Chinese leader Xi Jinping delivered a speech on Monday at the opening of a significant Communist Party meeting, where a draft plan outlining the nation's goals for the next five years was set for approval.
A brief dispatch from the official Xinhua News Agency said that Mr Xi “expounded on the Party leadership’s draft proposals” for the upcoming five-year plan, which will cover 2026-2030.
However, the agency provided no specific details regarding the proposals.
The latest plan emerges amidst growing challenges and uncertainty for China, including a persistently sluggish economy, foreign restrictions on its access to the latest technologies, and high tariffs imposed on its exports to the United States.
A Xinhua editorial indicated that the plan should focus on “high-quality” development and technological innovation, while also ensuring national security is protected and the benefits of economic growth are spread fairly and more widely.
“There will be hardships and obstacles on our way forward, and we may encounter major tests,” the editorial said in discussing economic and national security goals.
“We must be prepared to deal with a series of new risks and challenges.”
Analysts and investors are watching the meeting to look for clues about how the plan will balance economic and security interests, and to what extent the plan will call for structural changes to boost consumer spending and manage an aging society.
This week's four-day meeting brings together about 200 voting members and 170 alternate members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
The body will approve the draft five-year plan, though full details likely will not be released until it is formally approved at the legislature's next annual meeting, expected in March.
