8 takeaways from the economic briefing at China’s ‘two sessions’ | South China Morning Post

China’s top economic officials held a press conference on the sidelines of the “two sessions” – the annual meetings of China’s top legislature and advisory body – in Beijing on Friday.

The briefing, which came a day after Beijing unveiled its economic goals for 2026 and a draft outline for its 15th five-year plan, offered fresh insights into China’s agenda for trade, investment and technological development.

Here are the main takeaways from the meeting:

Exchange rate

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said China had no need or intention to depreciate the yuan to gain competitive advantages in trade. The yuan has strengthened significantly against the US dollar in recent months, reaching its highest level in nearly three years.

Tech growth

China will introduce more inclusive, flexible listing rules for tech firms on Shenzhen’s ChiNext board, which will allow more high-quality, innovative enterprises in emerging consumption areas and modern service industries to be listed on the board, according to Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

Advertisement

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – China’s top economic planner – said China’s AI sector would be worth 10 trillion yuan (US$1.45 trillion) by 2030 and the BeiDou satellite navigation network would be worth 1 trillion yuan within the next five years.

But Zheng also pointed to weaknesses in China’s original innovation and basic research, saying it was necessary to address those “shortcomings” and to strengthen efforts in developing frontier technologies.

Capital market regulation

Beijing would introduce a market stabilisation mechanism “with Chinese characteristics”, Wu said, which should strengthen its ability to make cross-cycle and countercyclical adjustments and enhance the intrinsic stability of the market.