A recently released outline for the 16th Five-Year Plan specifically proposes 109 major engineering projects across six key areas. These 109 projects are crucial instruments for implementing the plan's objectives, touching upon many facets of China's modernization efforts. In recent years, the construction of major national projects has progressed steadily with frequent achievements; the 102 major projects from the 14th Five-Year Plan have successfully met their planned targets. From this new starting point, how will these 109 new projects further solidify the role of the Chinese economy as a central pillar?
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, 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 represents more than just a single route; it carries significant strategic importance for the development of the national comprehensive, multi-dimensional transport network.
Currently, the main corridors of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network are over 84% complete and operational, with the network expected to be largely finished by the end of the 16th Five-Year Plan period. This will gradually create a "1-to-4-hour travel circle" between neighboring major and medium-sized cities and a "0.5-to-2-hour travel circle" within city clusters, making travel more convenient and efficient. Improved transportation invigorates logistics and human mobility, thereby strengthening the foundation for industrial development. The strategic significance of building a comprehensive national transport network lies in using connectivity to mobilize production factors and, in turn, using these factors to activate new spaces for development.
The 16th Five-Year Plan outline proposes implementing 109 major engineering projects during the period, including 23 focused on constructing a modern infrastructure system, such as advancing the national comprehensive transport network. A deputy director and researcher at the Economic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission stated: "In accelerating the construction of a modern infrastructure system, the major projects of the 16th Five-Year Plan period focus on building 'six networks'—such as water networks, power grids, computing power networks, logistics networks, new communication networks, and underground pipeline networks. Cultivating new quality productive forces, such as getting 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."
While transportation internally revitalizes development space by solving mobility issues, energy extends the economy's reach outward, effectively countering external uncertainties. A researcher at the National Information Center of the National Development and Reform Commission noted: "The construction of energy and transportation infrastructure demonstrates their foundational role in economic development. For instance, enhancing energy resilience through the construction of new energy bases and integrated hydro-solar-wind power bases not only improves the level of green and low-carbon development but also plays a significant role in energy conservation, carbon reduction, and achieving the 'dual carbon' goals."
The 16th Five-Year Plan outline specifies seven major projects for building a new energy system: 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 channels, power mutual aid projects, and natural gas pipeline networks. This spring, these new energy system projects are also under vigorous construction.
At the Yalong River basin, the Lianghekou pumped storage power station—the world's largest hybrid pumped-storage project—is in a critical phase of main powerhouse concrete pouring and electromechanical installation. To ensure safe passage through the flood season, construction aims to complete concrete work below the 2,595-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 launched during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and is a key project for 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 capacity, boasting a total regulated storage capacity of 14.8 billion cubic meters, which facilitates the large-scale development of accompanying solar and wind power. The Kola Phase I photovoltaic power station, the world's largest hydro-solar complementary project, has elevated the scale of such complementary generation to the gigawatt level.
While thousands are engaged in building the Yalong River base, thousands of kilometers away in the Tengger Desert, the Gansu Tengger Desert Hexi New Energy Base—specifically, China Huadian's Wuwei Jiuduntan 3-gigawatt photovoltaic project—is accelerating the installation of pile foundations and supports. This site hosts the nation's first integrated research project focused on key technologies for desertification control and ecological restoration tailored for large-scale "sand-Gobi-desert" 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 lower Yalong River hydropower, "sand-Gobi-desert" new energy bases, and power transmission channels, the capacity for "Transmitting Electricity from West to East" will be increased to over 420 gigawatts. By 2030, the proportion of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption is expected to reach 25%. From enhancing energy transmission capacity to continuously optimizing the energy structure, a series of major projects are laying a solid foundation for the green transition 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 driving force for development come from, and 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, highest-performance, and most complex nuclear fusion superconducting coils designed and led by China. Soon, these enormous superconducting coils will enter the final assembly and cryogenic testing phase for the magnet system. Based on projections of China's technological and innovation capabilities, it is anticipated that fusion burn experiments could begin around 2027; the capability to build China's first engineering testing reactor could be achieved around 2030; the first engineering testing reactor could be completed around 2035; and the nation's first commercial demonstration reactor could be operational around 2045. Such development expectations are closely linked to the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Delta.
Frontier technology research areas like controlled nuclear fusion, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence are also key focuses within the 16th Five-Year Plan's major projects. The 109 major projects include advancing a group of pioneering future industry initiatives. The researcher from the Economic Research Institute commented: "The major projects of the 16th Five-Year Plan period are strategic and forward-looking. The future industries we see today are likely to become strategic emerging industries tomorrow, and potentially pillar industries later. Therefore, investing in the future through the sequential implementation of numerous major projects provides strong support for accelerating the cultivation of new drivers and advantages, enhancing competitiveness in future industries and markets."
The 28 major projects leading the development of new quality productive forces emphasize enhancing industrial foundation capabilities and competitiveness, fostering new industries and tracks, and advancing frontier technology research and innovation capacity. From the low-altitude economy busy with deliveries to new power sources like hydrogen and lithium batteries; from life sciences solving complex problems to the "black technology" of quantum computing; from exploring the mysteries of the deep sea and deep earth to venturing into deep space for the future—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 not only "hard investments" but also "soft infrastructure." In addition to 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 safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods, 18 for driving the green and low-carbon transition, and 6 for ensuring security in key areas.
These 109 major projects form the most substantial "central pillar" of the 16th Five-Year Plan outline, bearing the strategic considerations of addressing weaknesses, strengthening foundations, and planning for the long term. They are not only crucial instruments for stabilizing investment and promoting development in the present but also strategic supports for accumulating momentum over the next ten, twenty, or even more years. The researcher added: "Our Party guides economic and social development through development plans, leveraging the institutional strength 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 plan. This year, the National Development Planning Law was officially promulgated and implemented. We must now focus our efforts and accelerate implementation to provide strong institutional and legal safeguards for the continuous improvement of comprehensive national strength and people's livelihoods."
From the 156 key projects of the First Five-Year Plan, to the 102 major projects of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and now to these 109 major projects, this represents seeing a blueprint through to completion. The plans that were once on paper have now become the high-speed railways beneath our feet, the 5G networks around us, and the navigation at our fingertips—the foresighted planning of the past has long been transformed into the conveniences of everyday life. Supporting this is the institutional advantage of being able to concentrate resources on major undertakings. No major project is undertaken in isolation; instead, they are advanced through nationwide coordination, involving collaboration across departments, regions, and industries. It is precisely because of this institutional confidence that long-term, ambitious dreams can be gradually turned into reality. The strategic plans we make today will become the tangible, accessible improvements to daily life in the future.
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