Changing spatial planning in China’s five-year planning system

The five-year planning (FYP) system is very important in regulating economic and spatial development in China. By analysing the texts of five-year plans and corresponding spatial policies, as well as the primary governance issues since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, this paper argues that market-oriented reform and decentralised economic administration have changed China’s political economy and necessitated transformation of the FYP mechanism. However, the emerging spatial governance mechanism is encountering many challenges and may not operate smoothly in the near future.