Key Focus Areas and Development Directions for China’s Economic and Social Development During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period

2025-07-25 15:03:30 粤专 ·

2025 marks the concluding year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and the planning year for the 15th Five-Year Plan. The 15th Five-Year Plan period will be a critical five-year span during which China responds to a once-in-a-century transformation accelerating in scope and pace, and advances high-quality development through innovation-driven strategies. Therefore, effectively managing economic work in 2025 is of paramount importance.

2025 is the year when the 14th Five Year Plan comes to an end and also the year of planning for the 15th Five Year Plan. The 15th Five Year Plan will be a crucial five-year period for China to accelerate its evolution in response to unprecedented changes and drive high-quality development through innovation. Therefore, it is crucial to do a good job in economic work in 2025.

Despite the deepening adverse effects of external environmental changes, the growth that supports China's economic resilience is facing many unfavorable factors such as global economic downturn, inflation downturn, trade war, monetary policy, and geopolitical conflicts; The pressure faced by China's structural reform has increased, and the economic operation still faces many difficulties and challenges. However, it must also be noted that the supporting conditions and basic trends for the long-term improvement of China's economy have not changed. Although it is not easy to achieve the target of a 5% GDP growth rate by 2025, there is still a foundation, conditions, and support.

During the 15th Five Year Plan period, China's high-quality development faced complex and ever-changing domestic and international situations. On the domestic front, China's economy is moving towards a stage of high-quality development, with accelerated industrial upgrading and transformation, technological innovation leading development, green development becoming an important direction, and regional coordinated development strategies continuing to be implemented. On the foreign front, factors such as the slowdown in global economic growth, intensified competition between China and the United States, global industrial and supply chain adjustments, intensified international technological competition, and global governance system reforms will pose challenges to China's high-quality development.

The government work report points out that we must adhere to and implement the "two unwavering" principles, and the government should integrate management into services, using the warmth of services to enhance the confidence of enterprises. The high-quality completion of the deepening and upgrading action of state-owned enterprise reform mainly includes "implementing the guidelines for optimizing the layout and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy" and "accelerating the establishment of an evaluation system for state-owned enterprises to fulfill their strategic missions". This will be achieved through a combination of government guidance and market promotion to achieve sustained and effective promotion of the optimization of the layout and structural adjustment of the state-owned economy. This is actually an important task proposed in the 14th Five Year Plan and is expected to become an important task in the 15th Five Year Plan. Major projects in the 15th Five Year Plan will be planned early.

On July 18, 2024, the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee deliberated and passed the Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Promoting Chinese path to modernization (hereinafter referred to as the Decision), which emphasized the reform work in many fields, such as the market economy system, new quality productivity, comprehensive innovation, macroeconomic governance, urban and rural development, opening up, ecological environment and social security, and pointed out the direction for further comprehensively deepening reform. Since the beginning of this year, the Strategic and Planning Department of the National Development and Reform Commission has conducted two solicitation of research topics for the "15th Five Year Plan". The research mainly focuses on major macro issues such as China's economic trends, technological revolution, digital economy, new industrial tracks, as well as professional fields such as medicine and health, vocational education, urban and rural construction, environmental pollution, and future development trends.

Based on the Decision, the National Development and Reform Commission's "15th Five Year Plan" research project announcement, and relevant policy documents, the development priorities during China's "15th Five Year Plan" period mainly include the following 10 aspects.

One is to lead comprehensive innovation with technological innovation. In the new historical period, innovation should be the driving force to upgrade the development model, strengthen the future industrial layout of artificial intelligence, quantum information, hydrogen energy, etc., promote economic structure change through industrial innovation, establish a major industrial innovation project management model led by enterprises, consolidate micro foundations, break down institutional barriers through institutional innovation, and strengthen fundamental guarantees.

The second is to promote new industrialization and develop new quality productive forces. The focus of new industrialization is to promote industrial transformation and upgrading towards three directions: high-end, intelligent, and green. In terms of high-end transformation, we will focus on building an industrial innovation ecosystem, improving the layout of strategic emerging industries and future industries, promoting the development of modern productive service industry clusters, and promoting the flow of high-quality production factors to high-end industries and high value-added links; In terms of intelligent transformation, digital technology is used to empower traditional industries, vigorously develop the industrial Internet, expand the market for data elements, and promote the expanded application of new technologies; In terms of green transformation, we will develop water-saving industries and resource recycling industries, promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in traditional industries, promote the large-scale and commercial application of new energy storage, and enhance the consumption capacity of new energy.

The third is to give equal importance to consumption and investment, and focus on expanding domestic effective demand. In the field of consumption, it is necessary to enhance residents' consumption ability, increase the proportion of disposable income in national income distribution and the proportion of labor remuneration in initial distribution, increase residents' willingness to consume, improve the social security system, and reduce the precautionary savings tendency of the people. In the field of investment, on the one hand, it is to accelerate investment in infrastructure construction and public services for social livelihood to make up for shortcomings; On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen investment in areas such as new industrialization and new urbanization, drive the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, and improve urban and rural production and living conditions.

Fourth, comprehensively deepen reform around Chinese path to modernization. In further comprehensively deepening reform, we will promote Chinese path to modernization, and make all-round efforts and breakthroughs in various fields, including politics, economy, culture, society, and ecological civilization.

The fifth is to expand high-level opening-up to the outside world. Continue to leverage the supporting role of exports in the economy, expand new growth points such as intermediate goods trade and green trade, and promote the healthy development of new formats such as cross-border e-commerce. Intensify investment efforts, deeply implement the strategy of upgrading the pilot free trade zone, actively connect with high standard international economic and trade rules, and steadily expand institutional opening-up. Deeply participate in global industrial division of labor and cooperation, and build an open world economy.

The sixth is to implement a people-oriented new urbanization. We will promote the reform of registered residence related systems and implement a new round of citizenization of agricultural transfer population. Promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas, pilot the integrated management of urban and rural economy and society, and accelerate the efficient two-way flow of various production factors between urban and rural areas. Optimize urban layout and accelerate the exploration of new development models for "shrinking cities". Build a new model for real estate development, optimize the housing supply structure, and encourage and support the development of the housing rental market, especially the long-term rental market. Comprehensively improve the level of urban and rural infrastructure and accelerate the construction of new infrastructure.

Seventh, we will solidly promote the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Anchor the goal of building a strong agricultural country and ensure stable and secure supply of food and important agricultural products. Efforts will be made to strengthen the leading industry, supplement the supply chain, promote the development of the industry, establish a brand, and promote the upgrading of the entire rural industrial chain. Accelerate the construction of livable, business friendly, and beautiful rural areas. Strengthen the dual drive of technology and reform, and promote agricultural technological innovation and rural institutional innovation in a coordinated manner.

Eighth, strengthen the construction of ecological civilization. Promote comprehensive management of ecological environment and improve the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products. Vigorously develop a green and low-carbon economy, promote the green transformation and development of industries, energy, transportation, and urban-rural construction. Steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality, establish a carbon footprint management system, develop new energy storage, promote the use of green electricity and international mutual recognition.

Nine is to actively respond to aging and declining birth rates. Accelerate the improvement of the population development support and service system, optimize the education structure, improve the average education level of the people, build a multi subject supply and multi-channel guarantee elderly care system suitable for China's national conditions, give more prominence to stabilizing employment, especially for the youth group, accelerate the construction of a unified national market, and continuously cultivate and release the "population quality dividend".

Ten is to ensure and improve people's livelihoods in development. Promote the coupling of reform measures in various aspects such as basic livelihood security, grassroots social governance, and basic social services, accelerate the balanced development of compulsory education in urban and rural areas, implement the policy of prioritizing employment, improve the multi-level social security system covering the whole population, enhance the quality of public services, formulate policies to support childbirth, strengthen urban and rural social assistance, and solve the most concerned, direct, and practical interests of the people.