China’s political elite gathered in Beijing on Thursday as President Xi Jinping unveiled a \u200bsweeping roadmap for the country\u2019s economic and political future, delivered against a backdrop of sharpening tech competition with Washington and mounting geopolitical \u200bfriction. The National People\u2019s Congress, China\u2019s rubber-stamp legislature, rolled out its Five-Year \u200bPlan outlining goals for growth, budgets, industrial \u2060policy and defence – signalling Xi\u2019s determination to propel the world\u2019s second-biggest economy toward technological dominance. Here are the \u200bmain highlights from the \u200cNPC: GDP, BUDGET PRIORITIES China is looking to grow its economy at a 4.5%-5% pace, a touch below the 5% rate achieved last year, \u200bopening the door to greater efforts to rebalance the economy. Beijing also plans steady stimulus to rev up an economy stuck in a lower post-pandemic gear, setting a budget deficit \u200cof 4.0% of gross \u200cdomestic product, similar to \u200blast year. HIGH-TECH
DRIVE AS US RIVALRY SHARPENS Aiming for technological supremacy amid a fierce rivalry with the U.S., Beijing is accelerating efforts to achieve greater tech self-reliance; and as the world’s largest producer of rare earths, plans \u200bare also afoot to strengthen the competitiveness of these crucial minerals used in products ranging from electric vehicles to aircraft engines and defence technologies. DEFENCE CAPACITY China will improve combat readiness and accelerate the development \u200bof “advanced combat capabilities”, Premier Li Qiang said, boosting defence spending by 7% in 2026. Military observers are watching closely as Beijing pushes to modernise its forces by 2035 and project military power amid the backdrop of rising regional tensions, including over Taiwan, and global geopolitical strains. FINANCIAL SYSTEM China \u200cwill inject 300 billion yuan ($43.59 billion) into state-owned banks this year and deepen reforms of state-owned financial enterprises, moving<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China’s political elite gathered in Beijing on Thursday as President Xi Jinping unveiled a \u200bsweeping roadmap for the country\u2019s economic and political future, delivered against a backdrop of sharpening tech competition with Washington and mounting geopolitical \u200bfriction. The National People\u2019s Congress, China\u2019s rubber-stamp legislature, rolled out its Five-Year \u200bPlan outlining goals for growth, budgets, industrial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n