中文
By Yasiru Ranaraja
Lead: China's 2026 "two sessions" signal a decisive shift away from its old growth model and toward technology, green development and legal reform as Beijing charts its course through 2030.
China's annual "two sessions" meetings provide a clear insight into the direction of the world's second-largest economy. The meetings of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference serve as both a process of legislation and policy deliberation and a platform for the country to reveal its economic plans and strategic vision.
The government work report delivered by Premier Li Qiang is of particular significance as it marks the beginning of the new Five-Year Plan, an economic roadmap covering the period from 2026 to 2030 — an important stage in building a modern socialist China.
China’s economic growth rate, as outlined in the government work report, will be 4.5% to 5% in 2026, reflecting the country's transition from its traditional growth model toward a "high-quality development" trajectory.
With such priorities as building a strong domestic market and ensuring and improving the people’s livelihood, the government targets creating more than 12 million new urban jobs and achieving a rise of consumer price index by around 2% in the year, indicating a strong commitment to employment and a benign economic cycle in an uncertain global economic environment.
A drone photo taken on Nov. 1, 2025 shows a view of Shenzhen Bay Culture Square in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. [Photo by Liang Xu/Xinhua]
The growth target, though modest compared with the country's past record, reflects a strategic shift toward a new development paradigm focused on sustainability, innovation and domestic demand rather than growth rates alone.
The core concept highlighted in the government work report is new quality productive forces, which refers to the integration of technological breakthroughs with industrial upgrading, with particular emphasis on emerging sectors such as AI, semiconductors and digital technologies.
China is also significantly increasing investment in research and development, with national R&D spending accounting for 2.8% of GDP and technology contract transactions rising 10.8% year on year, pointing to the growing commercialization of scientific innovation.
The new priorities of a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan further indicate a continuation of this technology-oriented approach, with the government accelerating development in frontier sectors such as quantum computing, biotechnology, robotics and 6G communications, as well as expanding the application of AI across all sectors of the economy through its nationwide "AI Plus" initiative.
The other pillar of the Chinese government's approach is environmental sustainability, which has also been a major success story in past five-year plans.
The government work report also reiterates China's commitment to green transformation and low-carbon development, with particular emphasis on renewable energy, green industries and energy efficiency.
This is consistent with China's long-term targets of peaking emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
Aside from its technological and environmental ambitions, the "two sessions" have also highlighted the need to strengthen the legal foundations of China's economic system.
Several pieces of legislation underscore China's commitment to providing clearer institutional support for its economic transformation.
An aerial drone photo taken on July 22, 2025 shows the V2000CG CarryAll, a tonne-class electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on the apron in Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province. [Photo by Fang Zhe/Xinhua]
The draft law on national development planning, currently under consideration at this year's NPC session, is designed to strengthen China's long-term economic planning systems, ensuring closer coordination between national strategies, industrial policies and regional development plans. Five-year plans have been central to China's economic governance for decades, and codifying planning procedures into law will strengthen their role as a guiding framework for economic modernization through 2030 and beyond.
China's trade policies, meanwhile, are shifting as the government seeks to adapt to the increasing fragmentation of the global economy. At the same time, however, Beijing has made clear that China remains committed to high-level opening up and economic cooperation. In this regard, China's regulatory systems governing international trade, investment and digital commerce will be modernized, with measures designed to promote greater economic integration into global markets, especially in areas such as advanced manufacturing, green technology and services.
These policy directions reflect a broader shift in China's development model. Over the past four decades, growth was largely driven by export-oriented manufacturing, infrastructure development, and a real estate boom. Today, however, structural challenges such as demographic changes, trade tensions and shifting demand patterns are pushing the country toward a new path — one driven by innovation, sustainability and legal reform.
In this context, the relatively modest growth rate announced at the "two sessions" should not be seen as a sign of weakness. Instead, it is an expression of the strategic recalibration that the Chinese government is undertaking to ensure long-term economic sustainability.
In prioritizing innovation, sustainability and legal reform, China is seeking to create conditions for the development of a more sophisticated economy in the decades to come.
The implications of the policy directions announced in the government work report are not limited to China. The fact that China is the world's second-largest economy and one of the largest contributors to world growth ensures that the directions announced in the government work report will have significant implications for the world economy.
The overarching message from this year's "two sessions" is that the Chinese government is not simply managing short-term challenges. It is using the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan to lay the groundwork for long-term modernization and prepare China for a new phase of development driven by innovation, sustainability and legal reform.
Yasiru Ranaraja is a commentator on current affairs, a researcher on maritime issues, and an expert on the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. He is the founding director of the BRISL, an international development organization in Sri Lanka.
