Explainer: What is China’s Five-Year Plan and why does it shape the global economy?

China’s new Five-Year Plan – a roadmap outlining its economic and social strategy to 2030 – is expected to be formally approved during the annual Two Sessions political conclave, which begins Wednesday. Originally a feature of the Soviet Union, five-year plans (FYPs) were initiated in China in 1953 by leader Mao Zedong. In theory, the FYP functions as an evolving, adaptive framework, rather than a rigid blueprint, said Dylan Loh, an associate professor at Singapore’s NTU. “While they set a stable long-term direction, they are designed with some flexibility to allow for adjustments based on internal and external shifts,” Loh told AFP. Previous plans have been adhered to “quite closely” though, he said, even more so since Xi Jinping took power in 2013. “The room for flexibility has somewhat closed a little” as barring drastic international or domestic developments, Xi expects the plans to be strictly implemented, he explained.

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