Technology, Advanced Manufacturing and Decarbonization: Three Pillars of China's Five-Year Plan

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Written by Danny Levin, Deputy Editor for IIR News (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Technology, advanced manufacturing and decarbonization are three pillars of China's latest five-year plan.

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China's Latest Five-Year Plan and Breakdown of Potential Projects

"In the coming five years, China will continue to build a robust domestic market, foster new growth drivers at a faster pace, step up efforts to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, deepen reform in key areas, accelerate the green transition across the board, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, create new forms of smart economy, and nurture industries of the future such as quantum technology, embodied AI, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G technology."

That's what Xie Feng, ambassador of China to the United States, said in video remarks at the "China in Springtime: China's Development Shared Opportunities for the World" media event held in New York on March 13, hosted by China Media Group.

China's lawmakers formally approved the 2026-2030 plan one day prior.

The plan proposes 109 projects across six key areas, with Chinese Premier Li Qiang Li Wiang providing a breakdown in remarks to the 14th National People's Congress on March 5:

• To steer the development of new quality productive forces, 28 projects are focused on enhancing the country's foundational industrial capacity and industrial competitiveness, developing new industries and new arenas of growth, making breakthroughs in frontier science and technology, and bolstering foundational innovation capacity.
• To promote the green and low-carbon transition, 18 projects are proposed with the aim of achieving peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, improving the environment, and promoting ecological conservation and restoration.
• To modernize the infrastructure system, 23 projects target the development of a new transportation network, a new type of energy system, new types of infrastructure, and platforms for "opening up."

"Opening up" refers to China's economic policy that moves the country from a closed economy to embracing foreign investment and trade--even with the United States.

Ambassador Feng noted the plan "creates broader space for mutually beneficial cooperation" between the two countries.

Meanwhile, nine projects are focused on urban-rural development; 25 are aimed at improving public wellbeing; and six are centered on food and energy security.

'Emerging Industries' Highlight Technology and Advanced Manufacturing

China is looking to boost "emerging industries" such as next-generation information technology, new energy, new materials, intelligent-connected new energy vehicles, robotics, biomedicine, high-end equipment and aerospace.

China's approach to "Promoting the Empowerment of Digital Intelligence Technology in All Aspects" is centered around a variety of principles, including:

• Developing next-generation communication technologies, cloud computing and blockchain solutions, among other aspects
• Upgrading the levels of high-end chips, optoelectronic devices, basic software and industrial software to create a digital industry cluster with international competitiveness
• Promoting intelligent transformation, digitalization and networking of the manufacturing industry

The country also looks to fully implement its "AI+" initiative, which aims to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) across industries to enhance productivity.

This is in contrast to the U.S., which is scaling AI data center capacity to support digital services.

Industrial Info is tracking more than US$700 billion worth of projects in China's Industrial Manufacturing Industry, with about US$500 billion of the spend in the engineering or planning stages and US$200 billion attributed to projects under construction.

The top five top sectors overall are:

• Heavy manufacturing (US$195 billion), most of which is attributed to the manufacture of electric vehicle (EV) and energy-storage batteries
• Semiconductors & computers (US$152.5 billion)
• Automotive (US$115 billion)
• Housing, Building Products & Furniture (US$107 billion)
• Data Centers (US$92 billion)

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can view a full list of active and planned projects.

"Forward-looking planning" includes quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, among other industries.

Decarbonization Efforts

Another key pillar of the plan is the country's target of reducing its carbon emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 17% over the course of the 2026-2030 plan.

According to the plan, the country's new energy infrastructure includes replacing fossil fuels with non-fossil energy--including multiple energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and nuclear power--in addition to implementing a 10-year action plan to double the amount of non-fossil energy.

Other low-carbon strategies include:

• Energy storage
• Transmission and distribution
• Steelmaking via electric arc furnaces
• Low-carbon building materials: cement, photovoltaic (PV) solar glass and prefabricated buildings
• Green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol
• Carbon capture, utilization and storage

In future articles, IIR News Intelligence will explore impacts of the plan specifically to China's Power and Metals & Minerals industries.

Key Takeaways

• Technology, advanced manufacturing and decarbonization are three high-level aspects of China's five-year (2026-2030) plan.
• This includes technologies such as cloud computing, semiconductor components and chips, developing renewable energy in favor of fossil fuels, and overall industry decarbonization.
• China's AI strategy is geared toward using it to enhance productivity across industries, unlike the U.S., which looks to AI to support digital services.
• The plan proposes 109 industrial projects.

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).