Beijing, October 20 (Xinhua) — With strong winds and sails, a new journey begins – the international community pays attention to China’s drawing of a new blueprint for development and progress
In the golden autumn, Beijing gathers the world’s attention.
The fourth plenary meeting of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC was held in Beijing on the morning of the 20th. The meeting will review the Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development.
Many people said that in the past five years, under the strong leadership of the CPC, China’s economic and social development has made great achievements. They highly pay attention to the convening of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and believe that this historic event will draw up a new blueprint for China’s development in the next five years. They look forward to China continuously injecting stability and certainty into the world, providing new references for other countries to explore development paths, and making new contributions to world peace, stability, and human development and progress.
On October 2, 2024, the traffic on the Nansha Bridge in Guangdong and the ships coming and going on the Lion Ocean Waterway (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Dawei
A China with more innovative vitality and high-quality development
The high-speed rail network in China has become the most modern railway network in the world, and China is still building a digital infrastructure with computing power as its core. The rapid growth of new infrastructure driven by high-tech indicates that China is ready for long-term stable development, and the world is full of expectations
Speaking of China’s achievements during the 14th Five Year Plan period, Leonardo Artux, a well-known Brazilian media personality who often travels to China for interviews, spoke confidently. China has achieved remarkable achievements in its development process over the past few years, becoming the most important contributor to global growth
Like Artux, many international figures have expressed in interviews that they are highly concerned about the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the formulation of the 15th Five Year Plan because they have witnessed China’s glorious achievements through completing one five-year plan after another and felt the positive impact of China’s development on the world.
The 14th Five Year Plan period is the first five years for China to embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a socialist modernized country and advancing towards the second centenary goal, after achieving the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Irina Kokushkina, a scholar from the Department of World Economics at St. Petersburg State University in Russia, said that during the 14th Five Year Plan period, despite various unfavorable challenges, China maintained a steady development momentum and policy determination, laying the foundation for achieving its 2035 vision goals and bringing valuable certainty and stability to a chaotic and intertwined world.
Innovation driven and green development are the most frequently mentioned areas by international figures such as Kokushkina when discussing China’s achievements in the past five years, and also the most concerned areas when looking forward to China’s development in the next five years. Innovation has become the primary driving force for China’s sustainable development, and China’s ranking in the global innovation index has risen from 34th in 2012 to 10th in 2025. Green is the foundation of China’s high-quality development. According to the Energy Transition Index released by the World Economic Forum in June 2025, China’s ranking has risen 66 places to 12th place compared to 2020.
“Creativity” is stronger, and “green appearance” is higher – during the “14th Five Year Plan” period, China’s high-quality development has achieved new results, and the construction of Chinese path to modernization has been steadily advancing.
The exterior of “Model Speed Space” in Xuhui District, Shanghai, filmed on April 29, 2025. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
The Lanzhou heavy ion accelerator, Yunnan’s green economy practice and modern agricultural development, and the application of artificial intelligence in industrial and urban infrastructure in Shanghai and other places… these are all the achievements of China’s modernization development that I have personally witnessed. “Sherik Korjumbaev, the editor in chief of Kazakhstan Industrial News, who has visited China multiple times in recent years, shared his personal experience,” These have benefited the Chinese people and also countries around the world
Luigi Gambaldera, President of the China Europe Digital Association, said that China’s new energy vehicle industry is booming, and artificial intelligence and robotics technology are advancing rapidly. China has become an important driving force for global energy and industrial transformation. In the next five years, I look forward to China becoming an ‘innovation laboratory’ and ‘green engine’ driving the development of the world economy
I believe that through the new blueprint for development in the next five years, the world will see a more innovative and high-quality China, “said Walif Kumeha, President of the Lebanese Silk Road Research Institute.
Continuously expanding the breadth and depth of openness
Near the Mulindi market in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, large stretches of farmland extend into the distance, with chili fields that are particularly eye-catching. Since Rwanda’s dried chili entered the Chinese market in 2021, chili cultivation has become an important export industry for us, “said Herman Uvizeimana, General Manager of Luwanda Fischer Global Company.” Our company currently exports two to three hundred tons of dried chili to China annually
Uwezeyimana has also set a target for the company to export 1500 tons annually to China. He said his confidence comes from China’s zero tariff policy, which brings more profit margins to local farmers and enterprises, and opens up new development opportunities for African countries. China is a true friend of Africa.
On May 22, 2025, at the Gasora Farm in Rwanda, representatives from Hunan Agricultural International Africa Business and local agricultural technicians inspected the growth of chili peppers. Photo by Jili, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency
The story of Uwezeyimana is a vivid example of China’s unwavering commitment to expanding high-level opening-up to the outside world. Granting 100% tariff free treatment to all least developed countries that have established diplomatic relations, continuously reducing the negative list for foreign investment access, completely lifting restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, optimizing visa free entry and transit policies… China is steadily expanding its institutional opening-up and continuously expanding the breadth and depth of opening-up.
During the 14th Five Year Plan period, China’s trade in goods has continuously surpassed two levels of $5 trillion and $6 trillion, firmly ranking first in the world; The scale of service trade has exceeded 1 trillion US dollars for the first time, ranking second in the world; The international cooperation in the production and supply chain is advancing in an orderly manner, with an average annual growth rate of over 5% in outbound investment and a total scale ranking among the top three in the world.
In the view of Eduardo Regarado, a China expert at the Cuban International Policy Research Center, these achievements and measures demonstrate China’s commitment to promoting inclusive economic globalization, “bringing tangible benefits to the world, especially the countries in the global South.” Morgan Asset Management’s global chairman, Bai Bowen, said, “China’s high-level opening-up is reflected in all aspects of economic development, providing more development opportunities to the world
In the eyes of many international figures, the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” cooperation is a fresh footnote to China’s determination to open up. During the “14th Five Year Plan” period, China continued to promote high-quality co construction of the “the Belt and Road”, from “freehand brushwork” of planning layout to “fine brushwork” of intensive work, from “hard connectivity” to “soft connectivity” and then to “heart connectivity”. The co construction of the “the Belt and Road” has become the most extensive and largest international cooperation platform in the world today.
On September 21, 2025, freight trains on the China Laos Railway passed through Mohan Station (UAV photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xing Guangli
“The China Laos railway has brought huge economic and social benefits to Laos.” Ge Mi, acting director of the China Research Center of Laos National University, said that since the opening of the Laos railway in mid December 2021, the import and export of goods through the China Laos railway has exceeded 15 million tons, with a value of more than 65.3 billion yuan. Gemi paid close attention to China’s policies and measures on foreign cooperation, “looking forward to Laos and China continuing to enhance the economic radiation effect of the China Laos railway, further deepening economic cooperation with neighboring countries, and promoting the common prosperity of regional countries and Asia”.
In the past five years, against the backdrop of some economies becoming more inward looking, China has been firmly committed to expanding openness and connectivity. The continuous operation of the China Europe freight train has brought industrial development, commercial prosperity, and logistics upgrades to cities such as Duisburg in Germany, “said Michael Schuman, President of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade.” I am very much looking forward to learning about China’s new five-year plan and believe that China will continue to expand its opening up to the outside world and promote international cooperation in the future
China’s development plan and governance philosophy provide useful reference for the world
Mohamed Compaore, the editor in chief of the Abidjan Diplomatic Newspaper in Cote d’Ivoire, visited China twice this year for training and conferences, during which he visited Beijing, Chongqing, Yunnan and other places. These experiences gave him the opportunity to observe China’s governance and development model up close.
The seamless connection between Beijing’s subway network and communities reflects the orientation of benefiting and facilitating the people; Chongqing Industrial Park empowers logistics and digital economy with technological innovation, driving regional development; Yunnan balances economic growth and ecological protection, achieving the integration of infrastructure and landscape, “said Kong Bolei.” The Chinese Party and government make good use of systematic planning to balance people’s livelihood and development, which has important reference significance for other countries
More and more international figures like Kong Borei hope to gain a deeper understanding of the successful path of China’s development. In the eyes of many international figures, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China is such an important window.
On April 2, 2025, the Fuxing train passed through the Linzhi section of the Lalin Railway. Photo by Jinmei Duoji, Xinhua News Agency reporter
Keith Bennett, a British international relations expert who has long been concerned about China’s development, pointed out that the five-year plan is a distinctive feature of China’s governance system, which combines long-term goals with phased tasks to make national development more stable and predictable. Senior American diplomat Fu Limin also believes that China clarifies its long-term goals through a five-year plan, coordinates policies in various fields, and provides continuity for national governance.
In the opinion of the General Secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party, Laid Fahmy, China’s stable and efficient governance and development model benefits from the strong leadership of the CPC. He spoke highly of the CPC’s people-centered governance philosophy
Xu Qingqi, Chairman of the Malaysia New Asia Strategic Research Center, said that China has embarked on a modernization path that is in line with its own culture, history, and national conditions, breaking away from the stereotype that “modernization is equivalent to Westernization”, which has significant global significance. This also proves that developing countries can fully explore modernization paths that are in line with their own national conditions based on their own realities, and we look forward to China further explaining governance wisdom and introducing development experience to the world.
The scenery by Dishui Lake in Lingang New Area of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, taken on March 19, 2025 (drone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Fang Zhe
China’s experience and practices in the process of modernization have attracted the attention of many people from developing countries. Kenyan international relations scholar Kavins Adhir noted that China’s approach of piloting reforms before promoting them is conducive to reducing policy risks; South African economist Sandilei Swana believes that China’s successful experience in modernizing agriculture and upgrading resource-based industries has important reference significance for African countries; Humphrey Moshi, director of the China Studies Center at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, said that his country is learning from China’s poverty reduction experience, such as providing microcredit and vocational education and training
China’s development has given us confidence, “sighed Mohi.” Developing countries like Tanzania see that modernization is not exclusive to Western countries, and we can also find our own path to modernization
China’s development plan and governance philosophy provide useful reference for the world, and China will also integrate the people-centered concept into the improvement of global governance, “said Kumeha, President of the Lebanese Silk Road Research Institute.” The constantly developing China is a positive force and source of inspiration for the world to move forward, and we look forward to China joining hands with other countries to strive for a better tomorrow with a shared destiny