The great economic achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25) have secured China a solid foundation for the coming journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.
The remarks were made by a spokesperson of NBS when releasing quarterly economic data, which revealed a 5.2 percent year-on-year GDP growth for the first three quarters. The data points to the Chinese economy’s capacity to sustain stable growth and withstand external pressures, proving its notable resilience and dynamism.
China’s economic strength and international influence have reached new heights during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), when China’s GDP successively crossed the thresholds of 110 trillion yuan ($15.43 trillion), 120 trillion yuan, and 130 trillion yuan, growing from 103.5 trillion yuan in 2020 to 134.9 trillion yuan in 2024, with an average annual real growth rate of 5.5 percent. The growth significantly outpaces the world’s average annual growth rate of 3.9 percent during the same period, according to the NBS.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China’s average annual contribution to world economic growth has remained around 30 percent, making it the most important driver of global economic development. It fully demonstrates the resilience and vitality of a major economy, said the spokesperson.
China’s per capita GDP rose from $10,632 in 2020 to hit $13,445 in 2024, exceeding $13,000 for two consecutive years, firmly placing the country among the top ranks of upper-middle-income nations, noted the spokesperson.
The official said China achieved greater self-reliance in the economy, backed up with a much higher level in science and technology during the past five years.
The R&D investment repeatedly hit new highs, with the R&D intensity reaching 2.69 percent in 2024, surpassing the average level of European countries, the NBS said.
Innovation capability has effectively improved. In 2025, China’s innovation index broke into the global top ten for the first time, rising four slots from 2020 and ranking the first among upper-middle-income economies. Innovations in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum communication yielded abundant results, and the translation of scientific and technological innovations into real productive forces has accelerated.
The NBS also said new industrialization has been advanced, and the integration of the digital and real economies has gained momentum.
From 2021 to 2024, the value added of equipment manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing industries above the designated size achieved an average annual growth of 8.2 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.
Overall, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China successfully withstood the onslaught of the once-in-a-century COVID pandemic, effectively mitigated the adverse effects of rapidly changing external conditions, stabilized the overall development landscape and strengthened the foundation for development amid the turbulence of a transformation unseen in a century.
A string of new and significant achievements in economic and social development have been made, laying a solid foundation and building ample confidence for continuing the journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30). These hard-won achievements deserve to be cherished, the NBS official said. (GT/GSF
