This episode contains segments on:

• China’s 15^th Five-year Plan;
• China’s January-February retail sales of consumer goods;
• 2026 fiscal policy priorities; and
• EU sanctions two Chinese tech companies.

Listeners are invited to attend a breakfast roundtable with Andrew Polk on 25^th March in Beijing, to hear his insights into the ‘Two Sessions’ and the 15^th Five-year Plan.

Contact:

We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us at website@europeanchamber.com.cn.

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Read more:

China’s 15^th Five-Year Plan

https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202603/content_7062633.htm

China January-February 2026 Retail Consumer Goods Sales

https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfbhjd/202603/t20260316_1962786.html

2025 Ministry of Finance Execution Report

https://www.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/caizhengxinwen/202603/t20260317_3985436.htm

EU sanctions two Chinese tech companies

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/03/16/cyber-attacks-against-the-eu-and-its-member-states-council-sanctions-three-entities-and-two-individuals/

Breakfast Roundtable with Andrew Polk

https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/upcoming-events/29000/Breakfast_Roundtable_with_Andrew_Polk_Policy_Signals_from_the_Two_Sessions_and_the_15th_Five_Year_Plan

Transcript:

RUI: Hello and welcome to China ShortCuts,

XINHE: the European Chamber’s weekly catch-up on China’s business landscape.

RUI: This episode was recorded on 18^th March 2026.

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RUI: China’s 15^th Five-Year Plan was released on 13^th March, after being approved by the 2026 National People’s Congress on 12^th March.

XINHE: The 15^th Five-year Plan displays a high degree of policy continuity with the previous five-year plan. Frontier technologies remain a focus area with the development and use of artificial intelligence highlighted throughout. Like the 14^th Five-Year Plan, the 15^th Five-Year Plan includes a call for foreign-invested enterprises to receive national treatment. The plan also calls upon lawmakers to rectify regulations that fail to comply with the Foreign Investment Law, a positive sign that the Chinese Government will step up efforts to ensure foreign companies can compete on a level playing field.

The plan’s increased focus on self-reliance is concerning for European businesses given the challenges foreign companies in sectors targeted by past self-reliance initiatives have faced. The introduction of New Quality Productive Forces in 2023—the apparent successor to the Made in China 2025 industrial policy initiative—marked a significant expansion of China’s ambitions to develop indigenous technologies across a wider range of sectors. The European Chamber will continue advocating to ensure that China’s self-reliance drive does not undermine the promise of national treatment for foreign-invested enterprises.

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RUI: Retail sales of consumer goods grew 2.8 per cent year-on-year between January and February 2026.

XINHE: This represents an increase from the 0.9 per cent growth rate registered in December 2025. Overall growth continues to be dragged down by automobile sales which dropped 7.3 per cent year-on-year in the January to February period. Excluding automobiles, retail sales growth would have come in at 3.7 per cent. Sales of petroleum and its products, and building and decoration materials also struggled in January and February, decreasing by 9.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent year-on-year respectively.

Online sales of consumer goods increased by 10.3 per cent year-on-year in the January to February period, making up 24.2 per cent of all retail sales of consumer goods in China.

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RUI: The Ministry of Finance released its 2025 execution report on 17^th March and laid out key priorities coming out of the 2026 ‘Two Sessions’ and the 15^th Five-Year Plan.

XINHE: The 2026 fiscal outlook centres on five key areas: boosting domestic demand, cultivating new growth drivers, advancing technological self-reliance, safeguarding people’s livelihoods, and promoting China’s green transformation. Ultra-long-term special treasury bonds will continue to be allocated for major infrastructure projects, while a comprehensive package of fiscal and financial policies will be released, aimed at stimulating private investment and consumer spending. The ministry will also refine its negative list management for special-purpose bonds and expand a pilot programme allowing some local governments to self-review and self-issue such bonds. The pilot, which began in late 2024, is currently active in 10 provinces and regions including Beijing. On the social side, it is intended that fiscal investment in education, healthcare and pensions will be increased, and a childcare subsidy system introduced in 2025 will be fully implemented.

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RUI: On 16^th March, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies responsible for cyber-attacks carried out against EU Member States.

XINHE: The two companies now face an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from engaging in business and providing funds to the two companies. The two founders of one of the companies were also individually sanctioned and put on a no-travel list. One Iranian company was also subject to the same sanctions.

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RUI: Join the European Chamber’s breakfast roundtable with Andrew Polk, Co-Founder and head of economic research at Trivium China, on 25^th March in Beijing.

XINHE: At this breakfast roundtable, Andrew Polk will discuss conclusions from China’s annual ‘Two Sessions’ and the recently released 15^th Five-year Plan, both of which provide insights into Beijing’s policy priorities and long-term development trajectory.

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RUI: Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to tune in next week.

XINHE: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.