China's top economic planner begins preliminary study of 15th Five-Year Plan

BEIJING, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner has begun its preliminary study of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, according to a national development and reform work conference held on Sunday and Monday.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has started sorting through and summarizing major issues that require early planning and research during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), the meeting said.

Zheng Shanjie, director of the NDRC, said at the meeting that the economic planner will revolve around significant theoretical and practical issues concerning promoting the Chinese modernization to carry out intensive and in-depth research work, explore new concepts and measures, focus on solving major bottleneck, and identify key tasks that will be significant for the overall planning in the 2026-2030 period.

On key tasks for China's development and reform in 2024, the meeting called for strengthening economic analysis and policy research to consolidate and reinforce the economic recovery momentum, comprehensively deepening reform, promoting the country's innovation drive, and stimulating the vitality of economic development.

More efforts should be made to promote the development and growth of the private economy, maintain the stability of foreign trade and foreign investment, and boost the digital economy, according to the meeting.

It stressed the need to strengthen the economical, intensive, circular and efficient use of resources, work actively and steadily toward a carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and increase renewable energy consumption.

According to the meeting, the central government has issued 1 trillion yuan (141 billion U.S. dollars) in additional central government bonds in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The NDRC and other relevant government departments have unveiled the first batch of projects that will receive funds from the additional bonds, which are earmarked to support the reconstruction of disaster-hit areas and raise the country's disaster relief capabilities.

The first batch includes nearly 2,900 projects supporting areas such as the construction of high-standard farmland in northeast China and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the construction of an integrated system for the prevention and control of key natural disasters.