China Unveils Major Economic Reforms in Green, Finance, Jobs

China announced a sweeping set of economic policy initiatives on June 18, 2026, spanning green transition opportunities for multinationals, a new employment priority strategy, and a major overhaul of cross-border investment rules. The coordinated policy rollout, tied to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), signals Beijing’s strategic focus on green development, financial opening, employment stability, and industrial modernization.

Green Transition Opens Doors for Multinationals

The 7th Qingdao Multinationals Summit, held June 15–17, attracted 357 multinational corporations from 44 countries and regions, including 105 Fortune Global 500 companies, with 57 projects signed during the event, as Xinhua News reported. The summit highlighted how China’s accelerating green transition is creating new opportunities for foreign firms.

Major global companies are already deepening their green investments in China. BASF is powering its Zhanjiang chemical complex with renewable energy, Schneider Electric is expanding energy management and automation solutions, and Siemens is advancing smart electrical and green manufacturing projects. ZF Group Executive Vice President Wang Runyi noted that “China’s automotive industry has taken a global lead in electrification,” while International Investment Promotion Council Vice Chair Liu Lina urged multinationals to “bring advanced technology to China and also take China’s innovations in new energy to the world.”

State Council Issues Five-Year Employment Priority Strategy

The State Council published the “Implementation of Employment Priority Strategy 15th Five-Year Plan,” outlining nine key task areas including macro-control employment-first orientation, industry-employment coordination, modernizing human resources, and expanding employment for college graduates, as People’s Daily reported. The plan also addresses support for migrant workers and veterans, development of flexible employment, strengthening worker rights, and employment monitoring and risk response.

The strategy aims to prevent large-scale unemployment risk while promoting high-quality full employment, reflecting China’s efforts to manage structural labor market challenges as the economy transitions from labor-intensive manufacturing toward technology-driven services.

NDRC Defends Industrial Competitiveness

NDRC spokesperson Li Chao pushed back against international reports attributing China’s industrial competitiveness to government subsidies. According to The Paper, Li stated that “attributing China’s industrial competitiveness simply to so-called ‘subsidies’ is not only one-sided but completely wrong.” He argued that China’s competitiveness stems from its super-large market, complete industrial system coordination, long-term investment in education, science, and talent, and continuous business environment optimization.

Financial Opening and Cross-Border Investment Overhaul

At the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, Vice Premier He Lifeng addressed the opening ceremony, pledging that China will “steadily expand financial sector institutional opening” and “welcome global financial institutions to deepen their presence in the Chinese market,” as People’s Daily reported. He also committed to supporting Shanghai in piloting offshore finance and accelerating the development of a global RMB asset allocation and risk management center.

Meanwhile, SAFE Administrator Zhu Hexin announced a comprehensive reform of cross-border foreign direct investment rules and new Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) quotas, according to Caixin Global. The regulator will streamline outbound direct investment and foreign debt exchange management, pilot flexible trade settlements and offshore reinsurance investments, and expand cross-border cash pooling for multinationals. The shift from approval-based to transparent, rules-based capital management aligns with international standards.

Hainan Free Trade Port Shows Early Dividends

Six months after launching full island customs closure operations on December 18, 2025, the Hainan Free Trade Port is already demonstrating tangible economic results. As of May 31, 2026, new registered business entities reached 172,100 — up over 60% year-on-year — while goods trade import and export volumes hit 173.98 billion yuan, a 54.6% increase, Xinhua News reported. Core policies including zero tariffs and processing value-added tariff exemption are driving the growth.

Intelligent Computing Capacity Surges

China’s intelligent computing capacity reached 188.2 PFLOPS by the end of March 2026, representing a 2.5-fold increase year-on-year, with the NDRC expecting high-speed growth to continue, as The Paper reported.

Additional Policy Measures

In other developments, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released draft regulations to curb “subsidy wars” among food delivery platforms, proposing a ban on long-term large-scale subsidies and below-cost pricing. The public comment period runs from June 17 to July 17, 2026. Separately, the national railway will implement a new schedule from July 1, adding 106 passenger trains and 111 freight trains, with new high-speed rail connections including a Xi’an-Wuhan section reducing travel time between Xi’an East and Hankou to just 2 hours and 41 minutes.

Analysis and Outlook

The June 18 announcements represent a highly coordinated policy rollout across multiple government agencies and events, suggesting deliberate orchestration to present a unified economic vision for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The emphasis on green transition reflects China’s strategy to attract foreign investment in green technology and position itself as a global green industrial leader. The QDII quota expansion signals significant financial liberalization, though the shift to rules-based management suggests continued regulatory oversight. As China navigates structural economic transformation, these policies aim to balance growth, innovation, employment, and financial stability in an increasingly complex global environment.