China sets out 15th Five-Year Plan goals
China’s Ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, used a keynote address in the Indian capital to present Beijing’s vision for its 15th Five-Year Plan, framing it as a roadmap for high-quality development and as a fresh opportunity to strengthen China-India relations.
Xu said the new plan — endorsed at last month’s Fourth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party — will guide China’s economic and social strategy through 2030 and lay critical groundwork for Beijing’s wider goal of “basically achieving socialist modernisation” by 2035.
Xu reviewed key achievements under the current plan, noting that China’s GDP is expected to reach USD 20 trillion in 2025 and per capita GDP has surpassed USD 13,000. He pointed to poverty alleviation progress, expanded social welfare, and strong trade performance, with imports projected to exceed USD 15 trillion during the 2021–2025 period. He also stressed China’s role as a top global trading nation and outward investor, citing more than USD 300 billion in cumulative tax revenue contributed to host countries.
Marking the 75th anniversary of China-India diplomatic relations, Xu said ties have shown “continued improvement” since last year’s leaders’ meeting in Kazan. Bilateral trade reached USD 115.2 billion in the first nine months of 2024 — an 11 per cent increase — with Indian exports to China rising sharply.
People-to-people links have revived, including the reopening of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, the resumption of tourist visas, and the restoration of direct flights. Xu said these steps reflect “warming sentiment on both sides.”
China aims to advance its 2035 modernization goals during the 15th Five-Year Plan, while India pursues its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. Xu urged both nations to view each other as partners, not rivals, and to manage differences through dialogue.
He highlighted new opportunities arising from China’s restructuring: – USD 1.4 trillion in new market space from upgrading traditional industries, – Trillion-dollar growth projected in new energy and new materials, – A long-term push into future industries such as biomanufacturing and 6G.
Xu invited more Indian goods and investment into China and called on India to offer a “fair and non-discriminatory” business environment for Chinese firms.
He urged China and India to jointly uphold multilateralism amid rising unilateral trade actions elsewhere, saying both countries should “stand shoulder to shoulder” to steer global governance toward fairness.
Xu explained that China’s Five-Year Plans reflect long-term policy continuity. The 15th Five-Year Plan, he said, establishes seven major objectives, Significant progress in high-quality development, Stronger capacity for scientific and technological self-reliance, Breakthroughs in deepening reform, Higher levels of social civility, Improved quality of life, new advances in environmental protection under the “Beautiful China” vision, Stronger national security safeguards.
Achieving these goals, Xu said, will move China “one step closer to basically realizing socialist modernization.”
He also drew a sharp distinction between the upcoming plan and its predecessor. While the 14th Five-Year Plan stressed supply-side structural reform and building a new development pattern, the 15th Five-Year Plan places “quality before quantity,” prioritising qualitative improvements alongside reasonable quantitative growth.
“These five years will mark a fundamental shift,” Xu said — from speed to quality, from factor-driven to innovation-driven growth, and from scale expansion to structural optimization. The period, he added, will be crucial for China’s transformation “from large to strong.”
Xu concluded by urging both nations to harness cooperation as a driving force for their respective modernization goals and to work toward “a brighter future for the Dragon-Elephant tango.”
China aims to advance its 2035 modernisation goals during the 15th Five-Year Plan, while India pursues its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision
