China’s five-year plan to focus on independence as US decoupling threat grows
- Top officials in Beijing are drafting the 14th five-year plan, which will set out key economic and political goals for 2021 to 2025
- China is expected to rely more on its domestic economy to ease its reliance on the US in the post-coronavirus world
This is the last in a series of stories examining the issues that Chinese leaders face as they gather for their annual “two sessions” of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference this week. This instalment looks at how China’s 14th five-year plan will shape its economic and political direction between 2021 and 2025.
How can China survive and thrive in the face of US hostility? What does it need to take development to the next stage? And where should Beijing focus its resources to turn the Chinese dream into a reality?
These are the big questions Chinese officials and researchers are deliberating as the nation begins drafting its new five-year plan, which will set out key economic and political goals for the period 2021 to 2025.
With China and the United States increasingly at odds, the new policy blueprint is likely to reflect a shift in the way Beijing conducts itself in what is perceived to be an increasingly adversarial international system, according to Chinese researchers who are involved in preparations for the new plan.
While the final version of the 14th five-year plan will not be made public until March 2021, preliminary research and discussions show that China will seek more autonomous development by cutting reliance on the US for technology supply and exports.
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