Hong Kong’s policymaking process had tended to be on an annual basis, often coming up with short-term measures that struggled to address deep-seated structural issues. The formulation of the special administrative region’s first five-year plan, in tandem with the annual Policy Address, marks a paradigm shift. This breaks the limitations of short-termism, propelling Hong Kong onto a fast track of long-term, high-quality development and robust governance.

An actionable and effective long-term blueprint requires a scientific and logical governance philosophy to set its course. This principle is well manifested in the seven core concepts established in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan.

“Adherence to the ‘one country, two systems’ principle” is placed at the top of the blueprint’s seven guiding concepts. This aligns with the fact that the principle is the fundamental bedrock of the SAR’s governance system and is the prerequisite for it to formulate a five-year plan.

Among the seven core concepts, the first two — adherence to the “one country, two systems” principle and a commitment to a livelihood-oriented approach — are based on considerations of institutional advantages and the purpose of development. The remaining five concepts — adherence to an executive-led system; reform and innovation; the two-pronged approach of “effective market” and “proactive government”; a holistic approach on development and security; and pragmatic and proactive planning — constitute a comprehensive framework focusing on development methodologies.

Beyond its guiding philosophy, the efficacy of a long-term blueprint ultimately hinges on the mechanisms established to ensure its smooth execution. The five-year plan clearly puts forward institutional safeguard measures to ensure its smooth implementation, which include: the annual Policy Address serving as the action plan to operationalize the long-term blueprint, and the annual Budget providing robust resource backing for both the plan and the Policy Address.

Positioning the annual Policy Address as the action plan for the five-year plan effectively elucidates the interplay between the “five-year” horizon and the “one-year” cycle. Meanwhile, designating the Budget as the financial backing for both the blueprint and the Policy Address clearly delineates the strategic direction for the allocation of public funds.

The five-year plan proposes five major goals: making new breakthroughs in economic development; expanding global competitiveness and influence; enhancing the speed and effectiveness of the Northern Metropolis development; improving social well-being; and taking significant strides in integrating into and contributing to national development.

The term paired with “economic development” is not “sustained growth” or “steady growth” but “new breakthroughs”. It is widely known that Hong Kong’s economic structure has relied heavily on finance and real estate for a long time.

The plan makes it clear that the focus on “new breakthroughs” is to consolidate the city’s status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center, as well as an international aviation hub, while accelerating the construction of an international innovation and technology center and building a global hub for high-end talent.

“Accelerating the speed and boosting the efficiency of the Northern Metropolis development” is particularly noteworthy. The Northern Metropolis serves as the strategic platform for realizing Hong Kong’s new economic development model of “south-north dual engine” (finance in the south; innovation and technology in the north). It’s the frontier for Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area integration, a “testing ground” for institutional innovation, and a key solution to increasing housing supply and improving people’s livelihoods. Its successful implementation is the cornerstone for achieving the other goals.

In elaborating on the move to consolidate and enhance the city’s role as an international maritime and aviation hub, the five-year plan emphasizes “transitioning from volume-based to value-driven development and promoting the smart, green, and digital transformation of the maritime industry”.

Both the five-year plan and the Policy Address stress the full implementation of the Heads of Department Accountability System and the Administrative Responsibility Two-tier Investigation Mechanism, which will enhance the execution capabilities of government departments and benefit the public.

In elaborating on developing a sustainable governance system for primary healthcare, the plan states the goals of bringing the cumulative membership of district health centers to 1 million within five years, and steadily increasing government resource allocation to primary healthcare programs, with an estimated rise of about 30 percent from the current level by 2030-31. Setting such specific targets in the blueprint echoes the principle of a “livelihood-oriented approach”, clearly demonstrating that this is not only a “planning map” but also a “construction drawing”.

The five-year plan and the Policy Address have constructed a closed-loop governance system that is “guided by the five-year plan, implemented through the annual Policy Address, supported by the Budget, and reviewed via annual duty reporting”. Hong Kong has in effect bid farewell to the limitations of short-termism, and the city’s high-quality socioeconomic development will be guided by established concepts and blueprints.

The author is vice-chairman of the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and chairman of the Hong Kong New Era Development Thinktank.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.