BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping gave a speech Monday at the opening of a major meeting of the ruling Communist Party to approve a draft plan laying out its goals for the country over the next five years.
A brief dispatch from the official Xinhua News Agency said Xi “laid out the preliminary proposals of the Party leadership” for the next five-year plan for national economic and social development, which will cover the period 2026-2030. He did not provide any details.
The latest plan comes at a time of growing challenges and uncertainty for China, including a persistently sluggish economy, foreign restrictions on its access to the latest technologies and high tariffs imposed on its exports to the United States.
A Xinhua editorial said the plan should focus on “high-quality” technological development and innovation, while ensuring national security is protected and the benefits of economic growth are distributed fairly and more broadly.
“There will be difficulties and obstacles on our path forward, and we may face significant tests,” the editorial said, discussing economic and national security goals. “We must be prepared to face a series of new risks and challenges.”
Analysts and investors are watching the meeting for clues about how the plan will balance economic and security interests, and to what extent the plan will require structural changes to boost consumer spending and manage an aging society.
This week’s four-day meeting brings together about 200 voting members and 170 substitute members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
The body will approve the draft five-year plan, although full details will likely not be released until it is formally approved at the legislature’s next annual meeting, scheduled for March.