On 18 March 2026, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang attended the 8th China-UK Economic and Trade Forum and delivered a keynote speech.

Ambassador Zheng highlighted the key messages of China’s Two Sessions, noting that a clear signal has been sent to the world: China will stay the course of high-quality development, steadily achieve its established goals, continue to provide stability and certainty to the world through its own development, and remain a steadfast force for world peace, stability and development. 

Ambassador Zheng pointed out that the Two Sessions reviewed and adopted the Government Work Report and the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, setting key priorities for China’s economic and social development in 2026, and drawing a blueprint for the next five years. The year 2026 is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The Report sets the following main targets for China’s economic and social development in 2026: GDP growth of 4.5–5%; over 12 million new urban jobs; surveyed urban unemployment rate of around 5.5%; CPI increase of around 2%; and personal income growth in step with economic growth. Regarding policy priorities, the Report stresses the continued implementation of a more proactive fiscal policy and an appropriately accommodative monetary policy, with strengthened coordination between reform measures and macro policies. The Report provides comprehensive instructions for this year’s work, outlining 10 key tasks. The UK business community could pay particular attention to four areas: domestic demand, technological innovation, green transition, and opening up. 

First, building a strong domestic market. China will boost domestic demand by expanding consumption and investment. China’s consumer market ranks second globally in nominal terms and first by purchasing power parity. Going forward, China will continue to prioritise domestic demand, coordinate efforts to promote consumption and investment, explore new avenues for increase, and better leverage the strengths of its enormous market. 

Second, fostering new growth drivers. China will continue to upgrade the economy through technological innovation. New quality productive forces will be developed in light of local conditions and a modern industrial system will be built. Traditional industries will be upgraded, emerging industries such as integrated circuits, aerospace, biomedicine and low-altitude economy will be strengthened, and future industries including future energy, quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces and 6G telecommunications will be nurtured. 

Third, accelerating the green transition across the board. China will be guided by its goals of achieving peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, make coordinated efforts to reduce carbon emissions, cut pollution, pursue green development and boost economic growth, while strengthening green development drivers. China will step up comprehensive efforts to improve the environment, and make fresh headway in keeping its skies blue, waters clear and lands clean. China will boost the green and low-carbon economy, advance the development of zero-carbon industrial parks and factories.

Fourth, expanding high-standard opening-up. China will open wider to the world, by expanding market access and opening up more areas, particularly in the service sector, expanding opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields, taking well-ordered steps to expand opening up in the digital sector, and shortening the negative list for cross-border trade in services. China will keep the volume of foreign trade stable and refine its mix, and expand cross-border use of the RMB. China will also expand two-way investment cooperation by deepening reform of the institutional framework for promoting foreign investment and ensuring national treatment for foreign-funded enterprises.