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1 [1] (November 12, 2020)

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China's 14th Five-Year Plan: A First Look


The Communist   Party of China (CPC)'s 19th Central
Committee -a  body  of China's 376 top Party officials
held its 5t Plenum in late October 2020 to deliberate on
China's 14  Five-Year Plan (FYP) for 2021-2025 and
economic  goals out to 2035. China's annual Central
Economic  Work  Conference is to review the plans in
December  before they are unveiled at the annual session of
China's legislature in March 2021. Initial details suggest
that Chinese leaders plan to expand the state's role in the
economy  and advance national economic security interests;
use market restrictions and its One Belt, One Road global
networks to foster Chinese-controlled supply chains; and
sharpen the use of antitrust, intellectual property (IP), and
standards tools to advance industrial policies. To develop
capabilities prioritized in its plans, China is repositioning to
obtain foreign technology through partnerships in open
technology and basic research, and to establish research and
development  (R&D)  centers overseas, and talent programs
for foreign experts to work in China. Plans for new market
openings are limited to zones and focus on areas where
China seeks foreign expertise (emerging technologies and
education) and capital (financial services).


China faces widening and deepening trade tensions, foreign
pressures on businesses to move some production out of
China, foreign government restrictions on technology
transfer to China, global scrutiny of Chinese overseas
commercial  activity, and international skepticism about
China's commitment  to market opening and global trade
rules. Chinese President Xi Jinping is reviving a dual
circulation economic policy that his predecessor used
during the 2009 financial crisis and the supply side
reforms that Xi used in 2015 to upgrade industry and launch
Made  in China 2025 (MIC 2025) industrial policies. Dual
circulation refers to leveraging the dual forces of domestic
and global demand by developing domestic capacity while
pursuing openings in global markets. The policy aims to
boost both domestic supply and demand in response to what
Chinese leaders describe as a complex, unstable, and
uncertain global environment. The approach is not a simple
turn inward, but rather seeks to transfer and localize foreign
capabilities in China and maintain access to global markets
wherever possible  including for key inputs, technology,
and exports  to develop China's capabilities. Dual
circulation appears to have intensified China's non-
reciprocal approach to trade whereby its market has become
increasingly restrictive while Chinese firms expand
overseas. In 2009, when global industry contracted, China
subsidized production in 13 sectors, funding domestic
purchases of these products and exporting excess capacity,
a precursor to China's One Belt, One Road initiative.
Details to date about national, regional, and industry plans
emphasize ensuring China's national economic security


November   12, 2020


including national economic, industrial, and technology
development  goals and economic competitiveness  and
properly handling the relationship between openness and
independence. Chinese leaders seek to secure China's
supply chains and boost self-sufficiency in agriculture,
energy, technology, and industry. In a speech to the Party's
Central Economic  and Financial Working Group in April
2020, President Xi called for building independent,
controllable, secure, and reliable supply chains to ensure
industrial and national security with access to at least one
alternative source for important products. President Xi said
China should use existing global dependencies on China as
a counterweight to pressures to shift manufacturing out of
China and use the pull of China's market to attract global
resources and deepen global dependence on China. Xi also
called for developing and leveraging control of core
technologies  in sectors such as high speed rail,
telecommunications and power  equipment, and new
energy   and localizing technology and critical production
in China, including through import substitution. One Belt,
One Road  is often cited as a network to facilitate secure
trade and gain initial global footholds in MIC2025 sectors.
To counter offshoring pressures, Hainan Province is
reviving incentives for manufacturing that processes
imported inputs for re-export (e.g., duty free import of raw
materials, components, and equipment) and air and
shipping logistics. China is also looking to other priorities:
Agriculture: The government  is drafting a food security
plan, making provincial governors responsible for grain
security measures, increasing domestic capabilities, and
diversifying sources for agricultural imports. China plans to
introduce new strains with higher yields (a potential nod to
biotech now that China owns Syngenta), and boost
production of high quality grains and soy. Diversification is
affecting China's shortfalls in meeting purchase targets set
by the January 2020 U.S.-China trade agreement.
Technology:  China is focused on developing the digital
economy  and cryptocurrency and digital trade rules that it
aims to push globally. China's stimulus committed $1.4
trillion over five years for digital infrastructure, including
5G, smart cities, and Internet of Things applications for
manufacturing. U.S. business has expressed concerns that
(i) these sectors are already restricted, and (ii) procurement
in areas such as cloud computing could favor Chinese firms
and require technology disclosure and data localization.
Finance: China is developing a central bank digital
currency to try to influence global finance and ecommerce,
and to diversify from U.S. dollar financing. The Chinese
city Shenzhen and Hainan Province are to pilot cross-border
cryptocurrency trade and cash pooling of foreign exchange
and China's currency, the renminbi. The zones are also
promoting financial services investment; the securitization