With regard to the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (the Fourth Plenum), which concluded on the 23rd, a Chinese state-run media outlet issued what appeared to be an assessment aimed at the United States. Emphasizing "the people," "stability," and "openness," the outlet said the Fourth Plenum presented a development vision of "common prosperity," not "prosperity for oneself alone."
China's state-run Global Times released an editorial late on the 23rd titled "Important signals the Fourth Plenum communiqué sent to the world." The editorial said the contents of the communiqué released by the Communist Party of China's Central Committee right after the close of the Fourth Plenum "instilled confidence at home and abroad that China will move step by step toward a better future along a scheduled trajectory."
Citing coverage by English-language media, the editorial said the communiqué emphasized a development path centered on improving people's quality of life. It added, "This development philosophy helps ensure that the fruits of economic growth are widely shared, contributing to preventing the widening wealth gap and social division that are common in Western advanced countries," and "while politics in some countries is subordinated to the interests of a small amount of capital, China still focuses on the fundamental interests of the vast majority."
It continued, "Another key signal conveyed by this communiqué is stability," adding, "Amid growing global uncertainty, while frequent policy changes by some major powers are unsettling the world economy, China highlighted that its direction is clear and its implementation is solid."
The editorial went on, "As the world stands at a crossroads of upheaval and instability, the communiqué presented an image of a China that is alert, confident, and open," adding, "The communiqué emphasized expanding high-level opening-up and pioneering a new stage of mutual benefit and common prosperity, and it explicitly pledged to safeguard the multilateral trading system. This is China's clear stance and commitment against the recent rise of protectionism." It then praised, "In other words, China's development carries the message that it is not 'prosperity for oneself alone' but 'a path to common prosperity.'"
This is seen as an implicit jab at the U.S. administration of Donald Trump, which has fueled uncertainty in the world economy with frequent policy shifts and raised trade barriers with high tariff rates.
The editorial added, "A major power that regards the people as the highest value has distinctive resilience and sustainability in its development, and a ruling party with strong institutional execution lends solid weight to its promises," and "as a civilized nation committed to building a community with a shared future for humanity, China will make increasingly greater contributions to world peace and development going forward."
Earlier, the Communist Party of China's Central Committee wrapped up the Fourth Plenum, which had been held for four days, the day before. At the Fourth Plenum, the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), China's policy blueprint for the next five years, was approved. Its core is to significantly raise the level of scientific and technological self-reliance and to strengthen national security by 2030. It also set a goal of raising per capita gross domestic product (GDP) to the level of an upper middle-income country or higher by 2035.