Summary: The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) pointed out that socialist modernization can only be realized through a historical process of gradual and ongoing development. High-quality development is the primary task in building a modern socialist country in all respects, and promoting high-quality development is a strategic choice made by the CPC Cen‐ tral Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, based on the characteristics of the times and the histori‐ cal positioning. TheSelectedWorksofXiJinpingonEconomy(VolumeOne) records important discussions on high-quality development made by President Xi Jinping, and systematically addresses major theoretical and practical issues, such as what high-quality development is and how to achieve high-quality development. It provides a forward-looking layout, ideological guidance, theoretical direction, and practical paths for China to build a great country in all respects, promote the great cause of national rejuvenation on all fronts, and build a human community with a shared future through Chinese modernization on the new journey of the new era and under the new situation of major power competition, thus holding practical and historical sig‐ nificance.
From the perspective of historical logic, promoting high-quality development is an inevitable require‐ ment for adapting to the transformation of the development stage. From the perspective of realistic logic, promoting high-quality development is a primary task to solve the principal contradiction facing Chinese so‐ ciety and build a modern socialist country in all respects. From the perspective of theoretical logic, promot‐ ing high-quality development is an inherent requirement of following economic laws. To sustain steady and sustained economic growth in China, it is necessary to adopt a dialectical perspective on the intrinsic con‐ nection between the“ quality” and the“ quantity” of economic development, balance the relationship be‐ tween improving quality and increasing total volume, and integrate effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth throughout the entire process of high-quality development.
As China has reached a new starting point in its economic development endeavors, a deep understand‐ ing of the scientific connotation of high-quality development must be grounded in the new requirements of the new development stage, guided by the complete, accurate and comprehensive implementation of the new development philosophy, anchored in the accelerated creation of a new development pattern, and ori‐ ented toward the development of new quality productive forces as an inherent requirement and an important focus of high-quality development.
Having answered the question of what high-quality development is, the critical task lies in identifying viable strategies for its implementation. President Xi Jinping profoundly clarified the drivers, industrial path‐ ways, institutional guarantees, and original aspirations and missions for promoting high-quality develop‐ ment, providing scientific guidance for its advancement on the new journey of the new era. To align with the trends of the digital and intelligent era and break new ground in advancing high-quality development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, it is necessary to strengthen original innovation as the driving force, develop a modern industrial system as the main vehicle, further deepen reform comprehensively and expand opening up as the institutional foundation, and improve people’s well-being to achieve the ultimate goal of high-quality development.
Keywords: New Journey of the New Era; High-quality Development; Self-reliance and Strength in Science and Technology; Modern Industrial System; People’s Well-being
JELClassification: B51, O11, P21
Source：Economic Research Journal, No. 2, 2026
