing and making the most of these advantages is the fundamental prerequisite and key approach to implement sound economic work.

By bringing into full play these major advantages, maintaining strategic resolve, and continuously turning strengths into winning momentum and potential into real power, China will keep its economic ship sailing steadily forward.

Strong institutional strength

On December 2, the final concrete injection completed the finish of the giant bridge carrying the Hefei-Wuhan high-speed railway, linking Hefei in East China's Anhui Province and Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, marking another milestone toward the on-schedule opening of the railway line.

And, the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railway, connecting Shanghai, Southwest China's Chongqing and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, once completed, will shrink the travel time from Chengdu to Shanghai from 12.2 hours to less than 7 hours, injecting powerful momentum into high-quality economic development along the Yangtze Economic Belt.

Across the country, the construction of major infrastructure projects is in full swing, including high-speed railways, airports to urban underground pipelines and more. These projects will act as powerful drivers for Chinese modernization and high-quality development.

President Xi has pointed out: "Institutional advantages are the greatest advantages of a country and the competition of different systems is the most fundamental between countries."

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, from landmark national projects and crucial technological breakthroughs to eradicating absolute poverty and steadily advancing common prosperity in the country, the Party's centralized and unified leadership has enabled China to leverage the institutional edge and steer the economy confidently through headwinds.

The greatest strength of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the CPC. The Party's long-term governance avoids policy flip-flops common in Western multi-party systems, ensures that a single blueprint is carried through to the end, and provides a vital "anchor of stability" for China's long-term economic growth.

Enormous market scale

China has the world's largest online retail market for 12 straight years, the biggest goods trade volume for eight years running, and the world's largest consumer market by purchasing power parity. With a population of more than 1.4 billion, this is truly a large-scale market with unlimited growth prospects.

Today's Chinese market stands out not only for its sheer size but also for its depth of development potential, diversity of market demand, innovative business models, and its ever-deepening openness.

The foundation for growth has become more solid, and the growth potential of Chinese market is even greater. Currently, the country's per capita GDP has reached more than $13,000, which marks a critical period for consumption expansion and upgrading.

In fact, the consumption market is upgrading rapidly, and new consumption formats such as "AI + consumption" and "IP + consumption" are creating new growth engines.

Meanwhile, China is opening wider its market to the world. For example, the launch of Chancay-Shanghai direct shipping route has reduced logistics costs by approximately 20 percent. Always seeking open cooperation and mutual benefit has made China's massive market a great opportunity for the world.

China's massive market today sees more than 500 million parcels being delivered daily, with people, goods, capital, and data flowing efficiently.

By 2027, China aims to cultivate ten 100-billion-yuan ($14 billion) hotspot consumer goods categories and three 1-trillion-yuan massive consumption sectors. China will ensure that market supply and demand reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle, and that domestic consumption plays a steadily rising role in driving economic growth through 2030.

Complete industrial system

Ultra-thin electrical steel strip - only one-quarter the thickness of an A4 paper - was once a "choke point" technology that was monopolized by foreign companies. Today, a five-year-old start-up, Huayu Zhizao (Shanghai) Co, has achieved mass production, giving Chinese high-end equipment, such as humanoid robots, a fully home-grown "steel heart."

Over the past years, the advantage of a complete industrial system serves as a solid foundation for China's sizzling economic growth.

From China's first domestically built large cruise ship Adora Magic City and fourth-generation nuclear power plant to the Tiangong Space Station and C919 commercial jet, the world's most comprehensive manufacturing system - largest in scale and most complete in categories - underpins every leap forward of the economy during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee placed building a modernized industrial system and reinforcing the foundations of the real economy at the top of 12 strategic tasks listed for the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30).

Abundant human resource

Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province and Macao now recognize each other's vocational qualifications, removing barriers to talent flows.

Han Enhou, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Yan Ning, academician of China Academy of Sciences, have chosen Guangdong Province to launch their second careers, drawn by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's talent highland.

President Xi has noted: "Talent is an important indicator of a country's comprehensive strength."

Currently, China has 250 million university-educated citizens, over 220 million skilled workers, and the world's largest full-time research and development work force. China has become the world's largest country in terms of talent resources, with the most comprehensive range of talent categories.

A strong talent base is the source of confidence for the country to promote steadfast advancement of modernization.

The 15th Five-Year Plan proposals devote a special section to integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent - aiming to gather outstanding talent from all fields for the modernization cause.

Happiness does not fall from the sky. Only through hard work, perseverance, and relentless effort can China give full play to its strengths, overcome weaknesses, and advance Chinese modernization step by step.

SOURCE Global Times