Meetings promise shared growth

The upcoming two sessions — the annual meetings of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies — are expected to discuss and formulate policies for furthering the nation's high-quality development agenda, which experts said would offer significant opportunities for a world grappling with fragmentation and uncertainty.

The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress is scheduled to open on March 5, and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is set to begin on March 4.

The NPC, China's top legislature, will review the draft of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), while the National Committee of the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body, will conduct extensive consultations and provide recommendations on the draft, collectively helping to shape the nation's development vision.

Noting that this year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, experts said the key political meetings will set the tone for maintaining steady economic growth and advancing economic transformation.

Tom Harper, a China specialist at the University of East London, said the two sessions come at a time when the Chinese economy is becoming increasingly stable. "This can be seen as a result of the transition within China's economy that has been ongoing since the 2010s," he said.

The development is reflected in the main agendas of the meetings, which include consolidating the foundations of wider economic recovery, Harper said. Building on this momentum, China is expected to further expand its economic engagement — a goal underscored by its renewed commitment to high-standard opening-up, he said.

Harper added that China is also expected to outline long-term deve-lopment goals in areas such as artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing, underscoring the nation's ambition to evolve as a globally competitive and advanced manufacturing economy.

Lee Jung-nam, a professor and director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Asiatic Research Institute of Korea University in Seoul, said the new blueprint reflects China's determination to strengthen competitiveness by upgrading traditional and lower-tech industries.

The international community is closely watching whether the approved version of the plan will introduce bold measures to tackle China's domestic challenges and formulate new development strategies centered around consumption-driven growth, Lee said.

Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute in Nairobi, said the key meetings are expected to inject fresh momentum into China's deve-lopment agenda and guide the nation toward its medium- and long-term development goals.

"The two sessions are expected to endorse China's 15th Five-Year Plan, which emphasizes high-quality growth, technological self-reliance and economic security, with the aim of shifting the country from rapid expansion to more sustainable, high-quality development," he said.

Lawrence Loh, a professor at the Business School of the National University of Singapore, said the meetings will help to further shape China's high-quality development, which in turn will provide opportunities for international investors.

Experts noted that the emphasis on boosting domestic consumption in the 15th Five-Year Plan has immense global significance. With China's domestic market continuously expanding, it is poised to become a key engine for unleashing global demand, they said.

Peter T.C. Chang, former deputy director of the Universiti Malaya's Institute of China Studies in Kuala Lumpur, said the draft blueprint not only pledges to strengthen consumption, but also to further open key sectors to foreign participation.

"For exporters across Malaysia, Southeast Asia and the Global South, a more stable, consumption-driven Chinese economy could translate into stronger trade opportunities and more resilient global growth," he said.

Expanding cooperation in cross-border e-commerce, AI applications and data infrastructure will enable small and medium-sized enterprises in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations "to access the Chinese market more effectively and integrate more deeply into regional digital ecosystems", he added.

Karori Singh, former director of the South Asia Studies Centre at the University of Rajasthan in India, said the two sessions may send signals on amplifying China's role in helping to stabilize and reshape a fragmented world, given the nation's position as a major player in global development and governance.

Wang Mingjie in London and Prime Sarmiento, Xu Weiwei and Yang Han in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at liujianqiao@chinadaily.com.cn