China has unveiled the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development. It draws a blueprint for the country's high-quality development over the next five years and showcases the country's commitment to continued opening up and coordinated growth, reported by People's Daily Overseas Edition.

In the next five years, China will build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone. By upgrading traditional industries, fostering emerging industries and nurturing industries of the future, a tiered development structure will take shape. Traditional industries such as steel, petrochemicals, and textiles will see their foundations solidified through technological upgrading and green transition; emerging industries like new energy vehicles and advanced new materials will further expand their competitive edge internationally; and future industries including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information, and biomanufacturing will be nurtured at an accelerated pace. These three pillars will complement each other and drive the industrial system to new heights.

"Traditional industries serve as the foundation; emerging industries act as strategic pillars; and future industries take on the mission of pioneering breakthroughs," said Zhang Linshan, a researcher at the Academy of Macroeconomic Research Institute, National Development and Reform Commission.

China is accelerating its digital transformation, advancing toward a smarter Digital China. With the world's largest network infrastructure now in place, the core industries of digital economy account for over 10.5% of China's GDP. The country will fully implement an "AI+" initiative, driving large-scale applications across key sectors like healthcare and mobility and reshaping production models and daily life.

China is unlocking the dividends of its vast market. Leveraging its super-large market, the country will accelerate its emergence as a global market. As a key advantage for attracting multinational corporations, China's super-large market provides economies of scale, incremental expansion, quality improvement, and smooth circulation. New technologies and products can undergo rapid validation and achieve breakthroughs here, and their R&D costs can be quickly amortized through economies of scale.

Green development is a priority. China plans to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 17% over the next five years. The country will implement a dual control system for both the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions, promoting new energy, driving industrial emission reductions, and enhancing energy conservation and efficiency in both work and life.

Over the next five years, China will proactively expand voluntary opening up. The country will increase imports of high-quality foreign goods, expand market access and open up more areas, in particular in the service sector. More employment opportunities will be provided through international exchanges and cooperation. These efforts will ensure China’s development opportunities are better shared with the world.

China plans to implement 109 major projects during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. These include both hardware investments in future industries such as AI supercomputing clusters and satellite internet, and software improvements in areas related to people's wellbeing like education, healthcare, and elderly care, all aimed at enhancing the public's sense of gain and happiness.

Regarding food and energy security, China will focus on developing technology-driven, green, high-quality, and brand-oriented agriculture, aiming to boost its comprehensive grain production capacity to around 725 billion kilograms. It will also enhance the capacity of non-fossil energy sources for supply and security, promote new energy as the mainstay of installed power capacity, and raise its comprehensive energy production capacity to 5.8 billion tonnes of standard coal.

Furthermore, China will boost key sectors such as aerospace, energy, finance, agriculture, and tourism, making comprehensive efforts to improve quality and efficiency. To improve people's wellbeing, efforts will be geared toward improving quality of life. This includes increasing social security coverage for flexible employees, rural migrant workers, and those in new forms of employment; raising the average years of schooling for the working-age population to 11.7 years; boosting average life expectancy to 80 years; and building over 1,000 high-quality regular high schools. Continued efforts will also be made to upgrade rural infrastructure and services, adapting implementation mechanisms to local conditions to build a beautiful and harmonious countryside.

China's high-quality development over the next five years will not only serve as the core driving force for its own modernization but also bring new opportunities for global development. China will continue deepening international cooperation, sharing its development dividends with the world, and promoting global economic growth.

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