BEIJING: A series of high-profile forums hosted by China in close succession over the past couple of weeks have reaffirmed the country’s commitment to serving as a cornerstone of certainty and an anchor of stability, offering fresh momentum and confidence to a world fraught with uncertainty.
From Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and its innovation hub of Zhongguancun to the southern coastal town of Boao, Hainan province, observers said the international participants are looking not only at the country’s near-term economic prospects, but also at the longer-term signals, as this year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum 2026 in Beijing on March 22, Premier Li Qiang stressed that China’s high-quality development and stable economic growth will continue to provide development opportunities for the world.
He pledged that the country will continue to foster a sound business environment, fully implement national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises, and enable companies from all countries to develop with confidence and realize their full potential in China.
For many foreign observers, that message matters because China is increasingly seen as one of the few major economies capable of providing a degree of steadiness in a turbulent global environment.
Francois Bourguignon, former senior vice-president and chief economist of the World Bank, said that China remains “a stability creator in the global economy” at a time when there is “a lot of noise” and “a lot of accidents” elsewhere in the world.
Compared with many other economies, he said, China is “extremely stable both from the economic and the social point of view” and helps smooth out shocks taking place across the world.
Adam Tooze, director of Columbia University’s European Institute, offered a similar view in starker language, saying that China is often seen as “the last remaining adult in the room”, with growing expectations projected onto it as the world searches for a stabilizing force amid the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
As Premier Li assured the participants at the forum that China’s 15th Five-Year Plan not only serves as a “new blueprint” for its own growth, but also presents “new opportunities” for global development, analysts said the significance of the plan lies not only in the reassurance it offers, but also in what it suggests about China’s next stage of development.
Junpei Guo, a government engagement lead at the World Economic Forum, said that China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period is emerging not as a continuation of business as usual, but as a recalibrated strategy for a world far more unpredictable than it was five years ago.
She said the plan points to a country preparing for a prolonged period of complexity by strengthening the quality of its economic base and tightening the link between innovation and real-world transformation. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
