An aerial view of Lujiazui, Shanghai Photo: VCG

In an era increasingly defined by geopolitical turbulence and short-termism, China's capacity to focus on long-term objectives stands out. This capacity is not accidental and provides clarity for the nation as well as a safe harbor for nations in the current tempest. It emerges from a complex institutional architecture that enables systematic planning, sustained consultation, and the integration of broad societal input into policy. Central to this architecture are China's five-year plans, strategic documents that reflect not only the will of the state but the contributions of a wide array of societal actors. These plans are not top-down edicts, a common misnomer promoted by an ill-informed West, but are the product of extensive deliberation and engagement across the entire polity. 

The upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan, covering 2026 to 2030, is clearly within this tradition of structured and informed deliberation and planning. In remarks on the 15th five year plan delivered at a symposium on China's economic and social development in Shanghai on the morning of March 30, China's president Xi Jinping laid out some important markers. The plan emphasized the need to continue China's process of "high-standard opening up" together with a commitment to fostering new quality productive forces, so as to address the uncertainty of drastic changes in the external environment with the certainty of the country's high-quality development.  

The question of the economic development speaks directly to the contours of the global economy and the institutions that support stability internationally. These are under stress in multiple areas, as a result of the US administration's tariff war and its withdrawal from many key multilateral institutions and agreements. The message from China, as emphasized in the 15th Five-Year Plan, is that in times of uncertainty and flux, China understands it has a responsibility both to itself and to the rest of the world to ensure its plans are stable and interactions with China at all levels remain dependable. This is what countries need to chart their own courses of action to find safe harbor and maintain sustainable economic and social development. 

The five-year plan process in China exemplifies a form of structured, inclusive, and expert-guided planning that ensures both continuity and adaptability. Far from being rigid or detached from social reality, the process involves multiple stages of consultation. Ministries, local governments, industry associations, universities, think tanks, and civil society voices participate in identifying key challenges, generating policy alternatives, and shaping strategic priorities. This complex, didactic interaction allows the government to distill national objectives that are both realistic and responsive to on-the-ground conditions. As a result, Chinese planning is comprehensive and holistic, not only in terms of economic goals but also in relation to social stability, environmental sustainability, scientific development, and increasingly, national cultural rejuvenation.

The philosophical and sociological underpinnings of this model echo many of the concerns expressed by Emile Durkheim in his early 20th-century work, Professional Ethics and Civic Morals. Durkheim, a foundational figure in sociology, argued that healthy, functional polities required a dynamic and reciprocal relationship between those who govern and those who are governed. For Durkheim, governance was most legitimate when it reflected both the informed perspective of those entrusted with macro-level decisions and the lived realities of citizens embedded in their local, cultural, and occupational contexts.

In this light, Chinese institutions display a strikingly Durkheimian character. The governance process incorporates not just bureaucratic governance and application of laws and rules, but also consultation, professional judgment, and ethical obligations tied to Confucian traditions of statecraft. Chinese officials are not merely rule-enforcers; they are trained to be discerning actors who balance national priorities with local needs. The cultivation of a meritocratic civil service, rigorous data collection, and emphasis on evidence-based policy all speak to a deeply embedded ethic of "deliberative responsibility" rather than arbitrary power. These are the foundations of a complex, high-capacity governing system.

China's institutional model draws strength from its own traditions. The legacy of Confucian governance emphasized learning, moral discernment, and service to the collective good. These ideals have not disappeared in modern China; rather, they have been reinterpreted and integrated with contemporary governance tools such as big data analytics, scenario modelling, and inter-agency coordination platforms. At the same time, China's policy support ecosystem, including hundreds of think tanks, national laboratories, and leading universities, acts as a dynamic feedback loop between governance and society. These institutions not only generate knowledge but also function as bridges between state and society, ensuring that planning reflects social realities while remaining anchored in national priorities.

In contrast, much of the Western world, particularly the US, appears gripped by institutional fatigue and political volatility. Since the US' initiation of tariff wars, the global economy has faced rising uncertainty. Moreover, the US has increasingly withdrawn from multilateral frameworks, be it the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran Nuclear Deal, the World Trade Organization or the World Health Organization, thereby weakening the very norms and institutions it helped to establish.

Increased political polarization in the US is further undermining institutional stability from one electoral cycle to the next. Lobbyists have already demonstrated a capacity to cause concessions from the administration, creating an atmosphere more conducive to regulatory arbitrage, influence peddling and the capricious dispensation of favors. None of this supports long term stability. 

In this context, China's consistent, pragmatic, and systemic approach to governance offers a global counterbalance. Its emphasis on infrastructure development, trade facilitation, and cooperative multilateralism, epitomized by initiatives like the Belt and Road, provides countries in the Global South and beyond with an alternative anchor. Where the US exports volatility, China offers continuity. Where Western powers push ideology, China supports pragmatic development. And where others fragment, China fosters platforms for dialogue, trade, and technological collaboration.

The ability to plan, consult and coordinate over the long term is not just a domestic virtue. Rather, it is increasingly a global asset. As other great powers struggle with internal polarization and short election cycles that encourage reactive rather than strategic policy, China's institutional infrastructure allows it to plan long term, and to stay the course. This enables it to function as a fulcrum around which other nations can orient their own development strategies, trade relations, and diplomatic initiatives. In this sense, China can fulfil its role as a great enabling power.

Of course, China's model is not without its challenges. It's a large country that still needs to manage and achieve sustainable development in its own right. But what distinguishes China is its capacity to diagnose its challenges systematically, plan coherently, and mobilize the necessary institutional and financial resources to respond. In a time when much of the world is searching for stability, this capacity is profoundly valuable.

China's long-term focus is the result of institutional sophistication, rooted in both modern expertise and ancient traditions. The five-year plan system exemplifies an approach to governance that is dialogic, evidence-driven, and anchored in a deep ethic of responsibility. As Durkheim might have recognized, this system reflects a functional polity, where macro-level decision-making is grounded in ethical commitment and societal engagement. In an increasingly fractured world, China does not merely weather the storm; it provides a lighthouse by which others may navigate. That is a role of immense significance and growing global appreciation.

The author is an adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology, a senior fellow at Taihe Institute and a former advisor to Kevin Rudd, former Australian prime minister. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn