The meeting of the State Council leading-group for the formulation of the draft outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for economic and social development represents a crucial step in translating the overarching guidelines, strategic priorities and policy recommendations into implementable measures, project pipelines and institutional arrangements.

The strength of China's five-year plans is not merely in their setting of long-term goals, but their capability to align vision with execution. Monday's meeting, coming after the Central Economic Work Conference and the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, underscored this. With the foundations of the draft outline already laid, the emphasis now is on refinement, coherence and implementability — ensuring that targets are realistic, policies are mutually reinforcing, and projects are capable of sustaining high-quality growth amid a complex domestic and international environment.

Two highlights of the meeting merit particular attention. The first is the call to plan and advance major projects and platforms that can drive overall development. These are not short-term stimulus tools, but strategic anchors designed to accumulate new growth drivers, enhance future competitiveness and support the expansion of domestic demand while ensuring stable economic operations.

As emphasized at the meeting, such efforts must combine policy support with reform and innovation, focus on removing institutional and structural bottlenecks, and ensure that the new policy mix delivers tangible outcomes rather than fragmented effects. This approach is consistent with the need to integrate investment in physical assets with investment in human capital, strengthen innovation-driven development and foster new quality productive forces.

Government investment will play a guiding role in the coming years, particularly in areas such as new urbanization, technological innovation, industrial upgrading and major livelihood-related projects. At the same time, more supportive and predictable policies will be rolled out to encourage private capital to participate in these major projects and platforms, forming a synergistic investment pattern in which fiscal funds, financial instruments and social capital reinforce one another.

Crucially, this expanded investment is not about pursuing scale for the sake of scale. It is being carefully planned to align with the requirements of innovation-driven, green, sustainable and high-quality development, ensuring that today's projects become tomorrow's sources of productivity and resilience rather than future burdens.

The second highlight of Monday's meeting lies in its strong people-centered orientation. The call to respond proactively to social concerns, to roll out major policies and projects that benefit the people, and to cultivate new drivers of economic growth alongside improvements in people's wellbeing reflects the consistent adherence of policymakers to the people-first principle. This is particularly important at a time when rising global uncertainties, external shocks and structural adjustments at home inevitably place pressure on employment, incomes and expectations.

Here, the people are not treated merely as beneficiaries of development, but as its starting point and driving force. Investment in human capital — covering employment, education, healthcare, social security and skills development — is emphasized because it forms the vital link connecting innovation, consumption, production, sustainability and social stability. Strengthening people's capabilities and sense of security expands domestic demand, supports industrial upgrading and provides a solid social foundation for long-term growth.

Taken together, the emphasis on major projects and platforms, and the parallel focus on safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods, send a clear signal. Over the next five years and beyond, China will provide greater liquidity, stronger policy support and a more enabling business environment for the development of critical industries, sectors and platforms. These will serve as the key linchpins for concentrating resources and efforts, helping the Chinese economy navigate a period of profound transformation while maintaining stability and momentum.

The meeting highlighted the soberness, pragmatism and responsiveness of Chinese policymakers. It reflected a clear-eyed assessment of the risks and challenges, a firm commitment to reform and innovation, and, above all, an unwavering dedication to putting people at the center of development.