China’s top leadership met in Beijing on December 10–11 for the annual Central Economic Work Conference, setting the country’s economic direction for 2026 the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030). President Xi Jinping reviewed 2025 performance, assessed challenges, and outlined priorities for the year ahead.
The meeting emphasized “pursuing progress while ensuring stability” and “improving both quality and effectiveness”, with eight core tasks including boosting domestic demand, promoting innovation, deepening reform and opening-up, advancing low-carbon development, and improving public wellbeing.
China’s consumer market showed resilience in 2025. Final consumption expenditure contributed 53.5% to GDP growth in the first three quarters, an increase of nine percentage points from the previous year. From January to October, retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 40 trillion yuan ($5.7 trillion), growing 4.3% year-on-year, outpacing 2024 growth.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted in an exclusive interview with CGTN that domestic consumption is key to China’s economic resilience. She praised China’s commitment to maintaining an open and responsible economy, highlighting how it supports the focus on consumption in the new Five-Year Plan.
Innovation Driving New Growth
Innovation remains a key driver. China aims to establish international innovation hubs in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Policies will boost enterprise-led innovation, strengthen intellectual property protection in emerging industries, expand service-sector capabilities, and advance AI development through improved governance and tech-finance integration.
China entered the top 10 in the 2025 Global Innovation Index, the highest-ranking country among the 36 upper-middle-income economies. Its innovation clusters remain global leaders, with the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranking first worldwide. Bloomberg Economics projects that China’s high-tech sector, including AI, will grow from 14.3% of GDP in 2023 to nearly 19% by 2026.
An Open China Supporting Global Trade
China reaffirmed that opening-up is a strategic advantage. The government plans to expand institutional and autonomous opening in the services sector, optimize free trade zone layouts, and advance Hainan Free Trade Port development.
Foreign trade in 2025 remained resilient despite global challenges. From January to November, imports and exports totaled 41.21 trillion yuan, up 3.6% from 2024. A CGTN global survey showed 86.7% of respondents believe China’s domestic consumption focus will create opportunities for international companies, and 89.1% see China’s ongoing opening-up as a driver of broader development globally.
Africa Focus
China’s 2026 economic priorities are expected to have significant effects on Africa, particularly Ethiopia, which has benefited from strong bilateral cooperation over the past decades.
China’s domestic consumption push and services-sector expansion can increase demand for African exports, including agricultural products and consumer goods. For Ethiopia, this could translate into expanded trade opportunities and more predictable markets.
China’s innovation and industrialization agenda also aligns with Africa’s development goals. Ethiopia may gain from technology transfer, capacity-building initiatives, and investments in industrial parks, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, and AI-enabled sectors. These programs support Ethiopia’s industrialization strategy and efforts to modernize its economy.
Moreover, China’s commitment to stable growth and continued opening provides greater certainty for African economies navigating global market volatility. Sustained engagement with China can help Ethiopia attract investment, enhance technological capabilities, and integrate more effectively into global value chains.
Source: CGTN
