On the morning of March 5, the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (Parliament) of China opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and leaders of the Party and State of China, along with nearly 2,800 delegates attended the opening ceremony. Premier Li Qiang presented the Government's Work Report to the National Assembly.
According to the report, China sets a GDP growth target for 2026 of about 4.5-5%. In the next 5 years, it will maintain a growth rate at an appropriate level, with specific targets determined based on actual conditions each year.
The Chinese government believes that maintaining stable growth will create a foundation for achieving long-term goals: By 2035, China's GDP per capita will double compared to 2020.
In addition to the economic growth target, the Government's Work Report also announced many important socio-economic development targets for 2026. In which, the urban unemployment rate is set at about 5.5%. The economy is expected to create more than 12 million new jobs in urban areas.
The consumer price index (CPI) is targeted to increase by about 2%. Personal income is oriented to increase in sync with economic growth. China also aims to maintain a fundamental balance in the international balance of payments.
Another notable indicator is the budget deficit ratio to GDP. According to the report, this ratio is expected to be around 4% in 2026. The total budget deficit of the government is determined to be 5,890 billion yuan (830 billion USD), an increase of 230 billion yuan (32 billion USD) compared to the previous year.
2026 is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan for socio-economic development (2026-2030). Since the first 5-year plan was implemented in the early 1950s, this mechanism has been used to identify major goals in economy, industry, science - technology and society, and at the same time coordinate resources to achieve those goals.
Recommendations made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China earlier show that high-quality development will continue to be the main direction in the coming period. In which, China is expected to promote new growth drivers and future industries.
Some of the fields mentioned include hydrogen energy, fusion technology, brain-computer interface, embodied artificial intelligence and the sixth generation mobile information technology (6G). These technologies are expected to gradually shift from laboratory to application in the real economy and life.
The 15th 5-year plan is built on the foundation of the previous period. According to international observations, in 2025, China's GDP exceeded 140,000 trillion yuan, equivalent to about 20,000 billion USD. Many important targets in the previous period, such as labor productivity, urbanization, average life expectancy and spending on research and development, have reached or exceeded the set target.
However, China also faces many challenges in the coming period, including geopolitical tensions, trade protectionism trends and slowing global economic growth. Besides, there are domestic issues such as insufficient demand, demographic pressure and the transition to new growth drivers.
Within the framework of the session expected to close on March 12, delegates and political advisors will discuss the draft plan, and at the same time propose recommendations related to development goals and tasks in the new period. These contributions will be considered to complete the document before it is officially approved.
