Beijing built its export economy on Special Economic Zones. Now it is applying that same model to the carbon problem that those zones helped in part to create. The March Two Sessions confirmed zero-carbon industrial parks as a national priority, with the ensuing 15th 5-year plan targeting 100 parks by 2030, with the first 52 already announced.
energy
environment & carbon neutrality
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03 Apr 2026
The 2026 Two Sessions confirms a shift in Beijing's fiscal thinking. After the sharp expansion of 2025, the question is no longer how much to spend but how to spend it wisely..
economy
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01 Apr 2026
Aviation and aerospace was elevated at the Two Sessions to a 'pillar industry'—a step up from its previous classification as an emerging sector. For the first time, the 15th 5-year plan 2026–30) explicitly sets the goal of building China into a space power by 2030.
R&D
ICT
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27 Mar 2026
Beijing’s landmark new National Development Planning Law was adopted at the Two Sessions on 12 March. At its core, it's about centralising power. Discretion once held by local governments and ministries to tweak plans is being pulled back to the centre and bound by law.
governance
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25 Mar 2026
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Two Sessions: Beijing turns industrial parks green
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Two Sessions: fiscal shift from scale to structure
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Two Sessions: can the PRC close the space commercialisation gap?
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Two Sessions: how consequential is China's new Planning Law?
monitoring
recent commentary
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growth modelcentral budgetinvestment fundsstrategic and emerging industriesscience and technologytech transfer, R&Dresearch institutes...read more31 Mar 2026
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public healthhealth insurance...read more31 Mar 2026
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duties and tariffstrade agreementsforeign policy rhetoric...read more29 Mar 2026
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regional coordinationcyber and data securitylabour relationslabour supplyunemploymentAI...read more27 Mar 2026
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Zhang XiaolanDeputy director, Policy Simulation Laboratory, Economic Forecasting Department, State Information Centre (under NDRC) State Information Centre
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