https://english.news.cn/20260306/16725abcb34b4ec29fea2270e82f3dc2/c.html
In the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China proposes a total of 28 major projects to spearhead the development of new quality productive forces, covering four key areas:
- upgrading industrial infrastructure,
- fostering emerging industries,
- breaking through with cutting-edge technologies, and
- enhancing innovation capabilities.
China plans to put the CR450, the world’s fastest bullet train engineered for a top test speed of 450 km/h, into operation after trials, while developing homegrown operating systems and industrial software, high-end digital machine tools, large cruise ships, and liquefied natural gas carriers.
The country is seeking to accelerate breakthroughs for the C929 aircraft and validation of the CJ-1000A engine. The C929 is China’s first independently developed jet-powered long-range wide-body aircraft, while the CJ-1000A is a high-bypass-ratio turbofan engine designed for commercial jetliners. It also vows to boost production capacity for the C919, as well as design and roll out plateau-variant C919 models and new-energy aircraft.
China also looks to ramp up advanced semiconductor manufacturing, deploy high-density batteries and humanoid robots in real-world scenarios, strengthen proactive space defense capabilities, create long-range VTOL aircraft, discover more gene therapies, and apply brain-computer interface (BCI) products and intelligent surgical robots over the next five years.
In frontier innovations, the outline aims to develop high-performance AI chips and general-purpose quantum computers, engineer controllable nuclear fusion, and build brain-inspired artificial general intelligence systems.
China has also laid out programs for deep-sea mining and oil and gas extraction, and is preparing to build a deep-sea “space station.” In outer space, it proposes studying or implementing new planetary probes, near-Earth asteroid defense and solar system boundary exploration, advancing the building of an international lunar research station, and developing reusable heavy-lift rockets.
The five-year plan also charts a course to build national laboratories and a host of major sci-tech facilities, and establish three world-class innovation centers, in a bid to enhance China’s foundational innovation strength.