2026 China’s two sessions: A strong call for opening-up, new opportunities for China-Cyprus cooperation

BY YAN MAO

2026 ushers in the first year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period. The Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference opened in Beijing on March 4, followed by the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress on March 5. HomeInCyprus, the Chinese-language media outlet in Cyprus, was on the ground to cover the sessions, which reviewed and adopted the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2026-2030). The two sessions mapped out a new path for China’s high-quality development and sent a resolute signal to the world of its commitment to high-level opening-up and mutually beneficial cooperation.

This year’s Two Sessions set key development targets, including a GDP growth of 4.5% to 5%, and outlined priorities such as fostering new productive forces, expanding opening-up pilot programs and advancing green development. It also officially defined China-EU relations as a partnership, stressing the complementary and win-win nature of their economic and trade ties, which lays a solid policy foundation for practical China-EU cooperation. As Cyprus takes up the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2026, this positive signal offers crucial support for Cyprus to act as a bridge between China and the EU.

2026 also marks the 55th anniversary of China-Cyprus diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of their strategic partnership. The two countries boast a solid cooperation foundation: bilateral trade in goods hit a record high of 144 million US dollars in 2025, with rock-solid political mutual trust between the two sides. China’s expanded opening-up drive has unlocked new space for Cypriot enterprises to cooperate with China in their advantageous sectors such as shipping, finance and digital innovation.

The vision of opening-up, innovation and win-win cooperation underpinning the 2026 Two Sessions is highly aligned with China-Cyprus bilateral cooperation. Taking the opportunities of the Two Sessions and Cyprus’ EU rotating presidency, the traditional friendship and practical cooperation between China and Cyprus are poised to scale new heights, with both sides joining hands to share the development opportunities of the times.