The 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concluded its fifth plenary session in Beijing on Thursday. During the four-day session, the CPC Central Committee deliberated the proposed 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for national development and revealed the long-term goals for the nation to achieve in socioeconomic development from now until 2035. In these times of dramatic changes around the world, it is particularly important for Hong Kong to take note of the background, content and core spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee.
For starters, the session was convened against a backdrop of crises mixed with opportunities. China is faced with two daunting challenges: the “new Cold War” waged by US-led Western powers to contain China’s development, and its post-pandemic economic recovery. The 19th Central Committee of the CPC set two “centenary goals” at its first plenary session, and next year is due time for the first one, when the nation is expected to become a “moderately well-off society in all respects” as the CPC celebrates its 100th anniversary.
However, in this “clutch time” year, the US has pulled out all the stops to sabotage China’s progress, including a full-scale war on Huawei Technologies, attempts to force TikTok to either leave America or become US-owned, and an ever-growing blacklist of Chinese tech firms that Washington believes could threaten US interests. On the diplomatic front, Washington initiated a series of low blows, including forcing the shutdown of a Chinese consulate and expelling journalists and even media outlets; on the military front, US warships and spy planes have increased saber-rattling missions through and over the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait to distract, intimidate and provoke China all at once.
In view of all the variables, the CPC Central Committee determined after a thorough analysis of the current situation that the country remains in a critical window of strategic opportunities and reached the conclusion that the theme of the times is still “peace and development” and features “another round of tech revolution accompanied by deepening industrial transformation”. As a special administrative region of China, Hong Kong must be fully aware of the situation the nation is in, so that it will never get lost in a “parallel universe” and make wrong decisions accordingly.
Secondly, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC reached a consensus on the main points and principles of the national development strategy for the next 15 years. In terms of policies, those concerning science and technology research and development, innovation and “dual circulation” development patterns are especially worth noting for Hong Kong. The session emphasized in particular that the country must persist in treating innovation as the core support for all-around development at the heart of its development strategy. Under growing pressure from the tech blockade by the United States, China is deflecting foul play left and right as best it can while using it as motivation to step up tech R&D in the spirit of self-reliance to become less dependent on imports. To do so, the country will increase funding for R&D and innovation to energize economic growth. This situation triggers demand for talents and investment, which Hong Kong is well-positioned and equipped to provide through its strong international networks.
Thirdly, the beauty of planning for national socioeconomic development stems from excellent leadership. Being the freest economy for so long, Hong Kong has become indifferent to planning, to the point some local residents automatically turn defensive whenever national development plans mention the special administrative region. Today this mentality is decidedly obsolete, and the country has to plan even more meticulously to overcome any obstacle in its way, including objective analysis of the ever-changing situation, unshakable determination to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the need for science and technology. In addition to the 14th Five-Year Plan, the long-term development goals for the 15 years ahead are also an example of wisdom and vision in the form of national development planning. As a perfect reminder, the latest plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC once again proved its ultimate leadership worth by doing what it does best under pressure — planning ahead and overcoming any obstacle in its way with an unmatched ability. This is how genuine leadership manifests when the world is reeling around it. The CPC leadership is simply irreplaceable in China.
Hong Kong has realized in recent years that its future development depends on integration into the overall development strategy of the country, but there is still a lot to do in terms of concrete steps in the right direction. In a recent analysis, Bloomberg News opined that if China is able to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and resume economic growth in the direction it was headed toward in recent years, it should surpass the US in the next 10 years and become the largest economy in the world. This is hoping the day will come as Bloomberg predicted, but Hong Kong must do more than hope to free itself from the current politico-economic predicament — it must carefully think and plan ahead and act accordingly.
The proposed draft of the 14th Five-Year Plan examined by the 19th Central Committee of the CPC at its fifth plenary session will be tweaked before the final draft is presented at the next annual session of the National People’s Congress for deliberation and approval in March. Until then, Hong Kong should study the proposed draft five-year plan very carefully for inspiration and guidance and figure out how it can play an important role in its implementation in the next five years.
The author is senior research officer of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
