China targets 6% growth, five-year plan for tech supremacy

China’s government on Friday announced a 6% growth target for 2021 and unveiled a five-year plan and vision for 2035 that aims to expand China’s global footprint as a major technology power. The plans, unveiled at the start of the annual week-long convening of the Communist Party-controlled legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), outlined a push for China to consolidate the positions of its supply chains in key strategic industries, amid a push from some countries towards decoupling, and to significantly increase China’s spending on research and development (R&D) to achieve self-reliance in key high-tech sectors.