With the start of the yearly “Two Sessions” in Beijing, daylight saw the draft 15th five-year plan (2026-2030), which signals a fundamental change in Chinese improvement philosophy. The central point of the fresh strategy is the concept of “investment in people” (投资于人), which is to replace the existing model based on mass investment in infrastructure. It is simply a strategical phrase that aims to stimulate interior consumption, make a “divided talent” and guarantee sustainable growth in the face of declining efficiency of old methods.
For decades the Chinese economical miracle has been driven by gigantic investments in material assets – roads, bridges, factories and real estate. However, as the Chinese decision-makers themselves admit, this model is moving out. The article published in “Quushi”, the flagship theoretical magazine of the Communist organization of China, points to an alarming increase in the ICOR (Incremental Capital-Output Ratio) index from 2,84 to 9,44 between 2008 and 2023. This means that it takes respective times more capital to make 1 additional unit of GDP present than a twelve years ago. In consequence to this challenge, Beijing officially announces a turn towards “investment in human capital”.
What is “investment in people”?
According to “Qiushi” economist Yu Chunhai of Renmin University, this concept means targeting more public funds for areas specified as education, wellness care, employment and social security. The aim is to improve qualifications, care for the wellness and professional improvement of citizens. This is not just a change in direction of investment, but, as Yu emphasizes, “new developmental orientation” which is to correct the paradigm to date. China wants to decision from a “demographic dividend” resulting from a large number of populations to a “talents dividend”, based on advanced qualifications and innovation of society.
Five pillars of the fresh strategy
The draft 15th five-year plan, with more than 70 000 characters, translates this overall concept into circumstantial objectives and programmes. You can separate 5 key areas that show how “investment in people” will look in practice.
- New indicators and social projects: alternatively of focusing solely on economical indicators, the plan introduces new, more human-oriented targets. The life expectancy is expected to emergence from 79.25 to 80 years. The participation rate in pension insurance was replaced by the share of nursing beds in aged care facilities (an increase from 68% to 73%). alternatively of the number of nursery seats, the enrollment rate of children under the age of 3 will be measured (an increase of 6 percent points). The plan besides involves the implementation of 25 of the 109 main projects in the area of improving the existence of citizens, including services for older people and children, basic wellness care and education.
- Paid holidays and fresh school holidays: The plan involves the implementation of a paid vacation strategy and, as a novelty, “encouraging flexible and distributed holidays” and “researching the anticipation of introducing spring and autumn breaks in education for primary and secondary school students”. This aims not only to improve the quality of life but besides to stimulate consumption in sectors specified as tourism and culture.
- Developing talent in strategical technologies: The plan places large emphasis on adapting the education strategy to the needs of strategical sectors, specified as artificial intelligence and integrated circuits. “Over-standard” investments in these fields at universities have been announced, the extension of the “Double First Class Initiative” (a program to support the best universities) and the creation of respective fresh investigation universities. This is intended to guarantee a steady supply of staff to industries that are meant to be about China's future economical strength.
- Building a family-friendly society: In consequence to the demographic crisis, the plan goes a step further than erstwhile documents. alternatively of “optimising fertility support policy”, the fresh strategy implies “the integration of fertility support with different economical and social policies”. circumstantial proposals include, among others, the elimination of birth costs as part of insurance, full implementation of maternity leave, encouraging flexible forms of work for parents of young children and housing preferences for multi-children families.
- Reform of the reporting strategy (hukou): The plan announces “to research the anticipation of establishing a single national population management system” and a gradual transition to the registration strategy at the place of permanent residence. This is simply a key improvement aimed at removing barriers to access to public services (health care, education, social security) for millions of interior migrants who work in cities but are registered in agrarian areas. In Zhejiang state alone, more than 16 out of 66 million inhabitants do not have a local report, which shows the scale of the problem.
Beijing's fresh strategy is an ambitious effort to shift the giant economy to fresh tracks. As the Chinese state media emphasize, “investing in people” does not mean giving up material investment, but striving for better integration and synergies. The eventual goal, as we read in “Quushi”, is “human development”. The next 5 years will show how much China will accomplish this imagination and turn it into a real improvement in the quality of life of its citizens and a new, more sustainable model of growth.
Source:
- Beijing Scroll, “Reading China’s 15th Five-Year Plan Through “Investing in People”, March 7, 2026.
- Xinhua, “Xinhua Commentary: Investing in people: China’s imagination of inclusive, sustainable development”, March 7, 2026.
- South China Morning Post, “China pivots to ‘investing in people’ strategy as growth engine switches sears”, March 5, 2026.
- Xinhua, “China’s five-year improvement targets focus on addressing people’s concerns: official”, March 7, 2026.
Leszek B. Glass
Email: [email protected]
