Plan a key spur for sustained development

China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) places strong emphasis on advanced technology, opening-up and green development, forming what analysts describe as a coordinated blueprint for sustainable growth and deeper global cooperation.

Lawrence Loh, director of the Center for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore, characterized the three priorities as mutually reinforcing pillars of China's modernization drive, describing them as a "triple impetus that will serve as a strategic foundation for the 15th Five-Year Plan to attain sustained high-quality growth".

Together, he argued, they define how China aligns innovation, markets and responsibility in its next development phase. In Loh's view, each pillar plays a distinct economic role.

"Advanced technology provides the product orientation, opening up represents the markets while green development constitutes responsibility — these are like a three-legged stool for the new economy of China," he said. He sees openness as the arena where progress is ultimately measured, noting that global markets will test whether China's technological and green transition can translate into competitive growth.

At the same time, Loh stressed that domestic innovation capacity is essential to long-term resilience. "For China's next phase of development, innovation through indigenous capabilities will be most vital. It's only through the internalization of strategic expertise that China's economy can generate long-term viability," he said.

Green development, in Loh's assessment, is not simply a compliance requirement but a growth framework.

"Being green is more than a process constraint of just reducing carbon emissions," he said. "It has to be embedded and mainstreamed into innovations and products so as to galvanize growth and enhance market relevance."

He also saw expanding engagement with emerging regions as a natural extension of China's opening-up, supported by multilateral platforms and trade frameworks that connect Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In October, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened its fourth plenary session, with participants deliberating over and adopting the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development, according to a communique of the session.

The State Council then drafted the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development based on the recommendations. The draft outline has been submitted to the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for review. The session opened on Thursday.

In the draft outline of the plan, it is proposed that GDP should keep growing within an appropriate range, with annual growth rates to be determined in light of actual conditions. This will lay a solid foundation for achieving the goal of doubling China's 2020 per capita GDP by 2035 to reach the level of a moderately developed country, according to the draft plan.

It is proposed that the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP be cut by a total of 17 percent during the five years to 2030 to promote green and low carbon transition across key sectors.

The draft outline projects an annual average increase of at least 7 percent in nationwide R&D spending, the same as the target in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Regarding the digital economy, the draft outline proposes raising the value added of core digital economy industries to 12.5 percent of GDP.

wangmingjie@gmail.chinadailyuk.com