by Harald Bruning

The recently concluded fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) marked a significant step in advancing Chinese modernization. I was particularly pleased to note that the session's communique reaffirmed the CPC's core commitments: putting people first, safeguarding their well-being, and promoting common prosperity.

A NEW BLUEPRINT IN THE MAKING

The most important outcome of the session was the review and adoption of the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of China. Based on an in-depth analysis of both domestic and global landscapes, these recommendations will play a pivotal role in steering Chinese modernization in the next five years.

Undoubtedly, China has global significance. As the world's second-largest economy, China covers nearly 2 percent of our planet's surface, with about 17.5 percent of its population and around 19 percent of the world's GDP at purchasing power parity. It matters a lot globally across the socio-economic, scientific, technological and cultural spheres. The 15th Five-Year Plan in the making will not only impact China but also carry global significance.

HISTORY OF FIVE-YEAR PLANS

A review of the history of the Five-Year Plans will help us gain a deeper understanding of their significance. Back in 1944, Chairman Mao Zedong called on the whole Party and people to develop industry and urged the Party members to learn technologies and knowledge to achieve China's industrialization. Mao was certainly right, as industrialization is essential to securing China's national independence. I am convinced that a country must be economically strong to be able to be truly independent.

China's first Five-Year Plan was launched by the Party in 1953 when Mao proposed the vision of achieving the "four modernizations" (modernization of agriculture, industry, national defense and science and technology) for the country. In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping launched the three-step development strategy for the nation's modernization process. In 1997, the Two Centenary Goals were proposed by the Party.

Under General Secretary Xi Jinping's leadership, the Party launched the New Era concept, which embodies the Party's more profound comprehension of the essence and nature of Chinese modernization. It stressed the importance of "distinctive Chinese characteristics" in the nation's modernization drive, for which a preliminary theoretical framework has been designed.

Xi also proposed a two-step strategy to build China into a great modern socialist country. Anyone who has visited China over the past five years can see that the strategy's implementation is in full swing-possibly, even running ahead of schedule.

A SUCCESS STORY OF FIVE-YEAR PLANS

The outgoing 14th Five-Year Plan has delivered remarkable achievements. When I first visited China in 1980, no one would have thought that China would be able to achieve this economic miracle within less than half a century. Of course, it's not really a "miracle" -- it's progress created by hard work, determination, and, saving a key point for last, Chinese wisdom.

Nowadays, China boasts over 500,000 high-tech enterprises, ranks among the top 10 of the Global Innovation Index for the first time, has 26 of the world's top 100 science and technology innovation clusters -- ranking first globally in proportion -- and holds 60 percent of global artificial intelligence patents.

For me, all this proves that China's politico-economic development drive can be held as a model for the whole world -- both the Global South and the Global North. All this, of course, has included the world's most successful poverty alleviation drive on scale in history -- more than 800 million Chinese in a matter of decades.

I fear that the next quinquennium will be particularly challenging, not just for China but for the rest of the world, due to a range of negatives such as rising anti-globalism, ongoing proxy and civil wars, and what has been termed "winology" (an emerging theory which posits that the West, steeped in supremacist thinking, finds it difficult to accept China's success because it challenges the Western-dominated world order). But come rain or shine, China will stay the course and advance steadily toward the goal of modernization. It will also stay committed to advancing open innovation and fostering mutually beneficial international cooperation, thus providing new opportunities and certainties for global growth.

As Liu Xianfa, commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), rightly pointed out, both Hong Kong and Macao SARs have their roles to play within the ambit of the new five-year plan, such as leveraging their unique advantages and vital roles in serving as bridges between the mainland and the world, and building themselves into international hubs for high-calibre talent.

In my view, the most impressive takeaway from the fourth plenary session is the Party's abiding commitment to the people. The modernization China is striving for is the modernization of the entire population. Ultimately, all the five-year plans are about delivering a better life for the people. That is the real source of strength of the Party.

Moving forward, I believe it is the shared hope of the world community that Beijing and Washington -- the world's paramount bilateral relationship -- will be able to establish constructive ties based on pragmatism, realism and mutual benefit, which would serve the interests of the international community as a whole.

Editor's note: Harald Bruning is an international affairs observer.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.