The China 5-year plan: More of the same, not letting go of manufacturing

China is going all-in on manufacturing and technology.

That’s the message from the portions of the five-year plan for 2026 through 2030 that were previewed from last week’s meetings. There have been officials pushing hard for more of an emphasis on consumption but that theme didn’t reach the top of the priority list in a move that’s sure to shake western powers.

The WSJ’s Lingling Wei reports on the way forward:

According to the communiqué released after the Communist Party’s so-called Fourth Plenum, the plan’s main tasks are to advance China’s role as a manufacturing powerhouse and promote “scientific and technological self-reliance”—an effort that can be summed up in the mantra of developing “new quality productive forces.”

There is some hope out there for a rebalancing from China that would see it shutter some industrial capacity in exchange for easier access to foreign markets but Beijing appears to have turned its back on those hopes, or was convinced they were unrealistic. Instead, it looks like they will fight for market share in the rest of the world.

Lingling Wei cites a ‘government insider’ with this take:

• The power center in Beijing is sacrificing the public’s standard of living to go all-in on the technology race against the U.S.
• The yearslong political purge that has shaken the country’s political leadership is continuing, implying the anti-corruption campaign remains a useful tool for removing officials not falling in line with the top leader’s plans;
• *The “Number One” is solid as a rock. Translation: Xi’s power and position are unshakeable.

The schism will grow.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.