Embark on a New Journey to Fully Build a Modern Socialist Country
（Part I）
National Development and Reform Commission
The “14th Five-Year” is the first five-year period for China to embark on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country and march toward the Second Centenary Goal. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee held on February 26, 2021 stressed that, under the leadership of the CPC, fully realize the advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, formulating and implementing the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Long-range Goals for 2035 in a scientific way, is to help consolidate and expand the achievements in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in poverty alleviation. It is of great significance to embark on a new journey to fully build China into a modern socialist country. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the CPC Central Committee's Proposal on Formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-range Goals for 2035 （hereinafter referred to as the Proposal）， which pointed out the direction and provided guidance for the formulation of the plan. In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development the Long-range Goal for 2035 of the People's Republic of China （draft） （hereinafter referred to as the Outline）， which was prepared by the National Development and Reform Commission, has been reviewed, and approved at the Fourth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress. In the coming five years, we must fully grasp the new stage of development, fully implement the new development philosophy, and speed up the building of a new development pattern to effectively implement the Outline.
1.Deeply Understand the Significance of the 14th Five-Year Plan in the Process of Our Country’s Development
The Outline mainly illustrates the country's strategic intention, clarifies the government's priorities, and guides and standardizes the behavior of market entities. It is a grand blueprint for China to embark on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country. The Outline is composed by 3 parts, divided into 19 chapters, 65 chapters and 192 sections, and covering all aspects of economic and social development. The content is abundant and with profound significance.
The Outline is an important way to transform the Party's views into the will of the state. General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed that formulating and implementing the Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development is an important mean for the Party to govern the country. It has become a standardized working procedure that the CPC Central Committee to adopt the five-year plan proposal at its plenary session, the State Council to organize the preparation of the draft plan, and the NPC to review and approve it and then it comes into force. Through this process, major decisions and plans of the CPC Central Committee are transformed into legal policy for nationwide implementation. From the "1st Five-Year Plan" to the "13th Five-Year Plan", by implementing the plans step by step, by relaying and rolling, by consistent proceeding towards the fixed strategic goals, China has quickly established a relatively complete industrial system and national economic system from a poor basis. The people have made a historic leap from basic living need ensuring, to a moderately prosperous life in general, and then to a moderately prosperous life in all respects, creating "two miracles", in terms of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, which are rarely seen around the world, fully demonstrating the remarkable strengths of the leadership of the CPC and the advantages of socialist system with Chinese characteristics. As the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Outline strictly follows the general direction and key tasks set out in the 5th Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee and is further detailed and specific in terms of thinking, arrangements, goals, and measures. It is a route for the first five years of the New Journey to Fully Build a Modern Socialist Country, ensuring that the CPC Central Committee's strategic arrangements are well implemented in all areas, links, and processes of economic and social development.
The Outline is an important basis for the government to better fulfill its duties in the stage of new development. Fully realize the strategic guiding role of the National Development Plans is an important part of innovating and improving the macro-control, and an inherent requirement for modernizing China's system and capacity for governance. National Development Plans embody the country's strategic intentions and the medium to long term development goals. They can guide the allocation of public resources and regulate the behavior of market entities, balancing relations among various sectors, avoiding macro imbalances, and guiding and stabilizing expectations. After the National People's Congress examines and approves the National Development Plan, it must be implemented in accordance with laws and regulations. This is also a standard and constraint on government behavior. To well implement the Outline, must better integrate an effective market with a capable government must be well integrated. On the one hand, mandatory targets, major projects, and tasks in terms of public services, environmental protection, and security tasks, which has been set in the Outline, require the government to properly allocate public resources and guide social resources, and require the active participation of market entities to achieve synergy as well. On the other hand, the prospective index, and tasks in terms of industry development, structural adjustment, mainly rely on the market entities to do their jobs, also need the government to create a good policy environment, institutional environment and legal environment, and guide the various parts step on the new stage of development, carry out the new development philosophy, create the new development pattern, and make everyone’s efforts to promote the high-quality development.
The Outline is a common program of action for the Chinese people of all ethnic groups to forge ahead on the New Journey. The preparation of the plan is not only a process of promoting democracy, pooling wisdom, and reflecting public opinion, but also a process of unifying thinking, making scientific decisions, and reaching consensus. The preparation of the Outline combines in-depth research with in-depth investigation and unifies the top-level design with people consultation. It collects the wisdom of the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China and aligns the strategic intention of the state with the common will of the people. Facing the new challenges and the new contradictions brought by the complex international environment and facing the new features and new requirements brought by the changing of social principal contradictions of our country, the Outline sticks to the principles of global vision, strategic thinking, integrating, and balancing, and accurate policy implementation. It is a systematic deployment for actively responding to this tremendous worldwide changing situation unseen for centuries. It is a solution for accurate and effective solving the prominent contradictions during the development. At present, China's socialist modernization has entered a new stage of development. The Outline plans the economic and social development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, by standing on a new starting point. It will embark on a new journey, make new achievements, and make a new stride forward in promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
（To be continued）
Source：<http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/qs/2021-03/16/c_1127209214.htm>
Translated by Zheng Shujian
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