As the soul of the economic strategy system, the overall strategy leads all specific strategies. In China, the overall economic strategy is formulated and implemented by the collective leadership of the Party and the state, especially its core figures, for a specific historical period and concerning the guidance framework for national economic development and security. From the perspective of generative thinking of its builder, the overall economic strategy has four basic elements: situation judgment, concept construction, action selection, and goal setting.

Over the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, under the guidance of three overall economic strategies: the strategy of prioritizing the development of heavy industry in the industrialization of an agricultural country, the strategy of poverty alleviation and striving for a moderately prosperous society, and the strategy of promoting high-quality development, China has made great achievements in both development and security that meet the needs of the times, thereby supporting the Chinese nation to achieve a great leap from standing up to becoming prosperous, and then to becoming strong.

In addition to the general characteristics of addressing the comprehensive, long-term, and fundamental issues, China’s overall economic strategy also has a series of unique features, including utilizing the advantages of a major country and leveraging the institutional advantages of the Primary Stage of Socialism. Over the past 70 years, China’s overall economic strategy has undergone a phased evolution from “security first” to “development first”, and then to “coordination of development and security”, forming a characteristic of stepwise promotion.

In the new development stage, China regards high-quality development as the primary task of building a modern socialist country, and the overall economic strategy runs through a series of important spirits: adhering to the socialist path and further leveraging the advantages of the system; improving the socialist market economy system and better leveraging the advantages of a major country; adhering to the new development philosophy and fully utilizing the advantages of concepts; promoting high-quality development and playing the role of key strategic actions; mastering the initiative in security and achieving more stable development; advancing China’s new development and providing new opportunities for the world.