On October 23, 2025, China outlined comprehensive socio-economic targets for the “15th Five-year Plan” (2026-2030) as it would conclude the transformative “14th Five-year Plan” period (2021-2025). The new plan, set to guide national development through 2030, aims for the following goals:
- Notable advances in high-quality development
- Substantial progress in sci-tech self-reliance
- New breakthroughs in deepening reforms
- Marked improvement in social civility
- Continuous enhancement of living standards
- Significant strides in building a Beautiful China
- Greater consolidation of national security
These objectives build on a robust track record established during the “14th Five-year Plan.”
In terms of its development, China’s economy expanded significantly, with GDP surpassing 130 trillion yuan and projected to reach around 140 trillion yuan in 2025. Averaging 5.5% growth in the first four years, China remained a global growth leader, contributing approximately 30% to world economic expansion. The manufacturing sector maintained its world-leading scale for 15 consecutive years, with annual value-added exceeding 30 trillion yuan. Between 2020 and 2024, equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing sectors saw their value-added grow at robust average annual rates of 7.9% and 8.7%, respectively. Regarding sci-tech self-reliance, China now leads globally with 26 top 100 sci-tech innovation clusters and hosts over 460,000 high-tech enterprises. R&D spending surged nearly 50% from the 13th Five-year Plan’s end, with R&D intensity reaching 2.68%. The cohort of highly cited researchers grew 50% to 1,405 in 2024, representing one-fifth of the world’s total.
China deepened reforms to unlock new dynamism in its vast market, with domestic demand becoming the primary growth engine. From 2021 to 2024, it contributed 86.8% to economic expansion, and final consumption accounted for 59.9%. Market access was further liberalized in 2025, including the full removal of foreign investment restrictions in manufacturing. Grain output exceeded 700 million tons in 2024, reflecting progress in rural revitalization. Social development advanced steadily: cultural industry revenue reached 19.14 trillion yuan in 2024, and inbound tourism recovered to 132 million visitors. Urban employment grew by over 12 million annually, while life expectancy rose to 79 years. Pension and health insurance coverage exceeded 95% of the population. Environmentally, forest coverage surpassed 25%, and clean energy capacity exceeded coal. National security was strengthened through legal measures, with courts concluding 5.23 million criminal cases.
In conclusion, foreign stakeholders will see substantial space for growth thanks to China’s expanding domestic market, full manufacturing sector opening, and green transition. However, success requires strategic adaptation: foreign firms must evolve from technology providers to innovation partners, and from market participants to value co-creators. Deep integration with China’s high-quality development agenda becomes essential for long-term competitiveness in this rapidly upgrading market.
Chinese source of the article: https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/jiedu/tujie/202510/content_7045483.htm
