This year marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the year for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development. The proposals will be studied at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in October.

In a recent instruction, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed efforts to study and absorb netizens' opinions in formulating the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, following an online campaign to seek netizens' opinions on the plan.

Xi called on Party committees and governments at all levels to learn more about people's lives, hear their views and gather their ideas extensively to meet their aspirations for a better life.

To meet this goal, a series of landmark achievements have been made during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, including establishing a resilient economy and taking significant steps in green transition and opening up.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic increment is projected to exceed 35 trillion RMB (4.89 trillion USD) in the five-year period, contributing about 30 percent annually to global economic growth. The economy has seen an average annual growth of 5.5 percent over the first four years of the period.

The steady economic performance has translated into tangible livelihood improvements, creating more than 12 million urban jobs each year.

Domestic demand accounted for 86.4 percent of the GDP growth on average, with final consumption contributing 56.2 percent — an 8.6 percentage point increase over the previous planning period.

Innovation played a key role in driving development. Total R&D expenditure surged nearly 50 percent, or 1.2 trillion RMB, from 2020 to 2024, and R&D intensity reached 2.68 percent, approaching the average of the　member economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.　　

As a global leader in renewable energy, China's installed renewable energy capacity reached 2.09 billion kilowatts by May 2025, more than double the capacity in 2020. Green lifestyles have become well enrenched, with new energy vehicle ownership soaring to 31.4 million in 2024, up significantly from 4.92 million in 2020.

High-level opening up has been expanded and the business environment improved. China has twice reduced its negative list for foreign investment since 2021. All restrictions on foreign access to the manufacturing sector have been lifted, and the agriculture and service sectors have been further liberalized. Pilot initiatives in healthcare and value-added telecommunications have opened new opportunities for foreign businesses.

According to the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, the 15th Five-Year Plan period will continue to balance development and security, upgrade and expand economic output, and advance people's comprehensive development. It will make progress in achieving common prosperity and the basic realization of socialist modernization.