15th FYP marks step change in China’s infrastructure strategy
Beijing envisions a changing role for infrastructure over the next five years.
Unsurprisingly the newly released 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) (2026–2030) commits to investing in more railways, roads, ports, airports, and expanding renewable power generation.
- But unlike the previous FYP, it also focuses on making existing infrastructure smarter, more flexible, and more interconnected.
For transportation that means:
- Investing in smart road upgrades – such as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology, which allows vehicles to communicate with traffic systems and other cars through digital networks – supporting autonomous driving and more efficient traffic management.
For energy, it means ensuring the grid can better accommodate intermittent renewable power by:
- Developing new-type energy storage (such as compressed air and hydrogen), upgrading coal power plants, and renovating underground gas pipelines with sensors and monitoring systems.
For digital infrastructure, Beijing doesn’t just want to expand 5G networks and build data centers, but also develop national computing power and data infrastructure.
- This includes developing large-scale computing hubs to support AI applications, expanding “general-purpose, intelligent, and supercomputing” capacity, and building the institutional infrastructure needed for data markets.
Get smart: Beijing wants infrastructure investment to better align with industrial policy by supporting digitalization, AI development, and advanced manufacturing.
Get smarter: System upgrades tend to generate less demand for construction and raw materials than traditional infrastructure spending.
- But they are more technology- and equipment-intensive, creating stronger demand for high-end manufacturing, engineering services, and skilled labor.
Our take: Beijing envisions a future in which infrastructure investment is less about generating growth through construction, and more about supporting the growth of new industries.