Comprehensive National Strength Significantly Enhanced; International Influence Increasingly Grows

Comprehensive National Power Significantly Enhanced; International Influence Increasingly Grows

—Series Report III on Achievements in Economic and Social Development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

The National Bureau of Statistics, June 2, 2026

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, facing multiple challenges such as weak global economic growth, ongoing geopolitical conflicts, and rising trade protectionism, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all localities and government departments, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhered to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, fully, accurately, and comprehensively implemented the new development philosophy, accelerated the establishment of a new development pattern, and promoted high-quality development. China’s economic and social development achieved historic accomplishments. Over the past five years, China has maintained the world’s second-highest economic aggregate. With significantly enhanced competitiveness in scientific and technological innovation in the international community, China has further consolidated its status as a top trader and steadily improved people’s living standards, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of the Chinese path to modernization and injecting stability and positive energy into a world undergoing turbulence and transformation. 

　　I. Economic Strength Significantly Enhanced, with Major Aggregate Indicators Ranking Among the World’s Top 

　　(I) Maintaining the World’s Second-Highest Economic Aggregate 

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the global economic recovery lacking momentum, China’s economy advanced under pressure, demonstrating strong development resilience. The economic aggregate continuously ascended, firmly maintaining its position as the world’s second-largest economy. World Bank data shows that in 2024, China’s GDP reached USD 18.7438 trillion, accounting for 16.9% of the world economy, second only to the United States, firmly ranking second in the world. The economy grew steadily, with its engine role becoming prominent. World Bank data shows that from 2021 to 2024, China’s average annual GDP growth rate reached 5.5%, higher than the world average (3.9%) and the average for upper-middle-income economies (5.0%) during the same period. In 2023 and 2024, China’s contribution rate to world economic growth exceeded 30% consecutively, reaching 33.7% and 32.5% respectively. Based on a world economic growth rate of 2.7%[1], China’s contribution rate in 2025 reached 35.5%.

　　(II) Keeping Leading the World in Terms of Output of Major Industrial and Agricultural Products

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s industrial and agricultural development continued to improve. Grain output exceeded 1.4 trillion jin, and industrial production continued its green transformation while maintaining a solid quantitative foundation. The output of major agricultural products ranked among the world’s top. From 2021 to 2024, China’s output of products such as cereals, meat, wheat, peanuts, and fruits ranked first in the world. The output of corn, sugarcane, and soybean maintained the world’s second, third, and fourth positions respectively, making significant contributions to global food security. The output of major industrial products remained stable with improved quality. As of 2024, the overall scale of China’s manufacturing sector had remained the world’s largest for 15 consecutive years, with the output of numerous industrial products ranking first globally. In 2025, China’s renewable energy power generation reached approximately 4.0 trillion kWh, exceeding the total electricity consumption of the 27 EU member states (approximately 3.8 trillion kWh). The production of new energy vehicles reached 16.52 million, more than 10 times that (1.46 million) of 2020, maintaining the global top position for 11 consecutive years. 

Table 1 Output and World Ranking of China’s Major Agricultural Products 

 Table 2 Output and World Ranking of China’s Major Industrial Products 

　　(III) Leading the World in Terms of Modern Infrastructure Construction

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s modern infrastructure construction effectively supported high-quality development, with the construction of major national infrastructure projects accelerating and showing results. The world’s largest transportation network strongly supports the world’s number one logistics system. China has built the world’s largest high-speed railway network, expressway network, postal and express delivery network, and a world-class port cluster, becoming the country with the busiest passenger flow, logistics, and transportation in the world. In 2024, the operating mileage of China’s high-speed railways reached 48,000 kilometers, accounting for over 70% of the world’s total high-speed railway mileage. In 2024, the port cargo throughput in China reached 17.6 billion tons, and the container throughput reached 330 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), ranking first in the world. Among the top ten ports in the world in terms of cargo and container throughput, China accounted for 8 and 6 places respectively. The express delivery volume increased from 83.4 billion pieces in 2020 to 199 billion pieces in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 19.0% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, ranking first in the world for 12 consecutive years. The development of China’s mobile communication network far exceeds the global average level. In 2025, the penetration rate of mobile phone users in China increased from 112.9 per 100 people in 2020 to 130.0 per 100 people, 22.5 per 100 people higher than the global average level (107.5 per 100 people). The number of 5G mobile phone users reached 1.204 billion, accounting for 65.9% of mobile phone users, 2.1 times the global average level. 

　　II. Scientific and Technological Strength Steadily Improved, with Innovation Ability Ranking among the Top in the World

　　(I) The Significantly Enhanced Competitiveness in R&D Investment

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China adhered to scientific and technological innovation as the guidance, and its hard power of science and technology has been steadily improved. The R&D investment reached a record high. In 2025, China’s R&D investment reached USD 549.7 billion[2], a 61.0% increase compared with 2020[3]. The intensity of R&D investment[4] reached 2.80%, 0.44 percentage points higher than that in 2020, and for the first time exceeded the average level of the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)[5]. The research talent team has continued to grow. In 2024, the full-time equivalent of R&D personnel in China reached 7.57 million person-years, and the total number of R&D personnel ranked first in the world. The full-time equivalent of basic research personnel increased from 427,000 person-years in 2020 to 597,000 person-years, a 39.9% increase. The number of highly cited scientists reached 1,405 person-times, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s total, ranking second in the world only after the United States.

　　(II) China’s International Status of Scientific and Technological Innovation Significantly Improved

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the global innovation environment was affected by multiple complex factors, showing high uncertainty. China withstood external pressure, and the international competitiveness of scientific and technological innovation was significantly enhanced. China’s innovation index ranking entered the top ten in the world for the first time. Data from the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that in 2025, China’s innovation index ranked 10th in the world, up 4 places compared with 2020. It is the only economy in the upper-middle-income country group to enter the top 30, and has reached the upper-middle level of G7 countries. The advantages of innovation clusters continue to emerge. In 2025, a total of 24 innovation clusters in China[6] entered the global top 100. The number of short-listed clusters led that of the United States (22) and Germany (7), ranking first in the world for 3 consecutive years. 

Table 3 Ranking of innovation indexes of China and G7 countries 

　　(III) Scientific and Technological Achievements with International Influence Continued to Emerge

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, global scientific and technological competition and cooperation evolved in an intertwined manner. China achieved breakthroughs and leaps in major scientific and technological fields, and also actively expanded international innovation cooperation. Major scientific and technological achievements are emerging at an accelerated pace. As of December 2025, China had become the first country with more than 5 million valid invention patents in the country. The number of international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) had ranked first in the world for 6 consecutive years. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China achieved fruitful results in deep-space exploration. The “Tiangong” space station entered normal operation, and Chang’e-6 completed its first sample return from the far side of the moon, creating a new milestone in world space exploration. The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System provides stable services globally and ranks among the world’s top satellite constellations. The world’s first fourth-generation nuclear power plant was put into commercial operation, and China leads the world in ultra-high-voltage power transmission. A series of scientific and technological achievements has attracted worldwide attention, and remarkable achievements have been made in scientific and technological development. International innovation cooperation has been continuously deepened. As of June 2025, China had established scientific and technological cooperation relations with more than 160 countries and regions, with 119 intergovernmental scientific and technological agreements. It had joined more than 200 international organizations and multilateral mechanisms. China put forward the Global AI Governance Initiative and took the lead in launching the “International Initiative on Open Science Cooperation.” China is deeply involved in more than 60 international large-scale scientific programs and projects such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program, leading global scientific and technological progress, especially that of developing countries, with solid actions.

　　III. The Consolidation of China’s Status as a Top Trader to Effectively Safeguard the Global Economic and Trade Order

　　(I) Leading the World in Terms of Total Volume of Trade in Goods and Services

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the external environment was challenging. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council assessed the situation and issued policies to stabilize foreign trade on many occasions. With a counter-cyclical growth in foreign trade, China’s status as a top trader was consolidated. China’s total volume of trade in goods has ranked first in the world. According to data from the World Trade Organization, in 2024, China’s total imports and exports of goods reached USD 6.2 trillion, a 32.3% increase compared with 2020, accounting for 12.5% of the world’s total and ranking first in the world. The total volume of trade in services maintained a leading position globally. Data from the World Trade Organization shows that from 2021 to 2024, the scale of China’s trade in services continued to expand. In 2024, the total imports and exports of trade in services exceeded the USD 1 trillion mark for the first time, reaching USD 1.1 trillion, a 60.4% increase compared with 2020. It ranked second in the world, only after the United States. The circle of global trading partners has steadily expanded. Currently, China is the main trading partner of more than 160 countries and regions, an increase of more than 20 compared with 2020. In addition to ensuring high-quality products and services to various countries, it also provides certainty for the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

　　(II) Keeping Leading the World in Terms of Foreign Direct Investment and Outward Direct Investment

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, against the backdrop of shrinking global investment, China continued to promote high-standard opening-up, introduced a series of policies to stabilize foreign investment, built the “Invest in China” brand, improved the service and management system for outward investment, and promoted international cooperation in industrial and supply chains. The scale of two-way investment remained among the top in the world, and its core position in the global cross-border investment landscape was further consolidated. The total amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) remains the highest among developing economies. According to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in 2024, China attracted USD 116.2 billion in foreign direct investment, ranking fourth in the world. The total amount of outward direct investment (ODI) remains among the top 3 globally. Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development shows that in 2024, the scale of China’s outward direct investment reached USD 162.8 billion, a 5.9% increase compared with 2020. It ranked third in the world, second only to the United States and Japan.

　　(III) Further Efforts on High-quality Cooperation under the BRI

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China achieved fruitful results in promoting the joint implementation of the BRI. Policy communication has been continuously deepened. Since 2021, China has newly signed plans for cooperation with more than 50 countries and international organizations under the BRI. The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2023 attracted 151 countries and 41 international organizations to participate in China. The appeal and global influence of cooperation under the BRI have been significantly enhanced. Infrastructure connectivity achieved leap-forward development. The framework of “six corridors, six connectivity routes and multiple countries and ports” has basically taken shape. The China-Laos Railway has transported more than 70 million tons of goods and carried more than 600,000 cross-border international passengers in total. China has signed bilateral air transport agreements with more than 100 BRI participating countries. The “Air Silk Road” has flights to 61 BRI participating countries. The number of named routes of the “Silk Road Maritime” has increased to 148, reaching 150 ports in 48 countries and regions. The China-Europe Railway Express has developed steadily. As of the end of October 2025, the China-Europe Railway Express had run 120,000 trains in total, with a value of goods sent of nearly USD 500 billion, reaching 232 cities in 26 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. Trade cooperation is efficient and convenient, and trade in goods has increased despite the challenge. Currently, China has signed 16 free trade agreements with 22 BRI participating countries and signed “Authorized Economic Operator” (AEO) mutual recognition agreements with 38 BRI participating countries. From 2021 to 2025, China’s trade in goods with BRI participating countries increased from USD 2.7 trillion to 3.3 trillion.

　　(IV) Assuming the Responsibility for Firmly Safeguarding the International Trade Order as a Major Country

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, economic globalization has encountered a countercurrent, bringing a serious impact on the international economic order and governance system. China firmly safeguarded the multilateral trading system, expanded the high-standard free trade area network facing the world, and made important contributions to maintaining the international trade order. China firmly safeguarded the multilateral trading system and fully and deeply participated in the reform of the World Trade Organization. China actively promoted the 12th and 13th Ministerial Conferences of the World Trade Organization to achieve a number of practical results, led the conclusion of high-level international economic and trade agreements such as the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement and the Agreement on Electronic Commerce, deeply participated in consultations on issues such as trade and the environment, development, and supply-chain stability, and promoted the international trade rules to keep pace with the times. It actively promoted the policy practice of the Chinese path to modernization, strengthened compliance work on trade policies, helped build a world-class business environment, completed bilateral accession negotiations with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Ethiopia, and helped developing members integrate into the multilateral trading system. The high-standard free trade area network facing the world is gradually expanding. China actively promoted the signing and entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), completed the negotiation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0, signed a framework agreement on a common development economic partnership with 31 African countries, and signed 8 bilateral free trade agreements and upgrading protocols. Its “circle of friends” is getting bigger and bigger. During this period, China formally applied to join high-standard agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA). It exempted tariffs on most goods with its free-trade partners, promoted trade in services and investment negotiations to enter the era of the negative list, and rules in new fields such as the digital economy and the green economy have become the “standard” for negotiations. The appeal of China’s initiatives, the influence of China’s propositions, and the cohesion of China’s solutions have been significantly enhanced. 

　　IV. A Significant Growth in Per Capita Gross National Income to Further Ensure People’s Well-being

　　(I) The Achievement of the Highest Per Capita Gross National Income (GNI) among Upper-Middle-Income Countries

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s per capita GNI increased significantly and ranked first among upper-middle-income countries. Data from the World Bank shows that in 2021, China’s per capita GNI reached USD 12,220, exceeding the world average for the first time and being USD 25.9 higher than the world average. In 2024, China’s per capita GNI reached USD 13,660, a 27.2% increase compared to 2020. In the per capita GNI ranking released by the World Bank, in 2024, China ranked 76th (among a total of 201 economies), leaping to the top of the upper-middle-income countries. 

Table 4 Per Capita Gross National Income of Different Income Groups in the World and BRICS Countries 

　　(II) The Increasing Human Development Index

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the continuous improvement of people’s living standards, China’s Human Development Index [7] (HDI) climbed year by year, firmly ranking among the economies with a high level of human development in the world, and the gap with the world’s extremely high human development level standard narrowed year by year. Data from the United Nations Development Programme shows that from 2021 to 2023, China’s Human Development Index increased from 0.794 to 0.797, reaching a record high for consecutive years. The gap with the world’s extremely high human development level standard of 0.800 has been narrowing year by year, and China firmly ranks among the top economies with a high level of human development in the world. In terms of sub-indices, from 2021 to 2023, China’s per capita life expectancy remained above 78.0 years. The expected years of schooling [8] and the average years of schooling [9] remained at the levels of 15.5 years and 8.0 years respectively, and the per capita gross national income (GNI) increased by an average of 5.6% annually[10]. Among them, China’s per capita life expectancy, expected years of schooling, and per capita GNI are all higher than the world average.

　　(III) Leading the World in Terms of the Scale of the Education System and Medical Service System

　　During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China built the world’s largest and high-quality education system, the world’s largest medical service system, disease prevention and control system, and medical security system. Great progress was made in education. Data from the World Bank shows that from 2021 to 2024, China’s gross enrollment ratio in higher education [11] increased from 66.8% to 76.9%. In 2024, China’s gross enrollment ratio in higher education was 12.3 percentage points higher than the average level of upper-middle-income countries and 33.3 percentage points higher than the world average. The gross enrollment ratio in primary education [12] increased from 99.2% in 2021 to 99.6% in 2024. In 2024, the gap between China’s gross enrollment ratio in primary education and the average level of high-income countries was only 0.2 percentage points. The medical and health conditions of residents have been continuously improved. In 2023, China’s infant mortality rate was 4.5‰, a decrease of 0.9‰ compared to 2020, far lower than the world average and close to the average level of 4.1‰ in the high-income country group. Data from the World Bank shows that in 2024, the proportion of the population with access to basic sanitation services in China accounted for 97.3% of the total population, a 4.4-percentage-point increase compared to 2020, 2.9 percentage points higher than the average level of upper-middle-income countries. The gap with the average level of high-income countries decreased from 3.7 percentage points in 2021 to 1.0 percentage point in 2024. In 2024, the proportion of the population with access to basic drinking water services in China accounted for 96.1% of the total population, a 2.1-percentage-point increase compared to 2020, and it has exceeded the average level of upper-middle-income countries since 2023. 

Table 5 Infant Mortality Rate and Basic Sanitation Indicators in China and Different Income Groups in the World 

 　　Looking back on the 14th Five-Year Plan, China has coped with the uncertainties of the external environment with the certainty of its own development. Its comprehensive national power has been significantly enhanced, and its international status and influence have been significantly improved. It has achieved remarkable results, proving to the world with tangible achievements the strong vitality and great superiority of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Looking forward to the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we will surely be able to achieve the continuous improvement of comprehensive national power and the steady improvement of people’s living standards, lay a more solid foundation for the basic realization of socialist modernization, and make new and greater contributions to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

　　Note:

　　[1] The estimated value of the world economic growth rate in 2025 is from the Global Economic Prospects, a report released by the World Bank in January 2026.

　　[2] Converted according to the central parity rate of the exchange rate released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

　　[3] Calculated in RMB.

　　[4] The ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP.

　　[5] The latest available data on the average R&D expenditure intensity of member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is 2.70% in 2023.

　　[6] The World Intellectual Property Organization determines the concentration of innovation activities based on the number of scientific publications, the number of international patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and the number of new venture capital transactions in 2025, and then ranks the world’s top 100 innovation clusters.

　　[7] This index is a comprehensive evaluation indicator composed of three dimensions: health, education, and quality of life. It is the geometric mean of the standardized indicators of these three aspects. Among them, the health index is measured using the “average life expectancy” indicator, the education index is measured using the “average years of schooling of the population aged 25 and above” and “expected years of schooling of school-age children” indicators, and the quality-of-life index is measured using the “per capita gross national income” (per capita GNI, calculated by the 2021 purchasing power parity method) indicator.

　　[8] The number of years of education a school-age child will receive in their lifetime.

　　 [9] The number of years of education received by a person aged 25 or above in school.

　　 [10] This data is calculated based on the per capita GNI converted at the purchasing power parity (PPP) of the base year 2021.

　　[11] The gross enrollment ratio of higher education statistics by the World Bank refers to the proportion of the number of students receiving higher education (regardless of age) to the population in the corresponding higher-education age group.

　　[12] The gross enrollment ratio of primary education statistics by the World Bank refers to the proportion of the number of students receiving primary education (regardless of age) to the population in the corresponding primary-education age group.