UJ seminar says South Africa can learn from China’s focus on long-term planning and delivery

At a University of Johannesburg Business School seminar on 12 August 2026, academics, state officials and students argued that South Africa could learn from China’s emphasis on long-term planning and disciplined implementation as Pretoria struggles to turn strategy into measurable progress.

From plans on paper to delivery

Speakers contrasted China’s record of sustained execution with South Africa’s difficulty in translating strategies into outcomes. The seminar highlighted the National Development Plan (NDP 2030) as an example of a comprehensive strategy that is “approaching its deadline with little to show,” and said the gap between planning and delivery remains a central challenge for South Africa.

China’s approach and reported outcomes

Participants pointed to the Chinese model’s focus on long-term cycles and strict follow-through. China’s consul-general in Johannesburg, Pan Qingjiang, said China has completed 14 successive planning cycles since its first plan in 1953. He cited reported outcomes including per capita GDP above $13 000 for two consecutive years and old-age social insurance coverage above 95%. Pan described a disciplined allocation approach in which “projects follow the plan and resources follow the projects.”

Execution as the decisive factor

Delegates noted execution as the critical distinction. The seminar referenced a comment by President Xi Jinping about the importance of implementation:

“Blueprint drafting accounts for only one part of the work, implementation makes up nine parts.”

South African perspectives at the seminar

Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration Pinky Kekana said there is a tendency to equate planning with producing documents and argued that institutions capable of converting vision into progress are essential. She defended South Africa’s diverse social and constitutional context and cautioned against adopting a single model wholesale, urging instead an exchange of ideas and adaptation.

University of Johannesburg associate professor Zama Mthombeni highlighted the country’s twin tasks of redressing apartheid-era inequalities while responding to current economic needs, underscoring the complexity of applying external models to South Africa’s context.

Implications and warnings from the discussion

While the seminar suggested lessons in long-term planning and disciplined implementation could be valuable, attendees also emphasised that institutional capacity matters and that South Africa must adapt ideas to its constitutional and social realities rather than adopt another country’s model wholesale. The event underscored a perceived gulf between Beijing’s execution-focused approach and what participants described as Pretoria’s chronic implementation shortfalls.