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From AI to chips: China courts private tech firms to help drive next 5-year plan

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Businesses in emerging sectors tapped to help shape innovation-led 2026-2030 strategy, analysts say

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Ant Group was one of the firms invited to meet Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the NDRC. Photo: Shutterstock
Xiaofei Xuin Paris
China has signalled growing support for the private sector, as the head of the government department that oversees economic reform sat down with representatives of the tech industry to gather input ahead of Beijing’s next five-year development blueprint, analysts said.
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Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), met leaders from five private enterprises to “gather opinions and suggestions for the scientific formulation of the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’, with a focus on technological innovation”, according to a statement published by the NDRC on Tuesday.

Zheng said private enterprises could play a crucial role in helping Beijing formulate its next plan, which will cover the years 2026 to 2030. The private sector “possesses strong innovation momentum, great potential and abundant vitality”, he added, making private companies “a key force in developing new quality productive forces”.

Since the start of the year, the Chinese government has struck an increasingly private-sector-friendly tone. In February, President Xi Jinping held a rare high-level meeting with business heads – the first since 2018. In May, a new private sector law came into effect, promising fairer market competition, equal market access and stronger legal protections.

Peng Peng, head of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank affiliated with the provincial government, said the 15th Five-Year Plan would “focus on technology and innovation as engines [for development], which means it needs to promote new and future-oriented industries.”

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“Private companies have a lot more advantages in this regard. They are the key driving force in innovation.”

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