BEIJING approves 15th Five-Year Plan with emphasis on technological self-sufficiency, Airbus expands production in Tianjin, and China launches first all-electric hydrogen fuel cell freighter. We provide an overview of the key projects that are shaping China's strategy in the high-tech sector.
Main points:
- China has approved 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) with investments in clean energy and high-tech sectors
- Chinese Innovent signs an agreement with the Japanese Takeda at cancer drugs worth $11.4 billion
- Company Airbus opened a second assembly line for the A320 in Tianjin, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2026
- China introduced „UBIOS“ as a substitute for UEFI in the pursuit of technological self-sufficiency
- Oil stocks in China have reached nearly 1 million barrels per day
- Sunway Supercomputer Reached 98% efficiency in neural networks for quantum chemistry
- China now supplies over 60 % of the global energy storage battery market
- First one launched all-electric cargo ship „Yangtze River Star“ with hydrogen fuel cells and with a capacity of over 10,000 tonnes
China unveils 15th five-year plan for technological self-sufficiency
The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) was unveiled at the October 2025 Plenary Session of the Communist Party of China. The plan focuses on technological self-sufficiency, artificial intelligence and green innovation and prioritises sectors such as AI, biotechnology, renewable energy, aerospace and new materials. The aim is to turn China into a global innovation hub.
The plan calls for building a modern industrial system led by advanced manufacturing, while boosting domestic consumption and improving living standards. Technological advances are linked to national security and rapid development in areas including quantum technology, bio-manufacturing, hydrogen and fusion energy, brain-computer interface and 6G mobile communications are highlighted
Record biotech deal: Innovent and Takeda
Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda entered into a licensing agreement with a Chinese company Innovent Biologics for up to three cancer drugs in a transaction valued at more than USD 11.4 billion. Innovent will receive an advance payment of USD 1.2 billion, which includes Takeda's strategic equity investment of $100 million with a 20% premium, and is eligible for up to $10.2 billion in potential milestone payments. The agreement covers two late-stage therapies: IBI363 (an antibody dual-targeting PD-1/IL-2) and IBI343 (an antibody conjugate targeting Claudin 18.2). Takeda will obtain the rights to develop and commercialise these drugs outside China.
Airbus opens second assembly line in Tianjin despite geopolitical pressures
Airbus has opened its second Final Assembly Line (FAL) for the A320 in Tianjin, China. The move follows an agreement signed in April 2023 between Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury and Chinese partners. The device is intended to achieve full operation in early 2026 and help Airbus achieve its goal of assembling 75 A320 aircraft per month by 2027. Equipped with the latest technologies and sustainable practices, the new line complements Airbus' global network of ten assembly lines. Since its opening in 2008, the first Tianjin line has delivered more than 780 A320 aircraft. This expansion also marks the 40th anniversary of Airbus' cooperation with Chinese civil aviation and underlines the company's commitment to the growing Chinese market.
China introduced UBIOS as a replacement for UEFI
China unveils new firmware standard „UBIOS“ (Unified Basic Input/Output System) as a replacement for the US UEFI and BIOS. The development involved 13 Chinese technology companies including Huawei, CESI, Byosoft and Kunlun Tech. The new standard is intended to support chip technologies and heterogeneous computing, including multiprocessor boards and non-x86 architectures such as ARM, RISC-V and LoongArch. The initiative is part of China's broader efforts to reduce its dependence on US standards and technologies, driven by the „Document 79“ doctrine, which supports the abandonment of Western technologies by 2027.
China's massive crude oil inventories heading towards 1 million barrels a day
As of March 2025, China is supplying oil at a rate of nearly 1 million barrels per day, which is driven by a new energy law in January that mandates private firms hold more oil to bolster national energy security. Analysts estimate that China's storage facilities are out 60 % full, with plans to build 11 new storage facilities over the next two years. This supply trend is primarily the result of lower oil prices and geopolitical uncertainties, including sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil. The trend is expected to slow as storage capacity approaches its limit.
China dominates the global energy battery market
China now supplies over 60 % world energy batteries and approximately 70 % battery materials. China's energy battery production has grown more than 10 times to more than 1 000 GWh in 2024, compared to 83.4 GWh in 2020. In the first nine months of 2025, cumulative installed capacity increased by 43 % year-on-year to 493.9 GWh and battery exports increased by 33 % to approximately 130 GWh. Chinese companies are expanding their global presence by investing in factories abroad and research centers in Europe and Southeast Asia,
Breakthrough in quantum chemistry on the Sunway supercomputer
Chinese researchers achieve a major milestone in neural networks for quantum chemistry by scaling quantum simulations to real molecular sizes on a supercomputer Sunway. They reached 98% of weak scaling efficiency across 37 million processor cores, demonstrating the near-perfect synchronization between the algorithm and the supercomputer architecture. The Sunway supercomputer, equipped with chips SW26010-Pro, it is particularly suitable for the repeated training loops required in deep learning. These advances could accelerate materials discovery and molecular modeling.
Green logistics breakthrough: China launches first hydrogen cargo ship with a capacity of over 10,000 tonnes
China has launched the world's first cargo ship with a carrying capacity of over 10 000 tonnes, marking a significant milestone in green shipping. Gezhouba, with a lifting capacity of 13,740 tonnes, was launched near the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, Hubei province. The boat is long 130 metres and equipped with 12 sets of boxed lithium battery power units, providing a range of 500 kilometres. Reduces fuel consumption by 617,5 tonnes and CO2 emissions of 2 052 tonnes. Yichang, a major production center for inland cargo ships, built 150 new vessels last year, including 50 new power barges (Original article has been revised and shortened)
Tomáš Kučera & Yereth Jansen
China-insights.com/gnews.cz - GH
Czech 
English 
Spanish 
French 
Italian 
Russian 
Chinese 
German