China's new development to bring opportunities for rest of world: experts

China's new development in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) for national socioeconomic development will unlock new opportunities for the rest of the world, experts said at the "Linjia No.7 Salon" press briefing held in Beijing on Monday.

The "Linjia No.7 Salon" is an irregular event hosted by the China Public Diplomacy Association. It invites guest speakers to engage in interactive exchanges with Chinese and foreign journalists on focused topics, serving as a key platform and window for the international community to gain in-depth insights into China's policies and development trends.

Yin Yanlin, deputy director of the Committee on Economic Affairs of National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), outlined the development landscape for China in the 15th Five-Year Plan period. He said that while the country will face profound and complex changes in its development environment, including deepening external impacts and a mix of long-standing issues and emerging challenges in domestic economic development and transformation, the fundamental trend and supporting conditions for China's long-term economic soundness have remained unchanged, with the country's institutional strengths and advantages continuing to grow more prominent.

He noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China's annual growth in research and development spending is expected to exceed 7 percent, and the added value of core digital economy industries will reach 12.5 percent of China's gross domestic product (GDP).

"To facilitate implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan goals and tasks, the outline proposes 109 major projects across six areas, with the focus on using government investment to lead participation by social forces, in efforts to better leverage the important role of major projects in strengthening foundations, shoring up weak links, and boosting long-term growth momentum," he said.

Building on this positive outlook, Justin Lin Yifu, professor and dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University, identified four key advantages that will drive China's growth and development of new quality productive forces.

The first is its unparalleled human resources advantage. China produces millions of new science and engineering graduates every year, the highest number worldwide. The second is its massive market strength, as China has become the world's largest consumer market by purchasing power parity. The third is its complete industrial system, which allows new technologies and creative ideas to be turned into finished products faster and at a lower cost than anywhere else in the world. And the fourth advantage lies in China's institutional strength, which enables a proactive and effective government to help enterprises break through bottlenecks in technological innovation and industrial upgrading.

"With resultant forces arising from these advantages, I believe that from the 15th to the 16th Five-Year Plan period, China should still have an annual growth potential of 8 percent. I believe China will continue to contribute about 30 percent to global growth every year, remaining a major engine for the world economy," he said.

To fully realize this growth potential, Liu Yue, deputy director of the International Economic Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, called on foreign investors to move beyond basic manufacturing and establish full-value operations in China.

"Do not just manufacture here. Do the R and D (research and development). Do supply chain management. You can create a new application here. And use China as the world's best testing ground to improve your service and your products, and update your technology," she said.

China's new development to bring opportunities for rest of world: experts

China has been playing a key role in bringing a sense of stability to the world and continuing to promote globalization against a turbulent international backdrop, according to a British scholar as he gave his assessment of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) which lays out the country's development vision for the years ahead.

Renowned British scholar Martin Jacques, a former senior research fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, shared his take on the recently approved outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan, a key blueprint which maps out China's policy priorities through to the end of the decade.

The plan notes that China advocates practicing true multilateralism, upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

It says China will also seek to expand its global partnership network and guide the international order toward a more fair and just direction.

Despite current geopolitical tensions, Jacques says China is responding to a turbulent world full of uncertainties in a calm and rational manner.

"We are living in dangerous times, unpredictable times, and I think China has found a way in this new, difficult era, in the big power relationship [with the United States], to handle it in a calm way, not rise to the bait, and seek to, as far as possible, keep the relationship on a relatively even keel," he said.

China has also pledged to commit to openness and cooperation against the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, and has vowed to share opportunities and pursue common development with all countries.

Noting the wave of anti-free trade sentiment and protectionist policies which have emerged in the United States, particularly under the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump, Jacques says that globalization will remain the prevailing trend and believes China has been able to find successful approaches to advance international cooperation amid the current challenges.

"I think globalization is the long-term historic trend. But that doesn't mean globalization is always in good health, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have setbacks. [We are] now in a period where globalization first of all, has been slowed and in key respects reversed, but at the same time we've seen it taking new forms. The Belt and Road Initiative is a very important form of globalization, and it's been very successful," he said.

China striving for stability against unpredictable int'l backdrop: British scholar