Building Sci-tech Self-Reliance, Robust Domestic Market Are China’s Key Targets for 15th Five-Year Plan Period(Yicai) Oct. 24 -- Improving China’s scientific and technological self-reliance and strength and building a robust domestic market are among the key objectives for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) laid out by the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
“We should achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology and steer the development of new quality productive forces,” according to the Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC released yesterday.
“We must seize the historic opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation to boost China’s strength in education, science and technology, and human resources in a well-coordinated manner,” the communique added.
The new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is proceeding fast, creating an extensive and profound impact on industrial development, said Li Lecheng, minister for industry and information technology.
In particular, the booming new-generation IT, represented by artificial intelligence, has triggered profound changes in industrial development models and enterprise forms, Li noted, adding that how to seize opportunities and the high ground in industrial development is an important issue that requires in-depth thinking.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will build its self-reliance and strength in sci-tech through five paths, according to Yin Hejun, minister for science and technology.
The five paths are hiking efforts in original and leading sci-tech research, facilitating the full integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation, pursuing integrated development of education, sci-tech, and talents, deepening the reform of the sci-tech system, and building an open and innovative ecosystem with global competitiveness, Yin explained.
The communique also said that China should build a robust domestic market and work faster to foster a new pattern of development.
“We should see that new demand drives new supply, that new supply helps create fresh demand, and that positive interactions are fostered between consumption and investment and between supply and demand,” the communique noted. “All this will help enhance the dynamism and reliability of the domestic economy.”
Driven by the strategy of boosting domestic demand, China should strive to improve living standards while increasing consumer spending and coordinating investments in physical assets and human capital, the communique added.
People are the main body of consumption, Zhang Jun, chief economist at China Galaxy Securities, told Yicai. Investing in education, healthcare, and social security can raise the income and consumption capacity of residents, make them more prone to consumption, and form an interactive mechanism of ‘consumption to investment to innovation,’” he explained.
The key to expanding domestic demand in the next five years is putting people at the center, following the logic of human nature, and creating a safe, stable, and predictable development environment, said Cheng Shi, chief economist at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China International.
China should enhance residents’ sense of security and confidence in consumption by improving the social security system and policies to stabilize employment, consolidate the consumption capacity of the middle class by increasing residents’ income and optimizing the income distribution structure, and boost enterprises’ investment willingness and long-term return expectations by stabilizing industrial policies and strengthening support for the private economy, Cheng noted.
The fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC has presented the direction for China’s national economic and social development for the new journey, demonstrating the country’s strategic determination to center on economic construction, promote high-quality development, and coordinate development and security, said Qi Xiangdong, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and chairman of cybersecurity firm QAX Technology Group.
“We must work to stabilize employment, enterprise operations, markets, and expectations and keep the fundamentals of the economy stable, so as to consolidate and strengthen the momentum for economic recovery and growth,” according to the communique. “We should ensure that our macro policies continue to play an effective role and intensify their implementation as necessary.”
Maintaining sustained and stable economic growth is the top priority for China’s development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, said Yang Weimin, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
China has a complete modern industrial system, abundant human resources, convenient infrastructure, a huge potential market, a large number of business entities, and other growth conditions despite some long-term structural problems, so it can achieve a growth that is slightly higher or at least no lower than the actual growth during the 14th Five-Year Plan, Yang noted.
Editor: Futura Costaglione
