ເຜີຍແຜ່ · Laos

Qinghai’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Private Economy: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

Qinghai’s new private economy plan outlines support for sectors like clean energy, digitalization, and cross-border trade—key insights for foreign founders setting up in China.

Qinghai’s Private Economy Blueprint for 2026–2030

Qinghai Province has released its 15th Five-Year Plan for the development of the private economy, covering the period through 2030. For foreign founders considering company registration or operations in China, this plan signals where provincial support and market opportunities will be focused. Below is a practical summary of the plan’s key provisions, based solely on the official document.

Overall Goals and Targets

The plan aims to elevate the private economy’s contribution to Qinghai’s GDP to approximately 42% by 2030. It emphasizes legal protection, improved policy implementation, enhanced innovation capacity, and the emergence of leading enterprises. The vision is for the private sector to become a key pillar of the modern industrial system and a driver of high-quality development.

Priority Industries and Opportunities

Agriculture and Animal Husbandry

The plan supports the transformation from traditional to scientific breeding, with a focus on building billion-yuan industrial clusters for yak and Tibetan sheep. Private enterprises are encouraged to engage in deep processing of agricultural and livestock products, adopt order-based agriculture, e-commerce, and community group buying to reshape distribution. Increased R&D investment in smart agriculture is also encouraged.

Green and Low-Carbon Transition

Private firms are urged to undertake full life-cycle green upgrades in salt lake chemicals, non-ferrous metallurgy, and building materials. Support includes creating green factories and applying for national green supply chain management enterprise status.

Energy Infrastructure

Private investment is encouraged in hydropower, solar thermal, and biomass energy projects. The plan promotes large-scale wind and solar bases, grid-forming technical upgrades for wind and solar farms, and research on magnesium- and aluminum-based hydrogen storage materials. Participation in silicon-based new materials, high-purity polysilicon, and green hydrogen projects is supported. Private enterprises can also join the Xining Green Power Intelligent Computing Park, Haidong Zero-Carbon Computing Park, and Hainan Prefecture Green Computing and Power Coordination Park.

High-Tech Manufacturing and Healthcare

Opportunities include high-altitude drone testing and R&D, modern Tibetan medicine and life-health industries, and medical devices such as patches. Private firms are encouraged to participate in the Tibetan medicine standard system and in manufacturing high-pressure hydrogen storage materials, liquid hydrogen transport, and hydrogen pipelines.

Digital and Service Sectors

The plan seeks to attract livestreaming e-commerce institutions and resources, and to connect with major domestic e-commerce and livestreaming platforms for special events and stores. Private enterprises are encouraged to enter industrial design, common technology services, testing and certification, and other high-value science and technology services. Branded, chain, and standardized lifestyle services are also supported.

Investment Environment and Market Access

Qinghai will implement measures to promote private investment, publish project lists for private capital, and regularly recommend quality projects. Private capital is encouraged to participate in new infrastructure (the “six networks”), revitalize state-owned存量 assets and urban old resources, and join “two重” and “two新” projects. The plan also supports private sector involvement in the Yarlung Zangbo national strategic project, logistics bases, and battery-swapping stations for heavy trucks. Barriers to market access for private capital in major projects will be removed.

Innovation and Digitalization

The plan promotes private enterprises as innovation entities, encouraging them to build national and provincial science and technology platforms, undertake key technology research in clean energy, salt lake chemicals, and new materials, and deepen industry-academia-research collaboration. State-owned enterprises and university research platforms are encouraged to open to private firms. Digital transformation is supported through participation in data centers, industrial internet, cloud computing, blockchain, and processor projects. The plan also promotes “cloud-based, data-driven, and AI-enabled” services for SMEs and encourages private firms to participate in standard-setting for new fields like 3H plateau certification.

Going Global and Trade

Services and guidance for private enterprises’ outbound investment will be strengthened. The plan supports private firms in participating in cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones in Xining and Haidong, in Belt and Road cooperation, and in “Qinghai Products Going Global” trade events. It also includes measures such as green channels for “dual-cold” products and expanding Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification.

Legal and Regulatory Protections

The plan implements the national Private Economy Promotion Law and will enact a Qinghai provincial regulation. It includes long-term mechanisms to regulate enterprise-related law enforcement, correct unlawful administrative actions, and prevent irregular cross-regional or profit-driven enforcement. Measures such as “scan code to enter enterprise” and “comprehensive inspection once” will be promoted. A list of enterprise-related fees will be improved, and flexible enforcement like “first violation exempt from punishment” will be applied. Diversified dispute resolution and simpler litigation procedures are also emphasized.

Intellectual property protection is strengthened through coordinated administrative, judicial, arbitration, and credit supervision mechanisms. A “one-stop” IP service window will be explored, and punitive damages for infringement will be implemented. Fast-track and refined trial models for IP cases are planned.

Government integrity is addressed by clearing overdue payments to private entities, prohibiting delayed payments, and including non-payment information in credit records. Legal services for enterprises will be expanded through online and offline campaigns.

Market Environment and Fair Competition

Qinghai will deepen implementation of the national unified market policy, ensuring a “single list” management model. Market entry facilitation will be improved, including simplified name registration and domicile registration, and efficient completion of deregistration, relocation, and information changes. The plan aims to break regional and industry hidden barriers. Fair competition review will be strengthened across regions and departments, with ongoing anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition enforcement, and comprehensive measures against “involutionary” competition. A regular mechanism for “efficiently completing one thing” will be established, and reforms such as “collect data once at most” will be carried out.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

• Sector focus: Clean energy, digital economy, agriculture, and healthcare offer explicit support.
• Investment facilitation: Project lists and regular recommendations lower information barriers.
• Legal protections: New regulations and enforcement norms aim to reduce operational risks.
• Market access: Efforts to eliminate hidden barriers and simplify procedures benefit new entrants.
• Going global: Support for cross-border e-commerce and trade events can help foreign-invested firms with export plans.

Foreign founders should note that while the plan is provincial, it aligns with national policies and may affect local incentives and regulatory practices. For specific registration or operational steps, consulting local authorities or professional advisors is recommended.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Call to action: Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.