The recently released "16th Five-Year Plan" outline specifically proposes 109 major engineering projects across six key areas. These 109 projects serve as crucial mechanisms for implementing the plan's objectives, touching upon various aspects of Chinese-style modernization. In recent years, China's major project construction has progressed steadily with frequent achievements; the 102 major projects outlined in the "14th Five-Year Plan" have successfully completed their planned targets and tasks. Standing at this new starting point, how will these 109 major projects further solidify their role as pillars of the Chinese economy?
On March 18, 2026, the first pair of 500-meter-long steel rails were smoothly laid on the ballastless track at the Cuijiazhuang Track-Laying Base in Kunming, Yunnan, marking the official commencement of track-laying for the Yunnan section of the Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed Railway. The track-laying work primarily involves laying 846 kilometers of up and down line steel rails and is expected to be completed by the end of August this year. Once operational, the travel time between Chongqing and Kunming will be reduced from the current five hours to approximately two and a half hours. As a vital component of the Beijing-Kunming corridor within China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network, the Chongqing-Kunming line signifies more than just a connection; it bears the important mission of building the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network.
Currently, nearly 84% of the main routes of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network have been completed and are operational, with the network expected to be largely finalized by the end of the "16th Five-Year Plan" period. By then, a "1-4 hour travel circle" between adjacent large and medium-sized cities and a "0.5-2 hour travel circle" within city clusters will gradually take shape, making travel more convenient and efficient. Improved connectivity revitalizes logistics and passenger flow, thereby strengthening the foundation for industrial development. Leveraging transportation to optimize resource allocation and using these resources to activate development potential—this encapsulates the strategic significance of building the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network.
The "16th Five-Year Plan" outline proposes the implementation of 109 major engineering projects during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period. This includes 23 major projects focused on constructing a modern infrastructure system, specifically advancing the development of the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation grid. An expert from the Economic Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission stated: "Regarding the acceleration of a modern infrastructure system, the major projects of the '16th Five-Year Plan' period focus on 'six networks,' such as water networks, power grids, computing power networks, logistics networks, new communication networks, and infrastructure like underground pipe networks. In cultivating new quality productive forces, enabling the low-altitude economy to 'take off,' embodied intelligence to 'be used,' and autonomous driving to 'run,' also requires support from new types of infrastructure."
Transportation revitalizes internal development space by addressing internal mobility issues, while energy extends the development foundation outward, effectively hedging against external uncertainties. A researcher from the National Information Center at the National Development and Reform Commission commented: "The construction of energy-based infrastructure and transportation infrastructure demonstrates their foundational role in economic development. For instance, energy resilience, through the construction of new energy bases and integrated hydro-solar-wind power bases, enhances the level of green and low-carbon development on one hand, and plays a significant role in energy conservation, carbon reduction, and achieving the 'Dual Carbon' goals on the other."
The "16th Five-Year Plan" outline specifies seven major engineering projects for implementing a new energy system. These are: major hydropower and integrated hydro-solar-wind power bases, new energy bases in areas like deserts and Gobi regions, offshore wind power bases, coastal nuclear power, power transmission corridors, power mutual aid projects, and natural gas pipeline networks. This spring, these major new energy system projects are also under vigorous construction.
At the Yalong River Basin, the world's largest hybrid pumped-storage power project—the Lianghekou Pumped Storage Power Station—is in a critical phase of main powerhouse concrete pouring and electromechanical installation. To ensure safe flood passage during the rainy season, plans are to complete concrete construction below the 2595-meter elevation by the end of May. The Yalong River Basin integrated hydro-solar-wind power base, the nation's first of its kind, was initiated during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and is a key project in the "16th Five-Year Plan." Leveraging the three "super reservoirs" at Lianghekou, Jinping I, and Ertan, the Yalong River has become the large river basin in China with the best regulation performance, boasting a total regulating storage capacity of 14.8 billion cubic meters, which can facilitate the large-scale development of solar and wind power. The Kola Phase I photovoltaic power station, the world's largest hydro-solar complementary project, has elevated the scale of hydro-solar complementarity to the gigawatt level.
While thousands are engaged in building the Yalong River Basin base, thousands of kilometers away in the Tengger Desert, the Gansu Tengger Desert Hexi New Energy Base—China Huadian's Wuwei Jiuduntan 3 GW photovoltaic project—is intensifying efforts on pile foundation and bracket installation. This site hosts China's first integrated research project focusing on key technologies for desertification control and ecological restoration specifically for large-scale "sandy and Gobi" new energy bases. Upon completion, it will play a vital role in ensuring clean energy supply and improving the regional ecological environment.
During the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, with the accelerated advancement of a batch of major projects like the lower reaches of Yalong River hydropower, "sandy and Gobi" new energy bases, and power transmission channels, the capacity for "Transmitting Electricity from West to East" will be enhanced to over 420 GW. By 2030, the proportion of non-fossil fuels in total energy consumption is expected to reach 25%. From enhancing energy transmission capacity to continuously optimizing the energy structure, a series of major projects are solidifying the foundation for green transformation and accumulating more sustainable momentum for future development.
Building a modern infrastructure system makes the "foundation" of the Chinese economy more stable and provides greater flexibility for future maneuvering. With these strategic projects reinforcing the foundation, the next questions to address are: Where will the impetus for development come from? Where will new growth points emerge?
In Hefei, Anhui, China's controlled nuclear fusion project, also known as the "artificial sun" project, has overcome key technical challenges and is accelerating its development. Currently, researchers are installing and debugging massive D-shaped coils, which are the largest in size, highest in performance parameters, and most complex nuclear fusion superconducting coils designed under China's leadership. Soon, these large superconducting coils will enter the final assembly and cryogenic testing phase for the magnets. Based on projections of China's technological and innovative development level, it is anticipated that fusion burn experiment research could commence around 2027; the capability to build China's first engineering testing reactor could be achieved around 2030; China's first engineering testing reactor could be completed around 2035; and the country's first commercial demonstration reactor is expected to be built around 2045. Such development expectations are closely linked to the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Delta integration.
Frontier technology攻关 areas like controlled nuclear fusion, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence are also key focuses of the "16th Five-Year Plan" major projects. Among the 109 major projects in the plan are those aimed at advancing a group of pioneering future industry projects. The expert from the Economic Research Institute added: "The major projects of the '16th Five-Year Plan' period are strategic and pioneering. The future industries we see today are likely to become strategic emerging industries tomorrow, and potentially pillar industries further down the line. Therefore, investing in the future, through the successive implementation of several major projects, provides solid support for accelerating the cultivation of new drivers and advantages, and enhancing competitiveness in future industries and markets."
The 28 major engineering projects leading the development of new quality productive forces emphasize enhancing industrial foundational capabilities and competitiveness, fostering the cultivation and development of new industries and tracks, and advancing frontier technology攻关 and innovation foundational capabilities. From the low-altitude economy busy with deliveries to new power sources like hydrogen and lithium batteries; from life sciences solving难题 to the "black technology" of quantum technology; from exploring the mysteries of the deep sea and deep earth to future deep space exploration—these represent the powerful momentum of new quality productive forces and the promise of high-quality development.
The 109 major projects proposed in the "16th Five-Year Plan" outline encompass both "hard investments" and "soft construction." Beyond the 23 projects for building a modern infrastructure system and the 28 for leading new quality productive forces, they also include 9 projects for promoting integrated urban-rural development, 25 for ensuring and improving people's livelihoods, 18 for driving green and low-carbon transformation, and 6 for security assurance in key areas.
These 109 major projects form the most substantial "pillar" of the "16th Five-Year Plan" outline, carrying strategic considerations for addressing weaknesses, strengthening the foundation, and planning for the long term. They are not only key levers for stabilizing investment and promoting development in the present but also strategic support for accumulating momentum over the next ten, twenty, or even longer cycles.
The expert further noted: "Our Party guides economic and social development through development planning, leveraging the institutional advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish large undertakings. Each Five-Year Plan sets out a number of major engineering projects. Through the牵引性, driving force, continuity, and promotion of these projects, the blueprint is steadily transformed into a construction diagram. This year, the National Development Planning Law was officially promulgated and implemented. We must now focus our efforts and accelerate implementation, thereby providing strong institutional and legal safeguards for the continuous improvement of comprehensive national strength and people's livelihoods."
From the 156 key projects of the "1st Five-Year Plan" period, to the 102 major projects of the "14th Five-Year Plan," and now to these 109 major projects, this represents persisting with the blueprint until the task is done. The plans that were once on paper have now materialized as the high-speed railways beneath our feet, the 5G networks around us, and the navigation at our fingertips—the far-sighted planning of the past has long been transformed into the conveniences of everyday life. This is underpinned by the institutional advantage of being able to concentrate resources on major undertakings. Each major project is not undertaken in isolation but is part of a nationally coordinated effort, a collaborative operation across departments, regions, and industries. It is precisely because of this institutional confidence that we can gradually turn long-term, large-span dreams into reality. The strategic plans we make today will become the accessible better life of tomorrow.
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