CMG Policy Radar 09/2026
A glimpse into CMG’s policy analysis across political economy and foreign affairs, assessing new policies for their substance, relevance, and implications. For tailored insights and services
New Battery Industry 15th Five-Year Plan
What is it: Issued jointly by seven bodies (MIIT, NDRC, MOT, MOFCOM, SAMR, NEA, NRA), the sectoral 15th Five-Year plan sets 2030 goals for technological upgrading across the battery chain, including lithium batteries with 15,000-cycle life, PPB-level defect rates at leading manufacturers, and initial scaled application of all-solid-state batteries. It also widens battery use into ships, aircraft, robotics and grid and data-center storage.
Why does it matter: The policy prioritizes industrial concentration via a “regional agglomeration, concentrated players” layout for lithium batteries, unifying quality certification, product traceability and carbon footprint management. Its joint issuance by market regulation and commerce authorities signals that quality control and outbound expansion ("orderly going out") will be managed together.
Implications: Medium-High. Weaker battery makers will likely face rising quality, traceability and carbon-accounting requirements, which favours consolidation around leaders. Opportunities open up for foreign firms in testing and certification, recycling and materials.
Pharmaceutical Industry 15th Five-Year Plan
What it is: Issued jointly by ten bodies (MIIT, NDRC, MNR, MARA, MOFCOM, NHC, MEM, NHSA, NATCM, NMPA), the sectoral plan outlines 2030 objectives: revenue of above-scale pharma enterprises of at least RMB 3.5 trillion, average R&D intensity of at least 10% among listed firms, and first-in-class drugs making up at least 25% of the global total. It also targets 50 companies with annual revenue above RMB 10 billion.
Why it matters: The industry shifts from generic drug scale expansion to original innovative-driven growth, clustering generic drugs, biosimilars and API production around leading enterprises. It defines differentiated positioning for six specialized national pharmaceutical regional clusters, pushes domestic substitution of high-end pharma equipment and industrial software, while opening fast-track import approval channels for urgent clinical drugs and encouraging full-chain foreign localization.
Implications: Medium-High. Foreign pharma and medtech firms get market access and localization openings but will face stronger domestic (and global) competitors and substitution pressure on equipment and materials.
Electronic Information Manufacturing 15th Five-Year Plan
What it is: Issued jointly by two bodies (MIIT, NDRC), the sectoral 15th Five-Year plan sets 2030 targets of above-scale industry revenue above RMB 30 trillion and industry R&D intensity of 3.5%. Priorities include full-chain integrated circuit breakthroughs, advanced computing and AI clusters, and domestic electronics manufacturing equipment and measurement instruments.
Why it matters: The plan strengthens industrial self-reliance through government procurement support, firstset equipment compensation and independent industry standards such as the CLink interconnect protocol. The plan also addresses "involution" in the sector, through capacity planning and early warning. It also adds policy tools to counter external sanctions and longarm jurisdiction risks.
Implications: Medium-High. Foreign electronic equipment and precision instrument suppliers face structured domestic substitution pressure, while divergent local technical standards increase geopolitical and compliance complexity for global electronics supply chains.
"AI+Software" Special Action Plan
What it is: Issued by MIIT, this special action plan sets targets to 2028 for the software and IT services industry: AI coding tools to reach 20,000 above-scale software enterprises and 100 benchmark agent-software applications in key industries. It also aims for at least 15 adaptation centers linking foundational software with chip and server makers.
Why it matters: The plan favours agent software and open-source ecosystems under a "secure and controllable" principle. Local funding is tied to measured results (code quality, R&D efficiency). It also sets rules for AI-generated code (security review, IP compliance) and agent identity, and has an employment-impact clause.
Implications: Medium. Foreign software vendors will meet a more AI-competitive domestic market and new compliance rules on AI-generated code and agent security. Adaptation-centre procurement could favour domestic stacks.
“Intelligent” NEV Industry 15th Five-Year Plan
What it is: Issued jointly by nine bodies (MIIT, NDRC, MPS, MOT, MOFCOM, MNR, MOHURD, SAMR, CAC), the sectoral 15th Five-Year plan sets 2030 targets for the intelligent connected NEV industry. In the domestic market, NEVs should reach 70% of new passenger-car sales and 40% of new commercial-vehicle sales, with highly automated driving on highways, urban expressways and some urban roads.
Why it matters: The plan combines opening up with tighter control. It offers national treatment for foreign firms, cross-border data pilots and a bigger role in UN vehicle regulation (WP.29), but also stricter conditions for new NEV projects, mergers and cross-region consolidation, capacity warnings including for batteries, and curbs on local subsidies used to attract investment. It also envisages a national-local-enterprise safety monitoring platform and a battery digital ID to add traceability.
Implications: Medium-High. Presents opportunities for FIEs to engage in partnerships with automakers and suppliers, but price and capacity will reshape competition. Data-security and autonomous-driving safety requirements raise compliance costs.