China targets quality, performance improvement at central SOEs in 2026

China will accelerate efforts to improve the quality and performance of its centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in 2026 as the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period begins, a senior official with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said on Wednesday.

Pang Xiaogang, vice chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, attends a press conference in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2026. [Photo by Xu Xiang/China SCIO]

Pang Xiaogang, vice chairman of SASAC, told a press conference that China's central SOEs have five priorities this year: improving quality and performance, strengthening sci-tech innovation, optimizing industrial layout, deepening reform, and tightening risk controls.

He said central SOEs will aim to ensure the growth in value added to match national GDP growth, and improve overall performance across key operating indicators, while expanding effective investment and advancing major national projects.

"Focusing on major national projects and programs, as well as large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs, we will plan and roll out major projects at an early stage, support efforts to improve livelihoods, boost consumption and expand investment, and promote coordinated development along industrial supply chains," Pang said.

An aerial drone photo taken in April 2025 shows the Deep Sea No. 1 energy station in southern China's island province of Hainan. [Photo/Xinhua] 

Innovation will remain a core focus, with central SOEs expected to strengthen research efforts, accelerate breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields, and upgrade innovation consortia and pilot-scale testing platforms to support the development of new growth drivers.

China will also push forward industrial restructuring, concentrating state capital in sectors critical to national security and the economy, public services, and strategic emerging industries, while promoting strategic mergers, acquisitions, and orderly overseas expansions, he said.

Reform efforts will continue in areas such as corporate governance, performance evaluations, and personnel and management systems, Pang said, adding that risk prevention will be tightened in areas including investment, debt, overseas operations, and compliance.

By the end of 2025, the total assets of central SOEs exceeded 95 trillion yuan (US$13.66 trillion). Last year, central SOEs' combined profits reached 2.5 trillion yuan, fixed-asset investment totaled 5.1 trillion yuan, and taxes and fees paid amounted to 2.5 trillion yuan, helping support industrial supply chains and China's broader economic goals.

Moreover, R&D spending by central SOEs rose to 1.1 trillion yuan in 2025, exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the fourth consecutive year, while investment in strategic emerging industries reached 2.5 trillion yuan, accounting for 41.8% of total investment, according to SASAC figures.