China Drop-In: Key takeaways from the NPC and the new Five-Year Plan

March begins with a pivotal week for China watchers as the government unveils its economic targets for 2026 alongside the 15th Five-Year Plan. But what should investors really take away from these announcements from this year’s National People’s Congress? How closely will official growth targets reflect conditions in the real economy? And how will the new Five-Year Plan balance the need to boost consumption with the government’s industrial/national security priorities?

Join our China team on Friday 6th March at 08:00 GMT/16:00 SGT, for this day-after briefing on the key messages from the opening of this year’s NPC and what they mean for China’s economic outlook in the year ahead and beyond. In this short session, our economists will answer your questions as they address key issues, including: 

• What this year’s targets for GDP growth, fiscal policy and more tell us about near-term economic priorities
• Whether the new Five-Year Plan can balance the push for industrial policy and global tech leadership with the goal of rebalancing the economy
• The outlook for China trade in light of the latest policy signals, including geoeconomic tensions and the potential for further renminbi appreciation.