New Delhi, April 2 -- China's 15th Five-Year Plan (for 2026-2030), approved in March, retains the direction of its earlier Plans, serving as a setter of priorities and an instrument for policy coordination across China's vast administrative system. The central question is whether this Plan will deliver what China's economy needs: a decisive shift in favour of consumption-led growth.

China's growth model: The country's growth has long relied on investment, industrial production and exports. That model delivered extraordinary gains, but is now under strain. Household consumption is low as a share of GDP, reflecting high precautionary savings driven by uncertainty over pensions, healthcare, education and housing.

A prolonged property downt...