Beijing's regional gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed 5.2 trillion yuan in 2025, entering the "five-trillion-yuan club." The city now aims to reach a new milestone of six trillion yuan within the next five years. On April 8, the full text of the "Beijing Municipal 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development" was released, setting an average annual GDP growth target of 4.5% to 5% during the period, with efforts to achieve even better results. Based on this target, Beijing's total economic output is expected to exceed six trillion yuan by around 2030, representing an increase of approximately one trillion yuan over the next five years.
Where will this trillion-yuan economic expansion come from? Strengthening existing advantages is a priority. This process is closely linked to the development of an international sci-tech innovation center. The "14th Five-Year Plan" released in 2021 highlighted the acceleration of this center's construction. Over the past five years, the center has relied on core areas including Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City, Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, and Shunyi District. In 2023, these areas contributed 1.8 trillion yuan to GDP, accounting for about 40% of the city's total economic output. By December 2025, the center expanded to include the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, becoming the Beijing (Jing-Jin-Ji) International Sci-Tech Innovation Center. Supportive policies have also been implemented, with 40 measures introduced by relevant national ministries and central units.
The newly released plan emphasizes accelerating the enhancement of the innovation center's capabilities. By 2030, Beijing aims to become a globally significant source of scientific innovation, a leader in future industries, a core hub for open innovation, and a high-level talent hub. It also plans to jointly build the Beijing (Jing-Jin-Ji) International Sci-Tech Innovation Center, establishing an open, shared, and efficient collaborative innovation system to create a world-class source of technological innovation. Yang Weimin, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stated that emerging and future industries will mainly develop in such regions.
In terms of industrial systems, Beijing has already formed three trillion-yuan industrial clusters and seven hundred-billion-yuan clusters during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. The Municipal Development and Reform Commission revealed that the "15th Five-Year Plan" period will see the cultivation of two additional trillion-yuan clusters in artificial intelligence, green advanced energy, and low-carbon environmental protection industries, bringing the total number of such clusters to five.
The plan also addresses development challenges, such as imbalanced urban-rural development and the need for improvements in the governance system of megacities. However, plains new towns, including the sub-administrative center (Tongzhou), Shunyi, Daxing, Yizhuang, Changping, and Fangshan, are expected to offer greater employment opportunities and better development prospects. The plan calls for enhancing the comprehensive carrying capacity and economic development level of these areas, with the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area and Shunyi District at the core. Efforts will focus on extending innovative industrial cluster demonstration zones, absorbing innovation achievements and industrial resources from the "three science cities," and implementing talent attraction projects.
Ye Tanglin, executive dean of the Capital University of Economics and Business's Institute of Megacity Economic and Social Development, noted that Beijing's future growth will largely come from the sub-administrative center, plains new towns, and the broader Jing-Jin-Ji region. He cited Tongzhou as an example, where the continuous introduction of administrative resources, state-owned enterprise headquarters, and public institutions is accelerating the agglomeration effect of headquarters economy. Plains new towns like Shunyi, Yizhuang, and Fangshan will also undertake more high-end manufacturing and科技成果转化 functions. "Beijing cannot rely solely on R&D capabilities but must also possess high-end manufacturing capacity, enabling local transformation of scientific and technological achievements in these areas," Ye said.
In terms of expanding domestic demand, the plan places greater emphasis on investment and consumption, aiming to fully stimulate potential consumption, actively expand effective investment, and promote a良性互动 between investment and consumption. By 2030, the city's total market consumption is targeted to grow at an average annual rate of around 5%, while maintaining investment scale at the trillion-yuan level. Consumption scenarios, including cultural tourism, performing arts, film and television, and sports, will continue to expand. The plan also indicates that the added value of Beijing's cultural industry will maintain a share of over 10% of GDP by 2030, with annual urban renewal investment exceeding 300 billion yuan.
According to Ye Tanglin, material consumption has its limits, and future growth will increasingly come from service consumption and spiritual-cultural consumption. Consumption is no longer just about purchasing goods but involves integrating into diverse consumption scenarios. Correspondingly, Beijing's future investment will focus more on structure and efficiency rather than simple scale expansion. Investment will shift from real estate to technology and industry, from local construction to cross-regional coordination, and from government-led initiatives to capital participation. Ye emphasized that Beijing's growth path is not driven by traditional factor expansion but by scientific and technological innovation, consumption upgrading, and spatial restructuring. These three aspects will form the foundation supporting Beijing's trillion-yuan expansion.
Comments