China will start drafting its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national development this year, Premier Li Qiang said in the government work report at the national legislature's annual session on Wednesday.
The new plan will focus on identifying development priorities, strategic tasks, and major projects, according to the report delivered to the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. "We will begin formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan this year. We should set development targets through well-conceived steps, and carry out proper planning for major strategic tasks, policies, measures, and projects, so that the Plan will serve as an effective guide for China's economic and social development," Li said.
The third session of the 14th NPC is scheduled to run till March 11.
China to begin formulating new 5-year plan
The series of erroneous words and actions by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not only seriously deviate from the spirit of pacifist Constitution of the country but also further exacerbate regional tensions, said Tomoko Tamura, a member of the House of Representatives.
In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Tamura criticized Takaichi for straining Japan-China relations by making erroneous remarks on Taiwan, calling on her to improve bilateral relations.
Tamura pointed out that the political consensus reached during the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries remains of great significance, and Japan should respect and abide by it as the basis for repairing and rebuilding friendly relations with China.
"The erroneous remarks by Sanae Takaichi this time have led to the deterioration of China-Japan relations. This is absolutely unacceptable and must be retracted. Regarding the relations between two sides, the consensus reached during the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972 is of utmost importance. At that time, the Chinese government asserted that Taiwan is part of China and the Japanese government fully understood and respected this stance. Now we should reaffirm this consensus, as well as the crucial agreements reached by both countries after 1972. Japan should explicitly acknowledge these significant agreements to rebuild friendly relations with China," she said.
Tamura also pointed out that in recent years, Japan has attempted to reshape its security policy, boosting defense spending, easing arms-export restrictions, pursuing offensive weapons development, and clearly deviating from the fundamental principle of "exclusively defense-oriented" policy.
"Japan's possession of long-range missiles clearly exceeded the scope of 'exclusively defense-oriented' policies. Japan is accelerating its military expansion. From the perspective of the Japanese constitution, this is absolutely not allowed. We are deeply concerned about the current Takaichi administration's disregard for the Japanese constitution. We clearly demand that Japan should adhere to the position of resolving issues through diplomatic efforts," she said.
Japanese official criticizes Takaichi's erroneous remarks
