On March 12, 2026, China’s legislature formally approved the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, covering 2025–2030, along with an Outline of Long-Term Goals extending to 2035. The document had already cleared the Communist Party’s Central Committee before reaching the legislature — the approval was a formality, not a debate.

The Five-Year Plan is one of the most consequential documents the Chinese state produces. It is not a budget. It is not a law. It is a framework — a statement of national priorities that cascades down through every level of government, every state-owned enterprise, and increasingly every major private firm operating in China. When the plan says semiconductors matter, capital flows toward semiconductors. When it says belt and road, contracts move.