China will outline this week how it plans to push the next phase of its technology race with the West, and convert a wave of high-profile breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, space and robotics into industrial scale and capital market momentum.
The country’s top leadership will publish its annual government work report and budget plans at the opening session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber-stamp parliament, on Thursday, as well as the outline of its 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026–2030, a sweeping blueprint that sets priorities for industrial policy.
The reports spell out Beijing’s priorities and indicate which industries it will favour with generous funding and policy support.
Last year, AI models received a mention for the first time while embodied intelligence – the technology that powers humanoid robots – was also highlighted.
The NPC happens weeks before a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump from March 31 to April 2, where technology controls and supply chains are expected to feature prominently.
It also marks a year since Chinese AI developers drew global attention for sudden leaps in capability despite tight US restrictions on access to advanced chips and chipmaking equipment.
DeepSeek, the Chinese startup whose viral AI model release last year triggered a global tech share selloff and reshaped assumptions for China’s technology competitiveness against the US, is widely expected to roll out a next-generation model in the coming days.
