Hong Kong to launch first 5-year plan in line with China’s national blueprint

2026-02-03 - 04:48

Chief Executive John Lee has said Hong Kong will launch its first-ever five-year blueprint in tandem with China’s, with him personally leading a cross-departmental task force to drive the plan. Chief Executive John Lee at a press conference on January 27, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. In an interview with the Hong Kong Economic Journal and Now TV, published on Monday, Lee said Chinese lawmakers at the Two Sessions in Beijing next month – China’s biggest political event of the year – would review the 15th Five-Year Plan. Lee said that the blueprint would outline the country’s development goals and that the Hong Kong government would develop new mechanisms in line with it. “My plan right now is that once the details of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan are released, we will align ourselves with the specifics – whether they are parts concerning Hong Kong or the country’s overall blueprint,” the leader said in Cantonese. He added that he would not only lead a cross-departmental task force to drive the city’s five-year plan but also “proactively push” the plan forward. A general view of Hong Kong Island, on July 6, 2023. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “First, we will communicate with different stakeholders and get their feedback,” Lee said. “When we have concrete measures, [I] believe we will share them with society for everyone to discuss widely.” The Two Sessions meetings – named for the gatherings of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body – will take place at the beginning of March. The full text of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan will be released during the meetings. Since the 1950s, the plans have set the stage for the country’s social and economic development initiatives outlined by the Chinese Communist Party. Speaking in the same interview, Lee also said that, amid complex geopolitics, Hong Kong would prioritise ties with the Middle East and Eastern Europe.