José Medeiros da Silva Photo: Courtesy of Medeiros da Silva

Editor's Note:

The scientific formulation and consistent implementation of five-year plans stand as an important piece of experience in the Communist Party of China's (CPC) approach to governing the country. It's also significantly representing the political advantage of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

On May 19, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, in an instruction on the work concerning the compilation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), stressed sound, democratic, and law-based decision-making to ensure China's next five-year plan for national economic and social development is formulated in high quality. He emphasized the importance of integrating top-level design with seeking advice from the public, enhancing research and discussions, and building broad consensus. 

In the first volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, Xi, in a speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, emphasized: "The same is true in treating work at local and departmental levels. We have already got in our hands a good blueprint. What we should do is to follow it through to the end and make it a success." 

While working at the local level, Xi proposed the 15-year development plan for Xiamen, the "3820" strategic project in Fuzhou, and the "Double-Eight" strategy in Zhejiang Province - all of which demonstrate his consistent, high-level emphasis on development and strategic planning. 

In the sixth installment of the special series "Decoding the Book of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," the Global Times, along with People's Daily Overseas Edition, focuses on the theme "Follow a good blueprint through to the end! A harmonious, stable, open, and confident China brings more opportunities for global cooperation." We continue to invite Chinese and foreign scholars, translators of Xi's works, practitioners with firsthand experience, and international readers to share their views and reflections on how China employs development strategies and medium- to long-term planning to steer economic and social progress, as well as their impressions of General Secretary Xi's strategic thinking.

In the sixth article of the "Translator's Voices" column, the Global Times (GT) talked to José Medeiros da Silva (Medeiros da Silva), a Brazilian professor at Zhejiang International Studies University. Medeiros da Silva was a member of the translation team of the Portuguese editions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China.


GT: Volume I of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China includes an article titled "Follow a good blueprint." In the article, Chinese President Xi Jinping states that "if a blueprint is good, factually based, scientifically sound and well-received by the people we should keep working on it, one administration after another." Being a member of the translation team of the book, how do you understand the idea of "following a good blueprint" as proposed by the Chinese leader? In your view, what qualifies as a "good blueprint"?

Medeiros da Silva: This text forms part of a speech delivered at the Second Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC in February 2013. In other words, it was a message sent directly to Party officials at all levels, instructing them on how to proceed with their political and administrative activities. 

Essentially, President Xi was demanding Party leaders and officials to prioritize the well-being of the people and the prosperity of the nation, while avoiding spontaneity and narrow personal interests. We also recognize that significant achievements, such as the eradication of extreme poverty, require the efforts of successive governments and even generations of leaders. This is why collaboration and continuity are so essential to a country's governance. President Xi makes this very clear in the aforementioned text. 

Thus, "following a good blueprint" involves taking a strategic and integrated approach to achieve consistent and cumulative results at each stage of the work. For the Party, scientific planning is an irreplaceable key tool. From this perspective, a "good blueprint" must necessarily have a sound purpose and be backed by robust scientific analysis. According to Xi's philosophy, people's satisfaction is also an essential criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of each plan.


GT: You mentioned long-term continuity, which is also reflected in the theme of the planning. In the fourth volume of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, President Xi pointed out that turning China into a modern socialist country has been the theme of all 14 five-year plans. This year marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. How do you assess the CPC's practice of scientifically formulating and implementing successive five-year plans? What do you see as the strengths and distinctive features of this planning system?

Medeiros da Silva: As we know, China has regularly prepared its five-year plans since 1953. This long-term practice has undoubtedly led to a significant accumulation of fundamental experience in the continuous improvement of the mechanism itself. The current 14th Five-Year Plan, which was launched in 2021, prioritized the construction of a digital China, quality development, and the realization of a new development paradigm. Despite a very turbulent international scenario, there is no doubt that China has made great progress in these and other areas over the last four years. I want to use the quote from President Xi given in the first question. "If a blueprint is good, factually based, scientifically sound" and keeps the interests of the country and the people first, this plan will certainly be successful. 

Culture of planning has been rooted in China's DNA and has been crucial in developing leaders who are in tune with the demands of the times. A prime example is President Xi. His acute thinking has enabled him to identify main trends in political, economic and social development, both domestically and internationally, well in advance. This ability to visualize general trends and produce broad summaries enables the country to take pre-emptive action to avert the realization of adverse and even threatening trends. A broad set of theoretical elaborations, as well as more specific guidelines - such as focusing on high-quality development to drive the country's socialist modernization - exemplifies the strength and acuity of his thought.


GT: On May 19, President Xi made the remarks in a recent instruction on the work concerning the compilation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, stressing the importance of sound, democratic and law-based decision-making, as well as integrating top-level design with seeking advice from the public. How does this illustrate the "democratic" nature of China's policymaking process?

Medeiros da Silva: First, we need to understand that the Party's mission is to take care of the country and "serve the people." In other words, the people are the top priority in the Party's theory of governance. Second, the millions of Party officials and members are the Chinese people's own sons and daughters. The Party is present in every corner of the country so that it can capture the real demands of the people more accurately.

The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) identified poverty elimination as a major strategic task, which has benefited millions of people and prepared the country for new goals. Since the five-year plans set the direction for the country's economic and social development, society's participation is essential. The greater the participation of the various economic and social sectors, the more robust the planning will be. 


GT: Good planning is inseparable from implementation. In his book, President Xi spoke of the "nail spirit," stressing that "We must mobilize all positive factors, unite all available forces, and focus on managing our own affairs well, as we work towards our objectives with all our resolve." How do you interpret the governance philosophy behind the "nail spirit"? Why is this spirit particularly important in governing a country as large and complex as China?

Medeiros da Silva: I remember very well having a rich conversation with my Chinese friend, who was translating Volume I of Xi's book into Portuguese, about this expression. In Chinese, the full phrase in the title of Xi's article is "Promote the nail spirit, following a good blueprint." The first part of the sentence literally means "applying the spirit of hammering nails." The second part emphasizes that a good plan must be followed through to the end. In both Portuguese "Seguir um bom plano" and English "Following a good blueprint," the title of the article only reproduces the main idea of the message. Although the original expression, "the spirit of hammering nails," is mentioned in translations, I believe that it is only in the original that we can fully appreciate the power and effectiveness of this metaphor. This may explain why Xi has used the phrase on several other occasions. 

Theory and practice are like the two wings of a bird. Both are necessary for flight to be possible. In terms of thought, I believe that the "spirit of hammering nails" reflects an approach to governance that presupposes ideological conviction, determination, dedication, persistence, constancy, acuity and knowledge. In practice, it reflects a work ethic, the ability to achieve goals, a sense of responsibility, technical and scientific expertise, an overall vision and a commitment to the country and its people. This set of values is clearly essential for successful governance and for the country to advance in its modernization process.


GT: How does China's long-term approach differ from policy formulation in Western political contexts? What positive impacts does it have on national development stability and continuity, and what kind of institutional advantages does it reveal about China's governance system?

Medeiros da Silva: One of the defining features of China's successful governance is the Party's advanced strategic vision and ability to set clear, executable goals at each stage of the country's development. From this perspective, the Party has improved its planning and execution mechanisms, becoming more administratively efficient. Also, regional and local development is always aligned with the country's broader development objectives. This, together with the Party's ability to make the country prosper and create conditions that boost the well-being of the people, explains the question of stability and continuity, in my opinion. In other words, cohesion around well-defined principles and objectives maintains stability. This is completely different from anything seen in the West.