Highlights
- China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) focuses on economic self-sufficiency and technological innovation in response to global uncertainties.
- The plan prioritizes strategic investments in core technologies like semiconductors, AI, quantum tech, and rare earth elements.
- China aims to cement its long-term industrial leadership through coordinated policy, national security planning, and targeted technological development.
China’s President Xi Jinping has outlined the foundational principles for China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030)—a forward-leaning national development blueprint designed to reinforce industrial self-sufficiency, technological innovation, and economic security in response to global uncertainty, including U.S.-driven trade and tariff wars. The plan will be formulated through a mix of top-level design, legal oversight, public consultation, and expert input, with implementation beginning in 2026.
Key Takeaways from Xi’s Remarks & China Daily Reporting
President Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s 15th Five-Year Plan centers on strategic self-reliance amid global uncertainty, calling for internal economic stability and insulation from Western trade shocks. The plan prioritizes the transformation of traditional industries, aggressive investment in core technologies such as rare earths, semiconductors, AI, and quantum tech, and a modern industrial system driven by innovation. Emphasizing scientific, law-based governance and coordinated policymaking, Xi also advocates for industrial consolidation and capacity upgrades in key sectors like alumina and tech manufacturing. Finally, the blueprint promotes balanced regional growth, rural revitalization, and infrastructure integration aligned with Belt and Road ambitions.
Rare Earth Implications
Rare earths will remain foundational to China’s modernization strategy under the 15th Five-Year Plan, with state-backed control extending across mining, processing, and magnet production. The plan aims to curb private-sector overcapacity, limit foreign influence, and integrate rare earth policy into national security planning through coordinated pricing, export controls, and strategic supply chain measures. Innovation ecosystems tied to REEs—such as EVs, wind power, aerospace, and defense—will receive targeted funding and policy support under China’s push for “new quality productive forces.”
REEx does not believe China is retreating at all from the global stage—rather, it is reloading
The leadership there hopes that the 15th Five-Year Plan will cement China’s long-term trajectory toward technological sovereignty and industrial leadership, with rare earths at the core. For Western governments and industries, the message seems clear. That is, without coordinated industrial policy and resilient supply chains, dependency could very well deepen—and the cost of catching up will grow.
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