A view of the Forbidden City and the CBD area in Beijing. Photo: VCG

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) deliberated over and adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, setting the tone for China's development in the next five years.

Among the six guiding principles that must be adhered to during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2025-30) for China's economic and social development is the commitment to pursuing high-quality development, guiding progress with the new development philosophy, fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions, and promoting sustained, healthy economic growth alongside comprehensive social advancement. 

For Chinese society, development overrides principle, and people-centered development constitutes the paramount principle within this priority. The new development philosophy adheres to a people-centered approach, thereby further clarifying and reaffirming the value orientation and aspirations of contemporary Chinese development. By placing the needs and people's well-being at the core of development, aligning developmental goals with their expectations, and ensuring that development outcomes genuinely translate into enhanced happiness and fulfillment for the people, this philosophy embodies the profound historical consciousness of China's development in the new era.

Development must adhere to the laws governing economic, natural and social processes. The superiority of a system manifests precisely in the institutional performance and developmental advantages achieved through deliberate adherence to and proper application of these laws. The development philosophy of a people-centered approach serves as a guiding principle illuminating all of China's developmental endeavors. Under such a philosophy, all development is centered on the people, striving to meet their ever-growing aspirations for a better life.

Innovative development focuses on enhancing development momentum, thereby fostering a higher standard of living and improved quality of life for the people. Coordinated development addresses imbalances in regional and social development, ensuring that people across different regions and ethnic groups keep pace with national progress. Green development concentrates on harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. Open development responds to the challenge of internal and external connectivity during development, enabling the people to share the substantial dividends of economic globalization on a broader scale and at a higher level. Shared development promotes social equity and justice, advancing Chinese society steadily toward common prosperity.

The Chinese society successfully navigated major risks and challenges, overcame innumerable difficulties and obstacles, traversed in decades the development path that took Western societies centuries to complete, and achieved the globally recognized miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. How are all of these achieved? A key factor lies in its ability to concentrate resources on major undertakings. The scientific formulation and successive implementation of the Five-Year Plans constitute a crucial element of CPC's governance experience and a significant political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

As China advances steadily along the path of high-quality development, a crucial question arises: How can we safeguard the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people while simultaneously stimulating the vitality of all factors of production and enabling all sources of social wealth to flow freely? Guided by the new development philosophy and coordinated through the Five-Year Plans that embody continuity, stability, strategic foresight and forward-looking vision, we have expanded the institutional space and established effective institutional safeguards. This has been achieved by fostering an environment where everyone can contribute to the fullest of their abilities, and by fully mobilizing the enthusiasm and creativity of all social strata and groups.

The author is a professor at Beihang University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn