Published by ChinaMNC · Fei

China's 15th Five-Year Plan Special Plans Target New Quality Productive Forces: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

A guide for foreign founders on how China's 15th Five-Year Plan special plans prioritize new quality productive forces, from 6G and all-solid-state batteries to enterprise-led innovation and market regulation.

China's Policy Push Behind 'New Quality Productive Forces'

China's 15th Five-Year Plan cycle has put "new quality productive forces" at the center of its economic agenda. For foreign founders building or expanding a company in China, the wave of national-level special plans issued under this framework signals where policy support, funding priorities and regulatory attention are heading. The plans set direction rather than binding rules for individual companies, but they shape how ministries, local governments and state-linked funds allocate resources.

The opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period has already produced visible results, according to the source article. These include construction starting in China on the world's largest LNG carrier at 271,000 cubic meters, the release and first global mass production of T1200-grade ultra-high-strength carbon fiber, and the quantum computing prototype "Jiuzhang 4" setting a new world record in optical quantum information technology.

The 15th Five-Year Plan outline calls for accelerating high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and using it to lead the development of new quality productive forces. National special plans treat this as a key focus, and local plans make their own arrangements. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council's Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces place "vigorously advancing scientific and technological innovation" first among all tasks.

Where the Special Plans Focus

Technology breakthroughs

Special plans already issued emphasize original and disruptive innovation. The 15th Five-Year Plan for the information and communications industry calls for faster research on core 6G technologies and continued 6G trials. The railway science and technology innovation plan covers system-level key core technologies oriented to national strategy, exploratory frontier technologies and market-oriented applied research. Several plans target bottlenecks in integrated circuits, industrial machine tools and advanced materials, coordinating resources through the new nationwide system.

The plan for the new battery industry includes a dedicated column on common and key technology improvement, with detailed arrangements for all-solid-state battery breakthroughs. The national informatization plan lists a "cyber and information technology innovation breakthrough project" as a column, with specific research targets in basic software, industrial software and intelligent technology. The industrial foundation capability improvement plan, released on October 22, addresses weaknesses in key industrial chain products, common foundational products and frontier technology.

From lab to market

The plans link scientific supply with industrial demand. The electronic information manufacturing plan supports pilot testing platforms and application validation centers for electronic components and materials. The intellectual property plan encourages industry IP innovation consortia. The new energy system plan encourages large-scale application of independently innovated products. Together these measures cover concept validation platforms, pilot testing, incubators, IP commercialization and application scenarios, aiming to move results from laboratories to markets faster.

Enterprises as innovation leaders

Several plans reinforce the role of enterprises as innovation actors. They support companies in leading more national science and technology tasks in information and communications, joint research by pharmaceutical firms, universities, institutes and medical institutions, and globally oriented innovation platforms set up by qualified enterprises and research institutes. The goal is to concentrate innovation resources in companies and convert technological strength into productivity.

The intelligent connected new energy vehicle plan, released in September, addresses cross-sector integration and data circulation barriers, including interconnection of cross-industry information platforms and cross-domain cloud control platforms.

Institutional reform and market order

The plans also adjust rules and mechanisms. The human resources and social security plan supports researchers from institutes and universities taking part in company innovation and commercialization under regulations. The central bank's reform plan aims to build a science and technology finance system suited to innovation and to develop a high-quality "tech board" in the bond market. The IP plan promotes examination information sharing and data exchange with Belt and Road partner countries.

On market order, the electronic information manufacturing plan calls for coordinated capacity planning and early-warning across sub-sectors and comprehensive measures against "involution-style" competition. The new power system plan sets oversight of the scope of natural monopoly and competitive business for grid companies. Xiao Hongwei, a researcher at the State Information Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the plans improve laws and regulations in new fields, balance encouragement of innovation with regulated development, guide localities to develop new quality productive forces suited to local conditions, and help institutions adapt to new technologies and industries.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

• Watch sector plans, not just headlines. If your business touches 6G, batteries, electronic materials, new energy vehicles, software, health or energy, the special plans indicate where pilot platforms, joint research programs and application validation support may be organized.
• Position as an innovation partner. The plans repeatedly favor enterprise-led research and collaboration among companies, universities and institutes. Foreign-invested entities may find openings in joint projects and industrial consortia, subject to local implementation.
• Prepare for pilot testing and validation. The emphasis on pilot platforms and application validation centers suggests these are the channels through which new products reach the market.
• Expect evolving regulation. The plans pair encouragement with oversight, including action against disorderly competition and rules for new fields. Compliance planning should be part of any market entry.
• Follow local implementation. Local 15th Five-Year Plan arrangements will determine how national priorities translate into specific support where you register and operate.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Foreign founders who want help registering and operating a company in China can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp or WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535.