October 30, 2020

How Should the US Respond to China’s New Five-Year Plan?

While Americans went to the polls this week, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership gathered in Beijing to discuss Party politics and economic strategy. They finalized a five-year plan to guide economic strategy through 2025 and laid out a special 15-year strategy called “Vision 2035” that will see the country through “the long-term goal of basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035,” according to an official communique delivered at the meeting’s close.

China’s evolving strategy requires a fresh American policy response.

Innovation was at the heart of CCP discussions, mentioned 15 times in the 22-paragraph official communique (Party Secretary Xi Jinping only got nine mentions). The CCP is doubling down on its drive toward “scientific and technological independence and self-reliance,” according to the meeting readout, suggesting deep investments in technologies like semiconductors, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI) at a time when the United States is ramping up its efforts to stymie China’s technology ambitions. China’s evolving strategy requires a fresh American policy response.

Read the full article in The Diplomat.

  • Commentary
    • The Washington Post
    • April 21, 2025
    Trump’s Crackdown on Foreign Students Is a Gift to China

    When top global talent no longer sees America as a stable, long-term bet — in light of both visa and research funding insecurity — many will vote with their feet....

    By Jordan Schneider

  • Reports
    • March 18, 2025
    Assessing China’s Nuclear Decision-Making

    China’s rapid nuclear buildup is raising questions about how the country makes decisions related to nuclear weapons. This policy brief analyzes that trend by presenting three ...

    By Jacob Stokes

  • Commentary
    • January 20, 2025
    Articulate a Comprehensive, Coherent China Strategy

    President Trump should articulate a comprehensive, coherent China strategy that addresses U.S. objectives, the ways and means to achieve them, and how the strategy can mitigat...

    By Jacob Stokes

  • Commentary
    • Sharper
    • August 21, 2024
    Sharper: Axis of Upheaval

    A loose but growing coalition between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea demonstrates that their combined strategic interests have the potential to pose significant economic...

    By Anna Pederson

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia