The Five-Sphere Integrated Plan
At its sixth plenary session held in 1986, the 12th CPC Central Committee unveiled an overall plan for China's development: to reform the economic and political structures and promote ethical and cultural progress while taking economic development as the central task.
In October 1987, the CPC at its 13th National Congress outlined what may be called a three-sphere integrated plan for building Chinese socialism, which encompassed economic prosperity, political democracy, and ethical and cultural progress. The three-sphere overall plan covering economic, political and cultural progress to promote China's socialist modernization was confirmed at the Party's 14th, 15th and 16th national congresses.
Talking to a session of officials at the provincial/ministerial level in February 2005, CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao raised the idea of a four-sphere integrated plan that covered economic, political, cultural and social progress.
This plan was further expanded with the inclusion of eco-environmental conservation at the 18th National Congress of the CPC held in November 2012, hence, the Five-sphere Integrated Plan – the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics encompassing economic, political, cultural, social and eco-environmental development.
The Five-sphere Integrated Plan and the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy support each other and interact in a planned manner. Proceeding from economic growth, they help promote a socialist market economy, democratic governance, an advanced culture, eco-environmental progress, and a harmonious society, so as to make the people more prosperous, the country stronger, and China more beautiful.
The formulation of China's general development plan reflects the CPC's further understanding of the importance of coordination in development and of the factors influencing socialism with Chinese characteristics.
“五位一體”總體布局
1986年召開的中共十二屆六中全會首次提出了以經濟建設為中心，堅定不移地進行經濟體制改革，堅定不移地進行政治體制改革，堅定不移地加強精神文明建設的總體布局。
1987年10月，中共十三大明確提出了經濟富強、政治民主、精神文明“三位一體”的中國特色社會主義事業的總體布局，此后中共十四大、十五大、十六大都延續了經濟建設、政治建設、文化建設“三位一體”的社會主義現代化建設總體布局。
2005年2月，胡錦濤在省部級主要領導干部專題研討班上提出了社會主義經濟建設、政治建設、文化建設、社會建設“四位一體”總布局。
2012年11月召開的中共十八大，將生態文明建設提升到總體布局中來，從而形成了“五位一體”的建設中國特色社會主義總體布局。即在堅持以經濟建設為中心的同時，全面推進經濟建設、政治建設、文化建設、社會建設、生態文明建設，促進現代化建設各個環節、各個方面協調發展?！拔逦灰惑w”總體布局和“四個全面”戰略布局相互促進、彼此聯動，在推動經濟發展的基礎上，統籌建設社會主義市場經濟、民主政治、先進文化、生態文明、和諧社會，協同推進人民富裕、國家強盛、中國美麗。
“五位一體”總體布局的提出，體現了中國共產黨對協調發展的規律性認識不斷深化，對中國特色社會主義的規律性認識不斷深化。
