The China Development Forum 2026 was held in Beijing on March 22-23. Themed China in Its 15th Five-Year Plan Period (2026-30), the forum brought together Chinese government officials, global business leaders, representatives of international organizations and scholars for dialogue. It signaled China's commitment to advancing high-quality development and creating new opportunities through cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 took place in Hainan Province on March 24-27. The conference similarly focused on China's 15th Five-Year Plan, emphasizing new opportunities and cooperation arising from an evolving landscape.

This is the first year of the plan. With high-quality development at its core and high-standard opening up as its path, China continues to lend strong momentum to global economic recovery and prosperity.

High-quality development is the defining theme of China's economic and social progress during this five-year plan period. Its outline calls for guiding development with the new development philosophy, which calls for innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, and cultivating new quality productive forces, or economic drivers based on cutting-edge technologies, tailored to local conditions.

The current global background is marked by sluggish economic recovery, frequent geopolitical conflicts and rising unilateralism and protectionism, all factors that introduce multiple uncertainties to global development. Many of China's goals, including pursuing the Digital China Initiative, advancing pollution control and promoting green production and lifestyles, are rooted in domestic realities while also aligning with broader global development trends.

High-standard opening up is the path China must take to achieve high-quality development. The 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes expanding market access, particularly in the service sector, and fostering all-round opening up through land and sea connections, as well as synergy between eastern and western regions, to accelerate China's transformation into a strong trading nation.

Through its opening up, China offers the world a vast market, a complete industrial system and abundant application scenarios, turning its own development into a major opportunity for the global community. This is a commitment it will continue to uphold during the 15th Five-Year Plan.