Vice Minister Shen Haixiong,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,

Good evening. Yesterday, the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) concluded its fourth plenary session, an event that had drawn global attention. It is my great pleasure to share with you some main takeaways from the meeting.

At the session, the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development was adopted after deliberation. The document is a top-level strategic design of China's development in the coming five years, sounding a clarion call for seizing the momentum and further advancing Chinese modernization.

At the session, the Central Committee established the following guiding principles for economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period: upholding the Party's overall leadership; putting the people first; pursuing high-quality development; comprehensively deepening reform; promoting interplay between an efficient market and a well-functioning government; and ensuring both development and security.

The Central Committee also set the following major objectives for the period: significant achievements in high-quality development; substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength; fresh breakthroughs in further deepening reform comprehensively; notable cultural and ethical progress across society; further improvements in quality of life; major new strides in advancing the Beautiful China Initiative; and further advances in strengthening the national security shield.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

The next five years will see China developing with even stronger momentum. Development is the master key to solving all problems. From 2021 to 2025, the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China's GDP surpassed the thresholds of RMB 110 trillion, 120 trillion, and 130 trillion one after another, and is expected to reach around RMB 140 trillion this year. For more than a decade, China has contributed over 30 percent of global economic growth annually.

In the next five years, we will keep our focus on the real economy, boost our strength in manufacturing, product quality, aerospace, transportation and cyberspace at a faster pace, and develop a modernized industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone. We will upgrade traditional industries, foster emerging industries and industries of the future, promote high-quality, efficient development in the service sector, and develop a modernized infrastructure system.

In recent years, we have thoroughly implemented the strategy of expanding domestic demand, and kept unlocking consumption potential. New products, forms and models of consumption have boomed. From 2021 to 2024, domestic demand contributed 86.4 percent to China's economic growth on average. In the next five years, we will stay committed to this strategy, aim to both improve living standards and increase consumer spending, coordinate investments in physical assets and human capital, vigorously boost consumption, expand effective investment, build a robust domestic market, and move faster to foster a new pattern of development.

The Chinese economy enjoys solid foundations, multiple advantages, strong resilience and great potential. The conditions and underlying trends supporting its long-term growth remain unchanged. We have enough capability and confidence to address various domestic and external risks and challenges, and will continue to serve as an anchor of stability in the world and a reliable engine of global growth.

The next five years will see China innovating at a faster pace. Innovation is the primary driving force behind development. In recent years, China has made great headway in scientific and technological innovation. In many areas, we have shifted from quantity to quality, moved up to mid- and high-end technologies, and transitioned from a late-comer to a pace-setter. Breakthroughs have been achieved in emerging industries, including AI, 5G telecommunications, new energy and biomedicine, and China's ranking in the Global Innovation Index has risen from 34th in 2012 to 10th in 2025.

In the next five years, we will seize the historic opportunity presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation to boost China's strength in education, science and technology, and human resources in a well-coordinated manner. We will enhance the overall performance of our innovation system, raise our innovation capacity across the board, strive to take a leading position in scientific and technological development, and keep fostering new quality productive forces. We will promote advances in original innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, facilitate full integration between technological and industrial innovation, pursue integrated development of education, science and technology and talent, and advance the Digital China Initiative.

Neither "small yard, high fence" nor decoupling and supply chains disruption would stop China from moving forward. While striving for greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, China will also make greater contributions to technological exchanges, cooperation and progress of humanity.

The next five years will see China opening its doors even wider. Opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. In recent years, China has continuously advanced high-standard opening-up. We have deepened the structural reform in foreign trade and investment, removed all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, provided zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines to all Least Developed Countries having diplomatic relations with China, and established the Hainan Free Trade Port and 22 pilot free trade zones. All these measures have been warmly welcomed worldwide.

In the next five years, we will continue to expand opening up at the institutional level, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and promote broader international economic flows. We will take the initiative to open up wider, promote the innovative development of trade, create greater space for two-way investment cooperation, and pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

When economic globalization is meeting headwinds and unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, China remains steadfast in embracing economic globalization, advancing reform and development through greater openness, championing true multilateralism, and sharing opportunities and pursuing common development with the rest of the world.

The next five years will see China building a stronger foundation for the wellbeing of the people. Enhancing people's wellbeing is the fundamental aim of development. Our goal is both inspiring and simple: ultimately, it is about delivering a better life to our people. Since the start of reform and opening-up, 800 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction in the same period. From 2021 to 2025, China's national coverage rate of basic old-age and medical insurance has increased to more than 95 percent, and the average life expectancy has been raised to 79 years.

In the next five years, we will work harder to ensure and improve public wellbeing and promote common prosperity for all. This includes resolving the pressing problems that concern the people most, such as education, medical services, elderly care and childcare. We will promote high-quality and full employment, and optimize the policy environment to support business startups and employment. We will refine the income distribution system, and expand the middle-income group. We will improve the social security system, and make our people feel more satisfied, happier and more secure. We will facilitate high-quality development of the real estate sector, and promote the recovery and growth of the industry. We will also advance high-quality population development, establish a policy system to boost birth rates, and vigorously develop the silver economy. In sum, the world will see a happy China where everyone enjoys easy access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance.

The next five years will see China broadening its path toward a greener future. Green development underlies high-quality development. Over the years, China has put in place the world's largest renewable energy system, with renewable energy accounting for around 60 percent of the total installed power capacity. Today, one in every three kilowatt-hours used in China comes from green sources, and more than half of the world's electric vehicles are running on Chinese roads.

From 2021 to 2024, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 11.6 percent, and its exports of wind and solar power products have reduced carbon emissions in other countries by about 4.1 billion metric tons in total, making major contributions to the global low-carbon transition and demonstrating China's sense of duty as a responsible major country.

In the next five years, we will accelerate the green transition in all areas of economic and social development. Guided by our carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, we will make concerted efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, pursue green development, and boost economic growth. We will reinforce our ecological security shields and strengthen our green development drivers. We will press ahead with the critical battle against pollution and the drive to upgrade ecosystems, move faster to develop a new energy system, work actively and prudently toward peaking carbon emissions, and accelerate the shift to eco-friendly production practices and lifestyles.

By 2035, China will reduce economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent to 10 percent from peak levels, and basically establish a climate adaptive society. We will continue to robustly promote green and low-carbon development, and provide more positive energy to the cooperation on global climate governance.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

Starting from the first Five-Year Plan adopted in 1953, China has formulated and implemented 14 such plans. During the process, China, once an impoverished agricultural nation where per capita steel output was barely enough to make a sickle and where manufacturing a car, airplane or tractor was beyond reach, has grown into the world's top manufacturer and second-largest economy.

From advancing national industrialization, to ensuring a generally decent life for the people, and to completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and embarking on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country by 2021 when we celebrated the centenary of the Party, the Five-Year Plans are like the footprints of history, witnessing the epic journey of Chinese modernization.

Through the 14th to the 16th Five-Year Plan periods, we will strive to basically realize socialist modernization by 2035. The next five years will be critical as we reinforce the foundations and move forward on all fronts toward the goal, and will thus serve as a key link between the past and the future.

The scientific formulation and consistent implementation of Five-Year Plans are an important experience of the Communist Party of China in governing the country, and also a major political strength of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As we pursue development in line with the plans, our macroeconomic governance and policies enjoy great continuity. Step by step, we carry out each blueprint to the end, and keep working hard from one generation to the next. These Five-Year Plans have not only charted the course for China's economic and social development, but also injected strategic certainty and development stability into a turbulent world.

China will always be an important opportunity for global development. In China, you can see: a huge and ever-expanding consumer market underpinned by 1.4 billion people who are getting richer, the world's most complete industrial system, a thriving global innovation hub, vast potential brought by urbanization, industrial upgrading and green transition, and growing demands for education, elderly care, medical care and other services. As China keeps expanding high-standard opening-up, all these will offer enterprises and talents from around the world readily accessible opportunities for mutual benefit.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Only through solidarity and win-win cooperation can we navigate the rough waters together. Resorting to protectionism and unilateralism and waging tariff wars and trade wars will only destabilize global industrial and supply chains, and cause severe damage to global economic growth. Ultimately, no one will be a winner.

China and the United States are the world's two largest economies. Our relationship bears on not only the welfare of our two peoples, but also the future of humanity. In this chaotic world, we have a thousand reasons to get the China-U.S. relationship right, and no single one to mess it up. Through the fourth plenary session, China has again sent a signal to the world of its commitment to openness, cooperation, mutual benefit and common prosperity. We stand ready to share opportunities and pursue common development with the United States and all other countries. We hope the U.S. side will also work with us in the same direction, implement the common understandings reached between our two presidents, act in line with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, enhance communication, manage differences and expand cooperation, so as to advance the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and also usher in a brighter future for both our peoples and humanity.

Thank you very much.