Highlights of 2026 Government Work Report

Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered the government work report on behalf of the State Council at the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress on Thursday. The key points are as follows:

Review of work in 2025

- GDP grew by 5 percent.

- 12.67 million urban jobs created.

- Grain output rose to 715 million metric tons.

- New-energy vehicle output exceeded 16 million units.

Over the past five years:

- GDP crossed successive thresholds, with an average annual growth of 5.4 percent.

- Manufacturing sector has led the world in value added for the past 16 years.

- Per capita disposable income increased at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent.

- A total of over 60 million urban jobs were created.

Main goals and major tasks for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030)：

- GDP should keep growing within an appropriate range.

- An annual average increase of at least 7 percent in nationwide R&D spending.

- A total reduction of 17 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP.

- Raising the value added of core digital economy industries to 12.5 percent of GDP.

- Raising the average years of schooling among the working-age population to 11.7.

- Raising life expectancy to 80 years.

- Increase in overall grain production capacity to 725 million metric tons.

- Increase in overall energy production capacity to the equivalent of 5.8 billion metric tons of standard coal.

Overall requirements and policy orientation for economic and social development in 2026

- GDP growth of 4.5-5 percent, while striving for better in practice.

- Create over 12 million new urban jobs.

- CPI increase of around 2 percent.

- Grain output of around 700 million metric tons.

- A reduction of around 3.8 percent in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP.

- The deficit-to-GDP ratio for this year is set at around 4 percent, 230 billion yuan more than last year.

- Expenditure in the general public budget is projected to reach 30 trillion yuan for the first time.

- A total of 1.3 trillion yuan of ultra-long special treasury bonds will be issued.

- 4.4 trillion yuan of local government special-purpose bonds will be issued.

Selected key tasks for 2026

Increasing income

China will formulate and implement an income growth plan for urban and rural residents and roll out a range of practical measures to boost the earnings of low-income groups, increase property income, and refine the remuneration and social security systems.

Consumption

250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds will be earmarked for consumer goods trade-in programs.

Investment

A total of 755 billion yuan will be earmarked in this year's central government budget for investment. China will also allocate 800 billion yuan raised from ultra-long special treasury bonds to implement major national strategies and enhance security capacity in key areas.

New quality productive forces

Develop emerging pillar industries including integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine, and the low-altitude economy. Foster future industries such as future energy, quantum technology, embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G. Further advance and expand the "AI Plus" initiative.

National unified market

Thoroughly address rat-race competition through a full range of measures, including production regulation, standards guidance, price law enforcement, and quality supervision.

Opening-up

China will further expand opening-up trials for value-added telecom services, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other fields.

Rural revitalization

Province-wide trials on extending rural land contracts by another 30 years upon the expiration of the current second-round contracts will be conducted across the country.

The fourth national agricultural census will be carried out.

New urbanization strategy

Well-conceived and systematic measures will be taken to grant permanent urban residency to people who move to cities from rural areas. Based on local conditions, we will ease relevant eligibility standards so that more children of rural migrant workers can take high school entrance examinations in their current place of residence.

Employment

China will bolster support for employment through various policies and foster an employment-friendly growth model. It will also implement the initiative for creating more stable, better-quality job opportunities.

Education

China will refine policies on free preschool education and increase the supply of regular senior secondary school places.

Healthcare

Government subsidies for basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents will be raised by 24 yuan per person.

Social security

Minimum basic old-age benefits for rural and non-working urban residents will be raised by 20 yuan per month. China will boost housing support for first-time married couples and those with their first child, and help families with children meet their needs for better housing.

Green development

China will set up a national fund for low-carbon transition and foster new growth drivers such as hydrogen power and green fuels.

Real estate

City-specific policies will be introduced to control the number of new real estate projects, reduce housing inventory, and improve supply. China will explore various avenues for utilizing commodity housing stock.