China Sets Tech Self-Reliance Push, Vows to Lift Imports After Party Plenum

Overview

• Commerce Minister Wang Wentao urged higher imports to support industrial transformation and improve living standards, and pledged a more transparent, stable and predictable environment for foreign investors.
• NDRC head Zheng Shanjie said quantum technology, hydrogen and fusion energy, and brain–computer interfaces are poised to gain momentum over the next decade.
• The closed Party plenum elevated industrial modernization and high-level scientific self-sufficiency as top priorities for the next five-year plan, with concrete targets expected at the March parliamentary session.
• Party leaders replaced 11 members during the four-day meeting, marking the biggest turnover since 2017 as anti-corruption efforts continue in the military.
• The policy signals follow data showing slower growth, weak domestic demand and the first non-pandemic investment decline, with greater reliance on exports as U.S. tariff tensions persist under President Donald Trump.