Part 5/13:
China’s latest 5-year plan reveals a subtle but telling shift from a focus solely on chip self-sufficiency to emphasizing the broader digital economy. The omission of explicit chip output targets suggests a recognition of their current technological limitations. Instead, goals are set for increasing the digital economy’s contribution to GDP, which underscores that China is pivoting toward strategic reliance on AI and digital infrastructure, even as it struggles with the actual production of cutting-edge chips.