China favors data economy

Beijing is steering this year’s economic policy toward data, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, not the kind of broad rescue package investors once expected from China. (bloomberg.com) Premier Li Qiang set China’s 2026 growth target at 4.5 percent to 5 percent on March 5, down from the “around 5 percent” target used in the prior three years and the lowest official goal since 1991. (english.www.gov.cn) The March 2026 government work report paired that slower target with a push to “advance and expand” the “Artificial Intelligence Plus” initiative and speed up commercial use of artificial intelligence in key sectors. (english.www.gov.cn) The same report said China will foster “emerging pillar industries” including integrated circuits, aviation and aerospace, biomedicine and the low-altitude economy, a term Beijing uses for drones and other aircraft flying at low altitude. (english.www.gov.cn) Officials did not drop consumption support altogether. Beijing earmarked 250 billion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds for consumer goods trade-ins and another 100 billion yuan for fiscal and financial policies tied to private investment and consumer spending. (english.www.gov.cn) But the scale and language of the 2026 plan show a different center of gravity from earlier downturns, when China leaned harder on property, construction and broad credit expansion. Bloomberg reported that policymakers now see the economy as entering a “new growth stage” built more around strategic upgrading than reflating household demand. (bloomberg.com) That shift follows several years of weaker consumption and a long property slump. Bloomberg reported that home prices are down about 30 percent from their 2021 peak, and real estate’s share of output has fallen from as much as a quarter of gross domestic product to less than a fifth. (bloomberg.com) Beijing is still talking about domestic demand. In March 2025, the State Council released a special action plan to boost consumption, with measures on wages, social benefits, housing, cars and new technology products such as smart wearables and robotics. (english.www.gov.cn) Outside analysts see the same balance: support for demand, but with industry policy taking the lead. Deutsche Bank said China’s 2026 blueprint points to “strategic, supply-side driven growth,” while the Associated Press said the leadership is trying to revive spending without slowing Xi Jinping’s push for self-reliance in semiconductors, robotics and artificial intelligence. (db.com) (usnews.com) The practical message is that China is still spending, but it is spending more like an industrial planner than a crisis firefighter. The money is flowing toward chips, computing power and new data-heavy businesses, with consumer relief playing a smaller supporting role. (english.www.gov.cn) (bloomberg.com)