China’s parliament will unveil its five-year technology blueprint this week, focusing on artificial intelligence, robotics, and space programs. The plan comes as Beijing seeks to transform recent tech breakthroughs into large-scale industrial advantages in its ongoing competition with the United States.
China’s leadership will reveal their strategy for the next phase of technological competition with the United States when parliament convenes this week, focusing on transforming recent advances in artificial intelligence, space exploration, and robotics into widespread industrial success.
The National People’s Congress will present the government’s annual work report and budget proposals on Thursday, along with the 15th Five-Year Plan covering 2026-2030. This comprehensive blueprint will establish priorities for industrial development and indicate which sectors will receive substantial government funding and support.
These documents reveal Beijing’s strategic focus areas and signal where generous financial backing will flow. In the previous year’s report, artificial intelligence models were mentioned for the first time, alongside embodied intelligence – the technology driving humanoid robots.
The parliamentary session occurs just weeks before a scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump from March 31 to April 2, where technology restrictions and supply chain issues are anticipated to be major discussion points.
The timing also coincides with the one-year anniversary of Chinese AI companies capturing worldwide attention through dramatic capability improvements despite strict U.S. limitations on advanced semiconductor access and manufacturing equipment.
DeepSeek, the Chinese startup whose popular AI model release caused a global technology stock decline and changed perceptions about China’s technological competitiveness against America, is anticipated to launch an advanced model in the near future.
“The shock is over,” stated Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a managing director at Ankura Consulting in Beijing. “Now there is an expectation of what China can come up with next.”
Beijing faces the challenge of converting individual technological achievements into comprehensive, large-scale improvements across manufacturing, logistics, and energy sectors.
Shujing He, a senior analyst at advisory firm Plenum China, indicated that policymakers will likely promote “AI-plus manufacturing” by utilizing major state-owned enterprises as primary adopters, bringing startups and specialized suppliers into practical applications.
This approach is expected to transform China’s industrial landscape. Shin Nakamura, president of Japanese manufacturer Daiwa Steel Tube Industries, suggested China’s AI initiative will benefit large, capital-intensive producers capable of handling deployment costs, while smaller companies encounter structural limitations.
“The gap between large enterprises and SMEs in China will widen, and consolidation will accelerate,” he explained.
The five-year strategy is also expected to emphasize embodied intelligence development. China demonstrated its progress in this field last month by featuring Chinese-manufactured humanoid robots performing dance and martial arts on the country’s most popular television program, the annual CCTV Spring Festival celebration.
Significant hardware technology advances support China’s confidence in robotics capabilities.
“Mechatronics — especially balance, motor control and dynamic locomotion — has improved dramatically over the past 12 months,” said Mike Nielsen, an executive at computer vision firm RealSense, which has collaborated extensively with prominent Chinese robotics company Unitree. “China has shown major momentum, with early-stage platforms now demonstrating much higher agility and stability.”
However, Chinese regulators are expressing concern about limited differentiation among more than 150 domestic humanoid robot developers, and analysts predict consolidation will occur more rapidly than in previous strategic sectors like electric vehicles.
Space technology represents another opportunity for Beijing to demonstrate its ability to convert research into industrial capabilities. Private launch company LandSpace announced plans for another recovery attempt this year for its reusable Zhuque-3 rocket, following its achievement as the first Chinese company to complete a full test of an orbital-class reusable launcher in December.
Despite the enthusiasm, China’s emerging industries will not produce enough investment to sustain 5% GDP growth in upcoming years, according to a January report from U.S. research firm Rhodium Group, indicating Beijing will maintain its reliance on exports to support the economy.
This situation means Beijing will prioritize sectors with more immediate commercial potential like autonomous driving, according to Plenum’s He.
Analysts expect the five-year plan will be examined closely for Beijing’s intentions to safeguard the industrial foundations supporting its technology advancement, as supply chains increasingly become tools of geopolitical influence.
Throughout the past year, China has broadened its use of export restrictions to include rare earth materials and basic semiconductors, disrupting global supply chains and highlighting Beijing’s economic influence.
China’s State Council and industry ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Additional supply chains essential to the global economy remain susceptible to Chinese dependencies, according to Doug Friedman, CEO of U.S. biomanufacturing institute BioMADE.
“What we see happening with rare earths is also happening in the industrial chemicals industry,” Friedman noted.
As Beijing prepares to announce its next five-year industrial strategy, Friedman emphasized the growing significance of the competition.
“Right now, we’re neck and neck,” he said, referring to the U.S. and China. “Whoever doubles down over the next three to five years is going to gain a real lead.”
