Xi weighs new China manufacturing plan as US pushes for rebalance
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China's new strategy is part of its 2026 Five-Year Plan, signaling a renewed push to enhance chip-making and reduce foreign tech reliance.
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A Chinese national flag flutters against the high-rise residential buildings in Wushan county, in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP)
President Xi Jinping’s government is weighing a new version of its overarching strategy to boost the production of high-end technological goods, signaling its intention to maintain a strong hold on manufacturing against US calls to rebalance, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Plans are being drafted for a future version of Xi Jinping’s signature “Made in China 2025” initiative, with officials working on the details as discussions continue behind closed doors, according to Bloomberg sources who asked to remain anonymous.
Over the next decade, the plan would emphasize areas such as chip-making equipment as key priorities, with one person noting that it may be presented under a different name to lessen the likelihood of criticism from Western countries.
Policymakers working on Beijing’s next Five-Year Plan, set to begin in 2026, are aiming to keep the share of manufacturing in gross domestic product steady over the medium to long term, one of the sources said, highlighting the challenges the US may face in encouraging a rebalancing of China’s economy.
Beijing sets its goals
As part of deliberations, officials have discussed the possibility of including a numerical target for consumption as a share of China’s GDP in the next Five-Year Plan, according to the source, who added that the officials are relying on this since they lack the tools to stimulate household spending and are reluctant to commit to a specific number.
The content of these plans remains under debate and could see significant revisions ahead of their release, with the Five-Year Plan expected to be announced at the annual legislative session in March 2026 and the next manufacturing blueprint potentially being introduced at any point either before or after that meeting, one of the people told Bloomberg.
'Made in China 2025' records triumph
Research by Bloomberg Economics and Bloomberg Intelligence indicates that the "Made in China 2025" plan has been largely successful, with China securing a global leadership position in five out of 13 key technologies tracked by Bloomberg researchers and making rapid progress in seven others.
The “Made in China” initiative is aimed specifically at modernizing the country’s manufacturing sector and cutting dependence on foreign technologies over the long term, and the Five-Year Plans serve as more comprehensive frameworks that steer China’s overall development across areas such as infrastructure, environmental policy, and social welfare.
The "Made in China 2025" initiative has become a sensitive topic amid international opposition, and in recent years, Beijing has largely avoided mentioning the program by name, at least in official statements.
Instead, Xi intensified his calls to promote new productive forces, such as electric vehicles, solar panels, and batteries, with the development of these sectors now emerging as a central research focus for government bodies working on the upcoming five-year plan, according to a report by a newspaper overseen by the NDRC.
The research aims to overcome growth-limiting bottlenecks in China, with multiple government departments prioritizing breakthroughs in key technologies like semiconductors and new energy materials, while also addressing weak domestic demand by boosting consumption's role in economic expansion, according to the report.
