When China announced 14th Development Plan, experts and policymakers argued it was too ambitious. Anti-China groups labeled it wishful thinking or an attempt to appease Communist Party and the public. They specifically criticised China’s goal to address climate change without compromising its development objectives or needs of its people. They believed it was impossible to accomplish both at the same time. Additionally, implementation of 14th Plan began while world was battling Covid-19 and the global economy was rapidly declining.
However, the Chinese leadership did not heed these observations and comments and remains committed to objectives and goals of 14th Five-Year Development Plan. China places great importance on implementation of 14th Plan, which is seen as first step towards a modern China in all aspects and creation of a socialist society. Therefore, Chinese leadership did not waste time on self-promotion, TikTok videos, or lengthy lectures; instead, they focused on working. Implementation plan will be completed in 2025. China has already begun working on 15th Five-Year Development Plan. In China, it is a common practice to build on lessons learned from previous plan. Consequently, China has conducted a thorough study of first four years of 14th Development Plan to draw lessons for 15th and share them with the people. An overview of the successes has been provided.
The economy experienced a significant transformation. Initial estimates projected national GDP would be around 140 Yuan (almost $20 trillion). This means China will add 35 trillion yuan to its national GDP, surpassing total GDP of third-largest economy in world. On average, the national GDP grew at a rate of 5.5pc, which is impressive considering the context of Covid-19 and global challenges, especially given the restrictions on China and the trade war. It is well known over the last five years, US and Western countries have taken every measure to oppose China’s peaceful rise. Despite these obstacles, reaching a 5.5pc growth rate is remarkable. Furthermore, China has played a major role in driving global economic growth, contributing 30pc to worldwide growth. It provided stability to fragile global markets and international economy. It helped world mitigate impact of the US irrational policies.
Over the past four years, China has strengthened its position as a hub for innovation and technological development. China has pushed boundaries and expanded into new areas. It has achieved remarkable success in nuclear power, high-speed rail, marine engineering equipment, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, manned spaceflight and deep-space exploration. It shows progress across all sectors of technology and has accomplished many firsts, including developing an aircraft carrier with electromagnetic catapult systems, the Fujian; a cruise ship, the Adora Magic City; airplane C919; Chinese space station, Tiangong; and many others.
China did not reach this achievement through just talk or luck. Instead, it has invested significantly to become a hub of innovation. It has emphasised research and development and focused on cultivating talent. China attracts talent by offering generous financial resources and various facilities. This year, China introduced a new type of visa, K-Visa, to bring in global talent. Financial data shows spending increased by more than 50pc compared to the end of 13th Plan period (2016-2020), with a rise of 1.2 trillion yuan. Investment in R&D has also strengthened China’s position in the supply chain of rare earth metals.
China has taken practical steps to realize vision of common prosperity by focusing on needs of its people. Recent data show over the past few years, China has improved all social development indicators. It produced almost 50 million jobs during last four years. It also achieved goal of building largest education, social security and healthcare systems. The government worked to elevate educational standards by emphasising enrollment, retention and quality improvements. To enhance health infrastructure and service delivery, China established 114 new regional medical centres during execution of 14th Plan. The number of doctors per 1,000 people increased from 2.9 to 3.6. Long-term care insurance now covers nearly 180 million people.
Additionally, China has expanded number of childcare centres, which now have a total of 5.7 million seats. Life expectancy has also improved, reaching 79 years. To ensure food security, China invested heavily in agriculture, such as investment in construction and upgrading of 460 million mu of high-standard farmland. Owing to these efforts, it is now largest producer of grain (706MT), meat, peanuts, tea, etc.
Meanwhile, China improved its transportation system. China built 10,000km of high-speed railway during implementation of 14th Development Plan. It has boosted economy, especially agricultural sector. Now, farmers can reach major consumer markets within hours or a single day. It has also benefited consumers, who can buy fresh products at affordable prices.
Green development is another area where China has made significant progress. Currently, China’s national forest cover exceeds 25pc. Air quality has improved, with an average of 87pc of days experiencing good or excellent air quality. In terms of energy, China has become world’s largest producer of clean energy, generating about 1 kilowatt-hour of clean energy for every 3 kilowatt-hours consumed. This is a notable achievement given the size of China’s energy market. The recycling industry is also thriving; for instance, 20pc of steel production now relies on recycled scrap steel as raw material. Additionally, energy consumption per unit of GDP has decreased, falling by 11.6pc over the past four years, which means a reduction of GHG emissions by 1.1 billion tons. Lastly, the energy self-sufficiency rate is 80pc.
China achieved this success through dedicated efforts and investments. In 2023, China invested $980 billion to boost clean energy sector and industrial and domestic use, which is comparable to GDP of Switzerland or Turkey.
President Xi Jinping has especially focused on governance and declared it a crosscutting issue. It was pinned as a determinative factor in determining the success or failure of Plan. Therefore, China continued to deepen governance reforms and expand openness. The country improved business climate by implementing Private Sector Promotion Law. The ban on foreign investment in manufacturing has been lifted, and negative list has been reduced to 29 items. These improvements in business environment led to a significant increase in private enterprises, which now number 58 million. China has also accelerated its efforts to open its markets and offered zero tariffs on 100 percent of tariff lines to the world’s
least developed countries and African nations with diplomatic ties to China.
The discussion above suggests 14th Development Plan has already achieved many of its goals, and is on track to complete the remaining ones. Moreover, China was able to strike a balance between development and environmental needs.
Experts believe the success of 14th Five-Year Development Plan signals China’s rise as a new superpower. They are now looking forward to 15th Development Plan to understand how China will solidify its momentum.
