5-year plan to rev up NEV sector

China is moving to consolidate its lead in intelligent connected new energy vehicles by advancing a newly issued five-year plan that pairs technological breakthroughs with commercial deployment, a senior industry official said on Wednesday, in a push that carries implications for global auto regulation and road safety.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference in Beijing, Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said the sector stands at a "critical window" in which technology development and commercialization are advancing in parallel.

In September, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology — together with multiple government departments — issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Intelligent Connected New Energy Vehicle Industry (2026-30), setting out targets and key tasks for the period.

Xin said the ministry will steadily implement the plan to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry, stressing five priorities.

He said the country will concentrate on core technological breakthroughs and continuously improve product quality, integrating artificial intelligence across the entire chain of vehicle research and development, production, supply and services to build a next-generation technology system.

Meanwhile, the country will deepen cross-sector collaboration and expand application scenarios in a steady and orderly manner. It will accelerate large-scale demonstrations of key autonomous driving scenarios, advance pilot programs for vehicle-road-cloud integration, and promote the deep integration of vehicles with information and communications, energy, transportation and smart cities, Xin said.

The senior official also highlighted that China will improve its modern governance system and firmly safeguard industrial security. It will implement mandatory national standards for autonomous driving, speed up the formulation of standards for automated parking, operational monitoring and data security, and carry out special campaigns to improve vehicle quality.

"China will also expand high-standard opening-up and cooperation, actively participate in the formulation of international economic and trade rules, and support Chinese and foreign companies in deepening R&D, investment and industrialization cooperation," Xin added.

The plan drew praise from United Nations officials, who linked China's approach to global road-safety principles.

Jean Todt, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for road safety, said the plan "aligns closely with the safe system approach", adding that its emphasis on placing testing and evaluation alongside innovation reflects a simple idea — vehicles and infrastructure must be designed so that mistakes do not cost lives.

Dmitry Mariyasin, deputy executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, said 2026 marked an important milestone with the adoption of the international regulatory framework for automated driving systems, signaling that global discussions are moving beyond pilots and demonstrations toward wider deployment under internationally agreed-upon principles.

"China has been at the heart of this journey," Mariyasin said, citing China's outstanding contribution to the development of the international regulatory framework for intelligent and automated vehicles. He added that the UNECE appreciates China's leadership and engagement and recognizes the important role China continues to play in shaping the future of global mobility.

The conference, a flagship event for the sector, brought together policymakers, executives and international regulators to discuss the commercialization and governance of intelligent connected vehicles.

Sun Hang, chief engineer of the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, said China has key strengths in developing technical standards for automated driving systems. For instance, the vast complexity and diversity of Chinese urban driving scenarios can serve as an unrivaled testing ground, implying that systems validated in the country possess strong global adaptability and acceptability.

"Furthermore, China benefits from the 'blooming of a hundred flowers' in technological pathways, encompassing everything from pure vision-based systems to lidar-integrated solutions, and a strong push for vehicle-road-cloud integration. The regulatory environment has also shown notable continuity, with a series of national standards and road testing regulations guiding the sector since 2018, providing stable long-term guidance for industry development," Sun said.