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Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts

China

China

China

Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts

2026-03-06 06:41 Last Updated At:11:44

Foreign diplomats and scholars are looking closely at this year's "two sessions", saying China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) will not only chart the nation's economic and technological priorities but also reshape global value chains.

The fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the nation's top political advisory body, opened on Wednesday, followed by the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday. Together known as the "two sessions," these meetings offer a comprehensive view into China's development priorities.

Global observers emphasized that the 15th Five-Year Plan, a blueprint guiding the nation's economic, social, and technological priorities over the next five years, marks a decisive shift toward high‑quality growth anchored in advanced technologies, with ripple effects across the world.

"The two sessions will discuss China's five-year plan, which is heavily oriented toward China's major technological development. I believe this is important because it represents the new blueprint for China's economy, which is now oriented toward the renowned high-quality development, and this will undoubtedly impact the entire world. I think it is worth studying. This is very important for Latin America. It will help us integrate more intelligently into global value chains and into all aspects of the major development that China is promoting in iconic industrial sectors, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and space development, where Latin America also has much to contribute beyond just commercial growth," said Gustavo Sabino Vaca Narvaja, former Argentine Ambassador to China.

"The two sessions are a major political milestone in China, and this year's gathering carries even greater significance as this year marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan. This plan represents not only a blueprint for China, but also a guide for other countries. Instruments like the five-year plan effectively provide greater certainty and predictability for the rest of the world," said Chilean scholar of international relations Ignacio Araya Heredia.

"This is a particularly important date, especially due to the fact that the next Five-Year Plan shall be positioned and we're going to see what its main elements shall be. Serbia, which has a very high degree of steel friendship with the People's Republic of China, can expect further assistance in identifying the most prominent areas of Serbian economy and being helped by its great partner, such as it has been done in the previous period, from one part with establishing the main infrastructure projects, but also reshaping the industrial sector of Serbia, not just Serbia, but the region as a whole," said Veljko Mijuskovic, assistant professor of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Belgrade.

Beyond the policy framework, experts also pointed to China's achievements in green energy and technological innovation as models worth emulating.

Tomasz Bielinski, adjunct professor at the University of Gdansk's Faculty of Economics, said the robotics displays at the 2026 China Media Group (CMG) Spring Festival Gala reflected China's broader push in technological innovation.

"I was really impressed about the robotics. I'm very impressed with Chinese development in the technological field, we can still make great deals with Chinese businessmen and we can cooperate together to use this technology for both the good of China and the European Union. I'm aware of the innovation especially in autonomous drive on the on the Chinese side," he said.

"We hope for more of China's economic cooperation, especially in trade and also in investment. Also, and the other focus, if I talk about the focus of the development, don't forget about the green energy. We know that China is great in the electric vehicle field. So because China's electric vehicles in Indonesia nowadays, since couple of years ago, are very, very popular," said Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association.

Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts

Observers see China's new five-year plan driving high-quality development, global tech shifts

Iran has demanded the release of its frozen assets worth 24 billion U.S. dollars during the negotiations with the United States on ending the war, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

Citing an informed source close to Iran's negotiating team, Tasnim said that according to the text of a potential 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) being finalized between Tehran and Washington, Iran's frozen assets must be released during peace talks.

Iran insists that half of the amount must be made available upon the announcement of the MoU and the rest transferred within 60 days, the source added.

According to the source, the Monday visit by Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf to Qatar was aimed at reaching an understanding on the implementation of Iran's demand and ways to provide the country with access to 12 billion U.S. dollars worth of its frozen assets in the first step and remove obstacles to that end.

The source described the outcomes of the visit as "favorable," adding that talks during the trip were generally "good and led to progress in the overall negotiations."

However, the source warned that, given the United States' record of breaking promises, Iran is proceeding with great caution. Noting the country's previous experience with the United States regarding the release of frozen assets in South Korea and Qatar, the source said Tehran insists on carefully managing the implementation stages to avoid a repeat of similar issues.

Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted another source close to the Iranian negotiating team as saying that Iran has refused to hold any negotiation unless its preconditions are met, including the release of frozen assets.

Fars reported that the last serious disagreement between Iran and the United States over the initiation of negotiations has been the method of Tehran's access to its blocked assets, which is being resolved with Qatar's mediation and initiative.

It said that following consultations between Iranian and Qatari officials in Doha, progress has been made toward resolving the issue.

On Monday, a high-level Iranian delegation, including Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, visited Doha for talks with Qatari officials on a possible peace agreement with the United States, according to Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency.

On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state-run IRIB TV that Iran and the United States are working to finalize an MoU on ending the war.

"Our intention has been to firstly agree on an MoU consisting of 14 clauses," Baghaei said, noting that "within a period of 30 to 60 days," Tehran and Washington would "reach a final agreement," covering issues such as the cessation of U.S. maritime attacks and the release of Iranian frozen assets.

Iran, the United States, and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting. Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.

Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistani mediation.

Iran demands release of frozen assets during peace taks with US: media

Iran demands release of frozen assets during peace taks with US: media

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