China’s top legislature and political advisory body are examining the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), which sets a strategic roadmap for the country’s modernization with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and harmony with nature.
The period marks a critical stage for China in its pursuit of socialist modernization by 2035, with harmony between humanity and nature as a distinctive feature. The draft outline sets quantifiable targets for carbon reduction, pollution control, and ecological protection, aiming to accelerate the country’s comprehensive green transformation.
According to the draft, five of the 20 major economic and social development indicators relate to green and low-carbon development. Notably, it seeks a cumulative 17-percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP and plans to raise the share of non-fossil energy in total consumption to 25 percent by 2030, up from 21.7 percent in 2025.
“China’s resolve to promote green transition is consistent, regardless of how the international situation changes,” said Wu Fenggang, a national political advisor and economist at Jiangxi Institute of Socialism. “This strategic resolve is the greatest contribution to the global economy.”
Experts note that the plan reflects a development path grounded in Chinese realities, where the traditional ideal of “harmony between humanity and nature” guides policy choices.
Unlike development models that treat nature as a resource to dominate, China’s approach advocates symbiotic coexistence, ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of the environment.
Yu Hai, deputy director of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, emphasized that China’s limited per capita resources make traditional “grow first, clean later” models untenable. The country has less than half the world’s average arable land per person, only a quarter of average freshwater resources, and one-fifth of global forest area per capita.
The draft outlines steps to promote eco-friendly production, green lifestyles, and to ensure carbon emissions peak before 2030, paving the way toward carbon neutrality by 2060.
Over the next five years, low-carbon practices are expected to become the societal norm, with comprehensive improvements in ecological quality and ecosystem stability.
A unique feature of the draft is framing carbon targets not just as environmental goals, but as drivers for economic transformation, linking pollution reduction, green development, and economic growth. Green development policies span finance, trade, industry, transport, and agriculture, integrating sustainability into the country’s broader development agenda.
Yuan Da, a senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said the 15th Five-Year Plan places greater emphasis on “low-carbon” goals than the previous plan. Plans include a national carbon market, development of over 100 zero-carbon industrial parks, and more than 10,000 kilometers of zero-carbon transport corridors.
China’s tangible achievements in green transition are already visible. The country added a quarter of the world’s new green coverage in the past five years, while air quality has improved significantly. China now leads globally in renewable energy capacity, clean-energy vehicle sales, and manufacturing of solar panels and wind turbines, lowering global clean-energy costs.
A study by Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air highlighted that clean-energy technologies contributed over a third of China’s economic growth in 2025. Liu Hui, national lawmaker and senior technician at Jiangling Motors, said green development has become central to corporate competitiveness, giving companies confidence to invest boldly in low-carbon solutions.
The 15th Five-Year Plan positions green modernization not only as a policy objective but as a core driver of China’s economic and social transformation, signaling a decisive move toward sustainable development for the next five years.
