Looking at the Historical Responsibility of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee from the Achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan
From October 20 to 23, 2025, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing. The meeting will deliberate on the "Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development," drawing up a blueprint for China's development in the next five years. At this important moment, reviewing the brilliant achievements China has made during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period provide a clearer picture of China's forward momentum and the significant meaning of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee.
The "14th Five-Year Plan" period marks the first five years after China fully built a moderately prosperous society and achieved its first centenary goal, seizing the momentum to embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and marching towards its second centenary goal. Over the past five years, facing the accelerating evolution of profound changes unseen in a century and the severe test of the pandemic of the century, the whole country has worked together with one heart and one mind, and China has made new pioneering progress, breakthrough changes, and historic achievements in economic and social development.
"The remarkable enhancement of economic strength is a prominent manifestation of the achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan. China's GDP has successively surpassed the thresholds of 110 trillion yuan, 120 trillion yuan, and 130 trillion yuan, and exceeded 134 trillion yuan in 2024. Calculated at constant prices, it increased by 23.9% compared to 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 5.5%. It is estimated that by the end of 2025, the total economic output will reach around 140 trillion yuan. China's per capita GDP has increased from 10,632 US dollars in 2020 to 13,445 US dollars in 2024, exceeding 13,000 US dollars for two consecutive years. China's economy has maintained an average annual contribution rate of about 30% to global economic growth, firmly ranking as the world's second largest economy, demonstrating the resilience and vitality of a major country's economy."
Innovation-driven development has become a powerful driving force. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China's R&D funding has repeatedly hit new highs, with the total social R&D investment exceeding RMB 3.6 trillion in 2024, firmly ranking second in the world. In 2025, China jumped to the 10th place in the global innovation index ranking for the first time. The pace of technological self-reliance and self-strengthening has accelerated, with fruitful innovations in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum communication, and high-end chips. Major national achievements such as the Fujian-class aircraft carrier, the Chinese Space Station, and domestically produced large aircraft have been frequently showcased. China is making strides from being a global manufacturing center to a global innovation center.
The well-being of the people has been greatly improved. China has established the world's largest education system, social security system, and medical and health care system. The consolidation rate of compulsory education and the coverage rates of basic old-age insurance and basic medical insurance are both above 95%. The average life expectancy has increased from 77.9 years to 79.0 years. The growth of residents' income has basically kept pace with economic growth, the relative income gap between urban and rural areas has further narrowed, and solid steps have been taken towards common prosperity for all people.
Significant achievements have been made in green development. China has made the largest increase in green space globally, with forest coverage rising to over 25%. The proportion of days with good air quality in cities at the prefecture level and above has stabilized at around 87%. The installed capacity of new energy power generation has historically surpassed that of thermal power, and the world's largest clean power generation system has been established, with one out of every three kilowatt-hours consumed being green electricity.
The achievements made during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period have laid a solid foundation for the development during the upcoming "15th Five-Year Plan" period. The forthcoming "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial time for laying a solid foundation and making comprehensive efforts to basically achieve socialist modernization. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China scientifically planned and deployed the "15th Five-Year Plan", reflecting China's consistent development logic and historical responsibility.
From the "14th Five-Year Plan" to the "15th Five-Year Plan", China is continuously advancing towards the goal of becoming a powerful socialist modernization nation. With the Chinese President at its core, the Party Central Committee unites and leads the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups in China. Taking the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee as a new starting point, China will strive diligently and move forward with courage towards fully building a powerful socialist modernization nation and achieving the second centenary goal. China will surely ensure decisive progress in basically realizing socialist modernization and usher in a new era of Chinese-style modernization.
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