China to focus on industrial system, tech self-reliance
China’s Communist Party elite has pledged to build a modern industrial system and make greater efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in technology; It sees these moves as key to strengthening its position in the intensifying competition with the United States.
The announcement by state media came after a four-day closed-door meeting known as a plenary meeting outlining China’s priorities in its next five-year development plan, which will only be announced in full at a parliamentary meeting in March next year.
As expected, the Party’s Central Committee promised greater efforts to expand domestic demand and improve people’s livelihoods; The long-standing goals have become nothing more than an afterthought in recent years as China prioritizes manufacturing and investment.
The Chinese economy’s over-reliance on exports at a time when trade tensions with Washington are rising could push Beijing to find a better policy balance in the coming years, but analysts think the efforts will be slow.
“The country will be in a period (2026-2030) where strategic opportunities coexist with risks and challenges, and uncertain and unpredictable factors are increasing,” state news agency Xinhua said, citing the statement.
“We must maintain a reasonable proportion of the manufacturing sector and establish a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as its backbone.”
The statement said Beijing would work to improve people’s welfare and the social security system, but did not provide details on how Beijing plans to achieve this or where the funds will come from.
Uncertainty about the timing, pace, financing and size of such policies is likely to leave economists and investors concerned about the government’s ability to rebalance an economy where household consumption lags global averages by nearly 20 percentage points of GDP.
China also announced that it would replace its second-highest-ranking general.
The Communist Party Central Committee appointed Zhang Shengmin as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission after his predecessor was previously expelled from the party.
Zhang is currently a member of the commission and holds the rank of general in the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force.
with AP
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