China’s 5-year plan charts rise to global sea power while countering US

China’s ambitious five-year strategic blueprint has revealed the country’s plan to become a global sea power, with pledges to secure its maritime periphery while countering American sanctions and other perceived external security threats.

The aspirations were outlined in a broad policy document for the country’s 15th five-year plan adopted at the Communist Party’s fourth plenum in Beijing last week and released by state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday.

While stressing “Chinese-style modernisation” through coordinated domestic and international strategies, the plan emphasised maritime development and foreign-related national security amid rising geopolitical tensions, especially in the South China and East China seas.

It underscored Beijing’s goal of positioning itself as a defender of national interests and a global power offering an alternative to the Washington-led model of governance as China-US tensions brew.

Specifically, the document outlined plans to hasten China’s “maritime power” strategy in the next few years, with a focus on integrated land-sea governance and innovation in marine science to bolster that sector of the economy.