Recently, the spillover effects of the warfare on Iran continues to spread, which has dealt a severe blow to the peace and stability in the Middle East region and the globe, and caused more extensive disruptions to the global energy supply, industrial and supply chains as well as global economy. Many countries, not immune from the pain caused by the escalation and expansion of the geopolitical conflicts, see prices of essential goods such as fuel and food surging.
Amidst the turbulence, China is forging ahead steadily. Its development, characteristic of certainty, steadiness and positiveness, continues to create vast opportunities for the world.
Last month, during the Chinese two sessions, the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development was approved. This outline provides clear strategic goals and policy priorities, and sets out the main targets and major tasks for China’s national development in the next five years. It further reaffirms China’s strategic choice as a staunch force for promoting world peace, stability and development.
China’s economy will maintain stable growth. Despite the complex and challenging situation, the Chinese economy still achieved a growth rate of 5% in 2025. As this year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government will continue to pursue a more proactive fiscal policy and an appropriately accommodative monetary policy, enhancing the consistency of macro policy orientation and making all-out efforts to achieve the goals of economic and social development. Among them are a GDP growth of 4.5%–5% while striving for better in practice, CPI increase of around 2 % and personal income growth in step with economic growth.
China’s development will feature higher quality and sustainability. Recent years have seen China’s new quality productive forces steadily grown and its industrial structure continually improved. 2025 was a year of booming AI industry in China, as the number of artificial intelligence companies exceeded 6,000 and the scale of China’s core AI industry was to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan (about 174 billion U.S. dollars). Last year, China’s high-tech manufacturing sector grew by 9.4%, the output of industrial robots rose by 28%, and the output of new energy vehicles exceeded 16 million units. China will implement the new development concept in a complete, accurate and comprehensive manner as well as accelerate the building of a new development paradigm, so as to promote high-quality development that takes innovation as the primary driving force, coordination as an endogenous feature, go-green as a prevailing mode, openness as the only path, and sharing as the fundamental goal.
China will expand high-standard opening up. As an advocate of universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, China will commit to free trade, deepen cooperation with other countries, expand opening up steadily at institutional level. It will promote the liberalization and facilitation of global trade and investment, uphold and develop an open world economy, and oppose unilateralism and protectionism, especially tariff wars and exclusive trade blocs. China will advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, further the negotiation and signing of more regional and bilateral trade and investment agreements, boost imports to promote balanced trade, and expand practical cooperation in emerging fields. This means that while shouldering its responsibility as the “world’s factory,” China will also play a better role as the “world’s market.”
China will continue to safeguard international fairness and justice. It will commit itself to maintaining world peace and stability as well as upholding the true multilateralism. Guided by the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative, China will expand equal, open, and cooperative global partnerships, advocate the global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and build broader consensus for an equal and orderly multipolar world.
Recently, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar. The two sides jointly released the Five-Point Initiative of China and Pakistan For Restoring Peace and Stability in the Gulf and Middle East Region, the key points of which are immediate cessation of hostilities, start of peace talks as soon as possible, security of nonmilitary targets, security of shipping lanes and primacy of the United Nations Charter. This is the latest example of China’s efforts to safeguard the world’s peace and stability as well as implement the Chinese approach to address hotspot issues.
China’s high-quality development and high-standard opening up will create vast cooperation opportunities for countries across the world, including Somalia. Starting from May 1, 2026, China will fully implement zero-tariff treatment for 53 African countries that have established diplomatic relations with China. This important measure will help Africa access the enormous opportunities of the huge Chinese market. Somalia is warmly expected to export high-quality fishery, agricultural, and livestock products to China, by means of which to share the dividends of China’s prosperous market and development.
The year 2026 also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Africa, as well as the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges. Under the theme of China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges, nearly 600 fantastic exchange activities will be held throughout the year with the purpose of further deepening mutual learning between the Chinese and African civilizations, bringing Chinese and African peoples closer, and carrying forward China-African traditional friendship.
In 2026, China-Somalia relations will also embrace multiple opportunities. Guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, the Chinese side stands ready to work jointly with the Somali side to advance the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, promote the integrated advancement of people-to-people exchange and practical cooperation between our two countries, so as to deepen the China-Somalia Strategic Partnership and jointly build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
By Chinese Ambassador to Somalia, Wang Yu
