From Green Energy to Smart Cells

This March, China’s National People’s Congress adopted the 15th Five-Year Plan that retains the long-standing objective of modernising industry but gives greater weight to green production and lifestyles. During China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021 – 2025), research and development expenditure rose from 2.439 trillion Chinese Yuan (CNY, ca. 0.31 trillion Euros) in 2021 (2.4 % of GDP) to 3.926 trillion CNY (ca. 0.50 trillion Euros) in 2025 (2.8 % of GDP), R&D personnel increased from 5.24 to 7.57 million. In 2025, 6.32 million valid invention patents were in force—more than twice the 3.06 million recorded in 2020. The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026 –...