Sharing China’s opportunities across mountains and seas: China-Seychelles cooperation at the start of the 15th five-year plan |09 April 2026

Ambassador Lin Nan

China’s 2026 ‘Two Sessions’ concluded successfully in Beijing in March. As a major annual event in China’s political life, the ‘Two Sessions’ serve not only as an important window into China’s development trajectory, but also as a key platform for countries around the world to better understand China’s policy direction and identify opportunities for cooperation. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the institutional framework of the ‘Two Sessions’ and the special significance of this year’s meetings.

China’s ‘Two Sessions’ refer to the annual meetings, usually held in the first quarter, of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). As Xi Jinping, President of China and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has pointed out, “people’s democracy is the lifeblood of socialism.” The ‘Two Sessions’ are a vivid demonstration of whole-process people’s democracy under the CPC leadership. NPC is the highest organ of state power, through which the people exercise state power, including electing national leaders and approving government budgets and national development plans in accordance with the law. CPPCC is an important institution of CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation. It provides advice on major national policies and key issues covering economic, political, cultural, social and ecological development.

The ‘Two Sessions’ bring together nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and about 2,000 CPPCC members from all regions, ethnic groups and sectors. They bring the voices and aspirations of the people to the highest platform of state deliberation and contribute insights to China’s governance. Through deliberating reports, discussing proposals, and conducting consultations, the ‘Two Sessions’ provide important support and intellectual input for major state decision-making. After the conclusion of the sessions, government departments will move forward with implementation, forming a complete cycle from public input and consultation to execution.

The most important agenda item of this year’s ‘Two Sessions’ is the deliberation of The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The formulation and implementation of five-year plans are a hallmark of China’s governance and a key instrument for improving people’s livelihood. With the successive implementation of 14 five-year plans, China has developed from a poor agrarian country into a major engine of global economic growth.

“Stability” is a key word of the 15th five-year plan. Amid rising global uncertainties, China will serve as an oasis of certainty and a pillar of stability for the world. The plan fully implements the new development philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open, shared development and focuses on promoting high-quality development. In 2025, China’s economy grew by 5 percent, reaching US $19.63 trillion, and ranking 10th in the Global Innovation Index. Technologies such as artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence are going global.

In the next five years, China will continue to expand domestic demand, foster new growth drivers, advance high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, deepen reforms in key areas, accelerate green transformation, develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, build a smart economy, and cultivate future industries.

“Opportunity” is another key word of the 15th five-year plan. Hopefully, Seychelles will also benefit from increasing opportunities. The plan clearly states that openness, cooperation and mutual benefit are essential to Chinese modernisation. China will continue to build a higher-standard open economy and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China is now a major trading partner of more than 160 countries and regions and has remained the world’s second-largest import market for 17 consecutive years. In the next decade or so, China’s middle-income group is expected to grow from over 400 million to more than 800 million people. Its vast market will continue to expand and open wider, creating greater opportunities for countries like Seychelles to increase exports to China.

“Peace” is an important message China conveys to the world through the 15th five-year plan. Beyond economic development, China integrates security into development, remains committed to the Global South, and provides institutional international public goods to the world, contributing to the stability and security of global industrial and supply chains. China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation. It actively implements the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilisation Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, advances major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, and contributes to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Seychelles, located in the western Indian Ocean, sits near key maritime trade routes linking the east coast of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and plays an important role in regional peace and development. As the African country geographically closest to China, Seychelles enjoys a long-standing friendship with China, with great potential for cooperation in areas such as the green development and blue economy. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Seychelles, as well as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. As of May 1, China will grant zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines to 53 African countries with diplomatic relations, including Seychelles. This important measure will further deepen China-Africa and China-Seychelles cooperation and bring new opportunities for Seychelles’ sea product exports to China. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Patrick Herminie, the China-Seychelles strategic partnership will embrace new opportunities, with practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges reaching new heights.