A Planned Economy? Oh Gosh!”Yes, But Different Where Plans Are Not Just Election-Campaign Fakes—The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), Grand Development Objectives and Mobilizations, the 15th FYP and Long-Range Planning Toward 2035, Governance Reforms, and “China Experimentation

Wolfram Elsner () and Elyar Najmehchi
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Wolfram Elsner: University of Bremen (ret.)

Chapter Chapter 5 in The Rise of China, 2026, pp 107-121 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter examines China’s Five-Year Plans (FYP) as policy frameworks that shape reform, restructuring, and long-term development, rather than as symbolic or declaratory government programs. Using the 14th FYP (2021–2025) as its main reference and looking ahead to the 15th FYP (2026–2030), it traces China’s shift from headline GDP growth toward qualitative development, systemic resilience, and long-range societal modernization. It focuses on technological self-reliance, industrial upgrading, innovation and digitalization, ecological civilization, social security expansion, and the rebalancing of urban–rural and regional development within the broader “dual-circulation” strategy. The chapter also shows how these priorities are linked to governance reform. Reorganizations of the State Council and central ministries are discussed as adaptations to new challenges such as financial modernization, demographic aging, climate transformation, and intensifying geopolitical and technological pressures. Rather than rigid top-down control, contemporary Chinese planning is portrayed as a coordinating and mobilizing instrument that integrates state guidance with market mechanisms and provides orientation and planning security for citizens, firms, researchers, and investors. Finally, the chapter outlines the emerging direction of the 15th FYP, highlighting technological and industrial autonomy, “AI Plus” digital transformation, green development, and stronger domestic demand. The concept of “New-Quality Productive Forces” is introduced as a comprehensive framework linking technological, economic, and social modernization toward China’s long-term goals for 2035 and beyond.

Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-20260-4_5

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