Experts call China's next five-year plan a critical period for reforms

Experts convened at a forum in Haikou, Hainan province, and noted that China's next five-year plan is a critical period for structural reforms aimed at shifting the economy toward domestic consumption and higher-level opening up.

The 91st International Forum on China Reform, held during the weekend, gathered over 400 participants. The discussions come one and a half months before the Hainan Free Trade Port launches island-wide special customs operations on Dec 18, a key step in China's opening-up.

Hainan Governor Liu Xiaoming said the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period is pivotal for the province. "It marks a critical five years for the Hainan Free Trade Port to deepen reform and opening up and achieve high-quality development from the new starting point of island-wide special customs operations," he noted.

Forum speakers outlined key priorities. Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, argued for structural reforms to rebalance the economy toward domestic consumption and people-centered urbanization. "The key is to use comprehensive reform to break the structural contradiction between investment and consumption as soon as possible," Chi said, emphasizing that forming a development model led by domestic demand and consumption is the strategic foundation for China's modernization plans.

The sentiment was echoed by Steven Alan Barnett, the former International Monetary Fund's senior resident representative for China. "China's growth also needs to be consumption-led, so that means consumption growth exceeding GDP growth," he said, adding that innovation and better resource allocation remain crucial for boosting productivity.

China's former vice-foreign minister Le Yucheng highlighted a strategic pivot toward "institutional opening", with Hainan's special customs operation serving as a precursor. "It is only the 'opening gong' for institutional opening up during the 15th Five-Year Plan period," he said. "A whole set of institutional projects and major moves on institutional opening will follow, forming a new matrix."

Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, underscored the universal need for openness, stating, "In a highly interconnected world, opening up is the cornerstone of mutual benefit and a further driver of high-quality development."