Mutual gains via Five-Year Plan welcomed

China and the US can create a better future for relations, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said on Monday, calling on the nations to seize the opportunities presented by China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 56th Annual World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) Global Business Forum attended by nearly 500 business representatives from China, the US and other nations, Xie described the plan as both a “road map for advancing Chinese modernization in the coming five years” and an “invitation to the rest of the world to share in China’s development opportunities”.

To clarify this blueprint, Xie shared four key terms:

First, China puts people first in mapping out economic and social development during the five-year plan. “Among the 20 main indicators outlined in the plan, seven, which is more than one-third of the total, focus on improving people’s well-being throughout all stages of life, shifting the emphasis from ensuring basic coverage to enhancing service quality,” Xie said.

Second, innovation is the primary driving force behind development. The plan “stresses the importance of pursuing full integration between technological and industrial innovation, and fostering new quality productive forces”, he noted.

Third, China will go further in green technology, green energy and green finance, he added.

Fourth, “openness is the path every country needs to achieve prosperity and development, and is also a defining hallmark of Chinese modernization”, he said, adding that China will align with high-standard international rules in areas such as finance and medical services.

Xie emphasized that during this period, the world will see a China “brimming with vitality and full of potential”.

He pointed to the “opportunity presented by China’s huge market”, noting that “the world’s largest and most vibrant consumer market is taking shape at a faster pace”. He specifically welcomed foreign investment in sectors such as “value-added telecom services, biotechnology, and wholly foreign-owned hospitals”.

Highlighting China’s “world-leading innovation ecosystem”, Xie explained how “one in the lab can be quickly scaled to 100 on the production line”. He also invited partners to the “new energy revolution”, calling China a “pilot field and a rollout platform for global green technologies” with the “world’s largest clean energy system”.

On bilateral ties, Xie stressed that only steady development ensures global stability. He likened the relationship to “the first button of a shirt that must be put right”, calling for a “right strategic perception” where nations choose to be “partners rather than rivals”.

Using the “healthy competition between Tesla and Chinese electric vehicle companies” as an example, he advocated for “fair competition” that helps both sides succeed rather than a “zero-sum game”.

He urged both sides to “clarify the boundaries of national security, and restore common sense and reason” to economic cooperation and to “break free from the constraints of the chilling effect” to build momentum for exchange.

Eyeing exchanges

Xie also expressed hope for high-level exchanges this year, including US President Donald Trump’s visit to China.

In remarks at the opening ceremony, Thomas Young, president and CEO of World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia, said,”Markets are shifting, supply chains are evolving, and regions that position themselves strategically will define the next decade of economic growth.” Young characterized the forum as a platform to “build relationships, to exchange ideas, whether good or bad, and most importantly, to do business”.

David L. Cohen, former US ambassador to Canada, said that trade does not happen in isolation but in “rooms like this with people like you”.

He noted that few bilateral relationships “carry as much weight or as much opportunity as the one that exists between our two nations”, emphasizing that dialogue and mutual understanding are “absolutely necessary to growing the world’s economy and to growing the economy of our two countries”.

John E. Drew, chairman of the World Trade Centers Association, emphasized the importance of trust. “Trade is something that is in our genes as human beings,” he said, noting that the “biggest ingredient in successful trade, I think, is trust”. He explained that when partners can “count on my word” and “count on my commitment”, they create something “very, very special”.

During the discussion sessions, panelists such as Kellie Meiman Hock, senior counselor at McLarty Associates, stressed that “companies crave certainty” regarding the “rules of the game” and “tariff rates”.

The WTCA serves as the management institution for the World Trade Center brand, supporting over a million enterprises globally. The Global Business Forum remains the association’s premier annual activity, hosted by different local centers to foster international economic cooperation.

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