China Congress
A worker stands on the rooftop near Tiananmen Square before the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, March 12, 2026.
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China is signaling it will stay focused on technology and economic growth, even as U.S. tensions with Iran rise. On Thursday, China’s parliament approved a new five-year plan that puts advances in technology at the center. The plan backs big spending on areas like artificial intelligence and robotics. It gives less emphasis to quick consumer stimulus, and economists expect any shift in that direction to happen slowly. The plan sets a cautious climate goal tied to the size of the economy, not total emissions. Lawmakers also passed an ethnic minorities law that critics say cement a push toward assimilation.
