China Launches 2026-30 Five-Year Plan as It Seeks Global Economic Certainty

3 articles · Updated · Global Times · Aug 19

2026 marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, which state media casts as a new development phase meant to provide stability and momentum through 2030.
Rahma Gafmi of Airlangga University said China’s five-year planning aligns fiscal, monetary and industrial policy, helping it manage long-term shifts such as green energy, infrastructure and high-tech upgrading.
She said that policy consistency gives trading partners greater supply and price certainty—especially in solar panels, EV batteries and affordable electric vehicles—at a time of geopolitical fragmentation and supply-chain disruption.
The 2026-30 plan also points to broader two-way investment, with foreign capital in China shifting toward advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and digital infrastructure while Chinese firms expand into Southeast Asia, notably Indonesia.
That outward push could deepen cooperation on critical minerals, industrial parks, data centers, 5G and renewable energy, while China and Indonesia are urged to back RCEP, upgrade the ASEAN-China FTA and defend WTO dispute settlement.