China's Central Bank Outlines 15th Five-Year Reform Plan and Nine Action Plans

On August 10, 2026, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) officially issued the "15th Five-Year Reform and Development Plan," accompanied by nine supporting sub-sector action plans. Reported by Chinese state media, including Securities Times and People's Daily, the blueprint establishes key priorities for China's monetary and financial administration over the upcoming five-year period. Major focus areas include building a modern monetary policy framework, enhancing macroprudential oversight, launching a dedicated "tech board" in the bond market, furthering RMB internationalization, and expanding digital currency initiatives.

As the central operational roadmap for China's central bank over the next five years, the plan establishes top-level design for monetary policy, financial opening, and systemic risk mitigation. Its implementation will shape capital market evolution, cross-border payment integration, and domestic macroeconomic stability.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has officially released its "15th Five-Year Reform and Development Plan," setting out five key strategic pillars for institutional reform, monetary governance, and financial sector development through the end of the decade, state media outlets Securities Times and People's Daily reported on August 10, 2026. The central bank also introduced nine supporting sub-sector action plans to guide operational execution across specific financial domains. A primary mandate highlighted in the blueprint is establishing a modern monetary policy framework alongside a comprehensive macroprudential management system. According to the published guidelines, the PBOC aims to refine its base money injection mechanisms, enhance the transmission of market-based interest rates, and maintain the renminbi exchange rate at a stable, balanced level while preserving the market's decisive role. The central bank also pledged to expand macroprudential tools and build stronger safeguards to resolve financial risks in key sectors. To boost real-economy support, the PBOC outlined policies tailored to key strategic sectors. Notable initiatives include establishing a tech-finance framework tailored to technological innovation, developing a dedicated "tech board" within the domestic bond market, and channeling financial support toward green low-carbon transitions, inclusive finance, pension services, digital finance, and consumer spending expansion. In terms of market structure and internationalization, the strategy commits to deepening two-way financial opening and strengthening cross-border financial infrastructure interconnectivity. Key objectives include advancing RMB internationalization across trade and investment, developing offshore RMB markets, expanding the multi-layered RMB cross-border payment system, and promoting Shanghai and Hong Kong as international financial hubs. Finally, the plan targets upgrades to national financial infrastructure and central bank service capabilities. The PBOC emphasized steady development of the digital RMB (e-CNY), high-quality growth in credit reporting, stricter anti-money laundering supervision, and building out digital and legal central bank governance. Through these measures, the central bank stated it aims to accelerate China's ambition to build a strong financial nation.