From October 20 to 23, 2025, the Communist Party of China’s plenum was held in Beijing. The fight against corruption and the encouragement of domestic consumption were among the topics that hundreds of Chinese Communist Party delegates discussed at the plenum. The party will remain steadfast in its fight against corruption, Jiang Jinquan, director of the Central Policy Research Office, declared.
The four-day meeting, chaired by General Secretary Xi Jinping, ended with the adoption of a comprehensive document on China’s five-year economic development plan.[1]
It is no coincidence, then, that on the same day that the Plenum opened, the National Bureau of Statistics of China released its latest GDP data, showing annual growth of 5.2% in the first three quarters of 2025, an acceleration of 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points compared to the growth rates for the whole year and the same period in 2024.[2] In short, this boost in confidence has sparked discussion about what appears to be a genuinely new chapter in the development of the Chinese economy: no longer based solely on speed, but focused on quality, internal security, and stability.
One of the essential questions at the meeting was how to encourage the local population to spend more. Namely, long before Trump announced tariffs, experts warned that China must rebalance its economy and shift domestic consumption away from exports. Experts argue that the current situation, in which domestic consumption contributes very little to China’s gross domestic product, is not sustainable in the long term. Trump’s tariffs brought this issue to the fore. The additional tariffs caused fewer imports of some types of Chinese goods into America.
Another, no less critical, topic concerns the Republic of China’s technological self-sufficiency. China wants greater access to American computer chip technology and advanced software; on the other hand, Washington would like to secure rare minerals and magnets that are produced in China. Neither of them wants to cede what the other side needs, because doing so would strengthen the rival’s economic and political position. Beijing’s task is to find solutions to its own needs by developing high technology elsewhere.
To emphasize, “self-sufficiency” is mentioned once again in a document of the Communist Party of China, reported by the Xinhua agency, which is close to the authorities in Beijing. “The country must achieve greater self-sufficiency and strength in the fields of science and technology.”[3]
At the Fourth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee, participants expressed positive evaluation of the country’s development achievements during the previous five-year plan (2021-2025) and identified the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) as key to achieving “core socialist modernization by 2035”.[4]
The goals set out in this plan are: promoting high-quality development in all sectors; strengthening scientific and technological self-sufficiency and stability; developing new reforms and promoting cultural and ethical progress in society; improving people’s quality of life; leading the development of new, high-quality productive forces; accelerating the green transition; and enhancing national security.
The Central Committee Plenum, moreover, stressed that the country should ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and Macau by promoting peaceful relations and advancing the goal of China’s national reunification.[5] Other objectives of the 15th Five-Year Plan include countering tariff abuse by some Western countries, ensuring openness and sharing with all parties, developing stable economic growth, and consistently promoting mutual benefit, cooperation, and global stability.
To conclude, the next five-year plan will undoubtedly be closely watched, given China’s importance to rebalancing its economy. This year’s Central Committee meeting of the Communist Party of China will shape the country’s future.
[1]Vijesti.me, Plenum Komunističke partije Kine: Koje su tri ključne stvari, https://www.vijesti.me/bbc/780345/plenum-komunisticke-partije-kine-koje-su-tri-kljucne-stvari (23.10.2025).
[2]Renewable matter.eu, Cina, verso il piano quinquennale della resilienza strategica, https://www.renewablematter.eu/cina-verso-piano-quinquennale-resilienza-strategica (25.10.2025).
[3]Xinhua, CPC plenum concludes, adopting recommendations for China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202510/23/content_WS68f9f337c6d00ca5f9a06fb2.html (23.10.2025).
3 Giornale Nazionale, Cina, Concluso Il Plenum Del Partito Comunista Cinese, https://www.nuovogiornalenazionale.com/index.php/articoli-recenti/geopolitica/25988-cina-concluso-il-plenum-del-partito-comunista-cinese.html (24.10.2025).
[5] Nuovo Giornale Nazionale, Cina, Concluso Il Plenum Del Partito Comunista Cinese, https://www.nuovogiornalenazionale.com/index.php/articoli-recenti/geopolitica/25988-cina-concluso-il-plenum-del-partito-comunista-cinese.html (24.10.2025).
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