The Work Report sets the annual targets; the 5-year plan Outline, due later this week, sets the five-year architecture within which those targets make sense. This brief explains that architecture—how it is built, what problems it is designed to solve, and what will genuinely change over the next five years as a result. It makes three arguments for interpreting the plan
economy
industry
governance
legal affairs
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05 Mar 2026
The new move in 2026 is its tight link to 'new quality productive forces' in farming. The thrust now shifts from 'find more to eat' to 'grow and make it better'. The No. 1 doc text promotes wider use of AI tools on farms. It frames these as ways to raise yield, lift quality, and cut waste, rather than chase pure volume.
food & agriculture
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25 Feb 2026
Eight years after banning waste imports, Beijing is seeking to reduce, reuse, and recycle more of its own domestic solid waste. A three-year nationwide campaign against illegal dumping, launched in 2025, has already identified 9,000 illegal sites and close to 30,000 infractions.
environment & carbon neutrality
governance
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13 Feb 2026
Unlike the mass university expansion of 1999, when admissions doubled within a single year, the 2025 initiative is measured and selective, focused on ‘double first-class’ institutions and disciplines aligned with PRC strategic industries.
education
R&D
ICT
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10 Feb 2026
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how to understand the 15th 5-year plans
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No. 1 document 'Big Food' concept
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can Beijing clean up solid waste?
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STEM surge before the slide
monitoring
recent commentary
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strategic and emerging industriestraditional industryenergy transitioninfrastructuregreen techenergy storagehydrogengaspetroleumcoalnuclearrenewableswindhydrosolarNEVsgridelectricitypower sector reformenergy securitycarbon neutrality...read more23 Feb 2026
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Beijing establishes a clear regulatory structure on RWA
fintech, digital currency and blockchainbanking regulationmoney marketsstrategic and emerging industriespolitical trendsscience and technology...read more23 Feb 2026
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trade facilitation...read more20 Feb 2026
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cyber and data securityUS/CanadaUK/Europescience and technologyAI...read more18 Feb 2026
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Cao YingNational Centre for Strategic Research and International Cooperation on Climate Change Policy and Regulation Department deputy director
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Jiang ZhaoliMEE (Ministry of Ecology and Environment) Climate Change Department deputy director
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Ye XingqingDirector-General, Department of Rural Economy, Development Research Centre of the State Council
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