In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, leads other Chinese leaders attending the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China on Oct. 29, 2020. China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" after a meeting to draft a development blueprint for the state-dominated economy over the next five years. (Wang Ye/Xinhua via AP)
The Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) - China will promote 'œtechnological self-reliance'ť under the ruling Communist Party's latest five-year plan but will open further to trade, officials said Friday.
The comments reflect growing official urgency about nurturing Chinese producers of processor chips and other technology at a time when a tariff war with Washington and U.S. export curbs have reduced access to components needed by China's fledgling tech industries.
'œWe will take scientific and technological self-reliance as a strategic support for national development,'ť Han Wenxiu, an adviser to President Xi Jinping, said at a news conference.
The ruling party leadership said Thursday that its Five-Year Plan will speed up China's development as a 'œtechnology power." It gave no details of which industries might be targeted or what support they might receive.
The full plan is due to be released in March, followed by legal changes and plans for individual industries after that.
Previous Chinese plans that called for creating competitors in electric cars, telecoms, solar power and other industries triggered complaints Beijing might support them with improper market barriers or subsidies.
Han and other officials appeared to be trying to head off complaints. They promised Beijing will press ahead with market-oriented reforms including more opening to trade.
'œNo matter how the international situation changes, we will never waver in our basic national policy of opening up,'ť Han said. 'œChina will provide countries around the world with larger markets and more opportunities.'ť
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks during fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing on Oct 29, 2020. China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" after a meeting to draft a development blueprint for the state-dominated economy over the next five years. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee presides over the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing, China on Oct 29, 2020. China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" after a meeting to draft a development blueprint for the state-dominated economy over the next five years. (Yin Bogu/Xinhua via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, leads other Chinese leaders attending the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, China on Oct. 29, 2020. China's leaders are vowing to make their country a self-reliant "technology power" after a meeting to draft a development blueprint for the state-dominated economy over the next five years. (Liu Bin/Xinhua via AP)
The Associated Press