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.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan is specific about where state money and policy support will flow. The document’s industrial priority table is worth working through sector by sector, because it tells you what the Chinese state believes it needs and what it intends to build.

Advanced Materials — Specialty steel, high-temperature alloys, ultrahigh-purity metals, advanced ceramics, high-performance fibers, and rare earths. Materials independence underlies every other manufacturing goal on this list.