In March 2026, China’s annual Two Sessions (the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) were solemnly held in Beijing. As a major event in China’s political calendar, the Two Sessions not only provide a platform to review achievements over the past year and outline a blueprint for future development, but also serve as an important mechanism for building national consensus and promoting high-quality development.
During this year’s Two Sessions, the ‘Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China’ was deliberated and approved.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese government has used medium and long-term plans to guide development, set clear policy directions, establish development targets, and define reform pathways. To date, 14 five-year plans (programmes) have been formulated and implemented.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), China’s economic performance was remarkable. The total economic output successively surpassed the thresholds of 110 trillion, 120 trillion, 130 trillion, and 140 trillion RMB, achieving an average annual growth rate of 5.4%, well above the global average. With the successful conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s economic, technological, and defense capabilities, as well as its comprehensive national strength, reached new heights.
The year 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan and a critical juncture for unleashing new growth drivers and advancing high-quality development. The Plan outlines policies across economic, technological, ecological, and social sectors, and sets the following objectives during this period: achieving notable results in high-quality development; significantly enhancing technological self-reliance and strength; making new breakthroughs in deepening comprehensive reform; improving social civilisation; continuously enhancing the quality of people’s lives; achieving major progress in building a “Beautiful China”; and further consolidating national security.
The Plan outlines a blueprint for the next five years, bringing certainty to China and helping to write a new chapter in the dual miracle of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability. Building on this foundation, through another five years of hard work, by 2035, China’s economic strength, scientific and technological capabilities, national defense capabilities, comprehensive national power, and international influence will have significantly increased; per capita GDP (gross domestic product) will reach the level of moderately developed countries; people’s lives will be happier and more fulfilling; and socialist modernisation will be basically realised.
This year’s Government Work Report, in outlining the work for 2026, emphasises how to ensure a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan, ensuring the full-year targets for the first year are effectively implemented.
Looking back at 2025, China’s GDP grew by 5%, reaching 140.19 trillion RMB, with an economic increment exceeding 5 trillion RMB—equivalent to the scale of a moderately developed country. This not only demonstrated the endogenous driving force of China’s economy but also contributed about 30% to global economic growth.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Government Work Report has set forth 20 quantifiable targets across five areas, primarily including: an expected GDP growth rate of 4.5%–5%, with efforts to strive for better results in practice; a consumer price index (CPI) increase of around 2%; household income growth in line with economic growth; grain production of approximately 1.4 trillion jin; an annual average increase of over 7% in total R&D (research and development) expenditure across society; and increasing the share of core digital economy industries to 12.5%. Additionally, China will focus on developing future industries such as new energy, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, brain-machine interfaces, and 6G networks, supported by 200 billion RMB in special national bonds for equipment upgrades and 250 billion RMB to support trade-in programs for consumer goods. These measures will further enhance the endogenous momentum of the Chinese economy and drive high-quality development to make a leap from “quantity” to “quality”.
Amid global economic uncertainties, this year’s Two Sessions not only set the strategic direction for China’s next five years but also conveyed to the world China’s firm commitment to high-quality development, improving livelihoods and deepening international cooperation. Strategic initiatives in the 15th Five-Year Plan— such as “actively expanding independent opening-up” and “jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative with high quality”—vividly demonstrate that China’s principle that “China’s door to the outside world is opening wider and wider”, sending a clear message: “Partnering with China will bring more opportunities”. China will uphold openness, cooperation, and mutual benefit; steadily expand institutional opening-up; build a new system for a higher-standard open economy, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, expand international economic circulation and leverage openness to drive reform and development. Besides, China will advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, sharing opportunities and pursuing common development with countries around the world.
The year 2026 also marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The signals released during China’s Two Sessions—emphasising expanded opening-up, promotion of scientific and technological innovation, and deepening international cooperation—will provide new opportunities for China-Pakistan cooperation at a higher level. As the policies from the Two Sessions continue to be implemented and the 15th Five-Year Plan is steadily advanced, China-Pakistan cooperation will surely reach new heights, injecting stronger momentum into Pakistan’s economic takeoff and making even greater contributions to regional peace and development.
The writer is Consul General of China in Karachi