As an important component of global forest resources, planted forests are playing an increasingly crucial role in timber production, environmental improvement, landscape rehabilitation and climate change mitigation. Although China has been experiencing continuous growth in the area and standing volume of planted forests, ecosystem services and functions of planted forests are still far from adequacy in meeting growing needs of people's better life expectation and rapid social-economic development. The planted forests are facing problems including poor stand quality, irrational stand structure, low productivity, and degraded ecological function. Considering the confined space available for further expansion of replanting area and the actual and potential impacts from climate change, it is necessary to adjust China's current plantation development strategy from area expansion to quality and benefits improvement, There is a need to develop an appropriate strategy and practice approach for achieving multi-purpose management such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity protection, eco-environment improvement, in response to the new demands for building a beautiful China, and the new task of forestry's role in climate change mitigation. In this paper, we discuss the possible ways and new ideas on how to upgrade China's management strategy of planted forests by analyzing the development history, future trends and existing problems of global planted forests. Useful international experiences, concepts and good practices are well incorporated into China's actual conditions and special feathers of plantation management. Some recommendations and future prospective on strategic transformation and technical innovation for enhancing the quality and benefits of multiple ecosystem services of planted forests in China were also proposed. Adaptive ecosystem management of planted forests is highly advocated under a changing environment, and the trade-offs and synergy of multiple ecosystem services of planted forests should be well managed and coordinated at multiple scales and levels.