A veteran materials engineer and NPC deputy has spent 30 years developing aluminum alloys for strategic national projects, such as spacecraft and the C919 airliner, while championing industrial upgrading and skills development for China’s manufacturing transformation.

Innovation has taken center stage in China's national development strategy as the nation prepares to implement its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030).

Chinese President Xi Jinping's message at the 2026 “two sessions” underscores two major priorities for the country's next development phase: fostering innovation-driven growth and advancing the Healthy China Initiative.

Liu Rui, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), sat down with China Today during the Two Sessions to share her story of two decades in the Yangtze River Delta, where she has been dedicated to aquatic ecological governance.

Every year in early March, China holds its widely followed "two sessions," – the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress, and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The world is passing through another era of profound uncertainty.

Chris Nash first visited China in 2008 and it was, as he puts it, "love at first sight." Now, an old friend of the Chinese people, Nash has devoted years to international education in China.

The horse, a revered icon in Chinese culture, represents far more than speed.

The future belongs to those who embrace multilateralism, collaboration, innovation, and strategic foresight, and China is demonstrating how to do so.

The End of the "Decoupling" Illusion and a Global Strategic Rebalancing

Perhaps the greatest success was that it took place at all – and proceeded without any substantive mishaps.

For global municipal planners, China's experience suggests that a smart city is not defined by the number of sensors deployed or algorithms used, but by the extent to which data is converted into implementable governance capacity.

The world is passing through another era of profound uncertainty.