The 15th Five-Year Plan, officially the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, is a set of goals for national economic development. The plan, abbreviated 15-5, covers the years from 2026 to 2030.
A preliminary study for the plan by the National Development and Reform Commission took place on 17 and 18 December 2023. [1] [2] The fourth plenum, held on October 20 to 23, 2025, focused on assessing the previous 14th five-year plan and considered the proposed 15th five-year plan. [3] [4] [5] On 24 October 2025, Premier Li Qiang chaired a special meeting on the preparation of the outline of the 14th Five-Year plan, with Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang being present. [6] On 3 November 2025, CCP General Office Director Cai Qi published an opinion piece in the People's Daily , where he stressed the "extreme importance of exercising full and rigorous party self-governance to achieve the economic and social development goals of the 15th five-year plan period". [7] The plan is scheduled to be approved in March 2026 by the National People's Congress. [8]
The new plan seeks to achieve basic socialist modernization. It has six main principles "upholding the party’s overall leadership; putting people first; ensuring high quality development; upholding comprehensive and in-depth reform; implementing state market balance to form an economic order that is ‘flexible’ and ‘well managed’; and balancing security and development." [8] According to Shruti Jargad, the new policy seeks to mature China's regulatory and legal structures to support efficient growth. [8] According to Arthur Kroeber, speeches before drafting the new plan emphasized "new quality productive forces", disruptive innovation, and a new national system for coordination. [9] Compared to the fourteenth five-year plan, the 15-5 puts more emphasis on supporting businesses and less on supporting an equal distribution of wealth. [8]
Green technologies such as solar power and electric vehicles, and the accompanying rare-earth supply chains have been successful in China. In 15-5, Beijing aims to support similar policies for advanced semiconductors, biotechnology, and quantum technology. [8]
Industrial resilience is another key policy that has shown up in China's 15–5. China's industrial capabilities have driven significant economic growth, but challenges have risen alongside the success they bring. The central committee has stated that China must “maintain a reasonable proportion of manufacturing” and support “optimizing and upgrading traditional industries”. Furthermore, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping himself stated publicly, “real economy cannot be lost”. Hinting China's economic transformation will not completely disregard its manufacturing sector, instead leaving an appropriate portion to withstand crises. [10]