China to focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and tech in new
economic plan
[October 23, 2025] By
KEN M0RITSUGU, HUIZHONG WU and CHAN HO-HIM
BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday it will
focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology, a
long-running push that has become more pronounced as the U.S. has
imposed increasingly tight controls on its access to semiconductors and
other high-tech items.
The announcement by state media came in a communique after a four-day
meeting that approved a draft of the party's next five-year development
plan.
China faces “profound and complex” changes and rising uncertainty, it
said. The communique did not directly mention the trade war with U.S.
President Donald Trump. China's leader Xi Jinping is expected to meet
Trump for talks in South Korea next week.
The statement signaled the government is confident it can counter
external threats with domestic policy tools, said Gary Ng, a senior
economist at Natixis, a French investment bank.
"It means China will likely demand more from the U.S. to reach a deal,
if one is to be reached,” he said.
The communique contained few surprises, largely echoing the policy
direction set out by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It provided only a broad
overview of the coming 2026-2030 five-year plan, indicating its general
scope without details. More information may be released in the coming
days, but the full plan won't be known until March, when the legislature
gives a rubber-stamp approval to the plan at its annual meeting.
Ng said that compared to the previous plan five years ago, the
government is deepening its push for technological self-sufficiency,
income redistribution and a transition to clean energy.
The party will “accelerate the all-out green transformation of economic
and social development,” the statement said.
It said that China would continue to boost domestic demand and spending,
an objective that economists said is important for the country’s
economic growth, though it didn't signal any significant change to that
approach.
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A worker installs scaffolding at a building under construction at
the capital popular shopping district, in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 21,
2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
 China has rolled out various
policies to help increase consumption — such as subsidies for
consumer loans and child care and trade-in programs for electric
vehicles and appliances. Economists are watching for more measures
to support consumption by year-end.
Beijing said this week it is still on a “solid
foundation” to achieve its full-year official growth target of
around 5%, after China’s economy grew 4.8% in the July to September
quarter.
The meeting of the party's Central Committee was notable for the low
number of deputies, an indication of Xi's deep purges among the
Communist Party's top ranks. Out of 205 members, 168 attended the
meeting, the communique said, along with 147 out of 171 alternates.
The party meeting chose a replacement for China's
second-highest-ranking general. He was expelled from the party along
with eight other senior military officials on suspicion of
corruption, the Defense Ministry announced just days before this
week's meeting.
Zhang Shengmin was named vice chair of the Central Military
Commission, the top military body. He was already a member of the
commission and holds the rank of general in the People’s Liberation
Army’s Rocket Force. He also is secretary of the commission's
Discipline and Inspection Commission, which investigates corruption.
___
Wu reported from Bangkok and Chan reported from Hong Kong.
Associated Press researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed.
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