China Allocates 606.5 Billion Yuan for Key Projects via Special Treasury Bonds in 2026
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), together with relevant departments, has issued the second batch of 2026 project lists for the implementation of major national strategies and the construction of key area security capabilities (hereinafter referred to as “Two Priorities” projects). A total of 216.8 billion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bonds has been arranged to support 336 major projects. Combined with the 389.7 billion yuan allocated earlier, the total funds arranged for “Two Priorities” construction this year have reached 606.5 billion yuan, China Economic Net reported.
The funds are mainly invested in key fields with prominent technological elements, including artificial intelligence (AI), urban underground pipe networks, transportation infrastructure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, high-standard farmland, the upgrading of higher education, and the “Three-North” Shelterbelt Program. This investment orientation highlights the country’s focus on integrating innovation with infrastructure construction, marking a shift from the previous phenomenon of “valuing construction over R&D” and “valuing scale over technology” in some local infrastructure investment.
Unlike the past, the inclusion of AI in the “Two Priorities” projects means that national capital is directly injected into the forefront of technological breakthroughs, covering everything from computing power infrastructure to algorithm models. The construction of urban underground pipe networks is not a simple replacement of pipes, but also involves the simultaneous layout of intelligent sensors and digital twins. The upgrading of higher education ensures that every fund flowing into laboratories, discipline clusters and industry-university-research platforms contributes to innovation capacity building.
Wang Yong, Director of the Investment Department of the NDRC, emphasized that investment and innovation are not a one-way “blood transfusion” but a positive cycle of mutual promotion. “A technological breakthrough can often spawn an industry and drive an entire industrial chain,” he said. “AI empowers all industries, smart pipe networks reduce operation and maintenance costs, and high-level universities cultivate innovative talents. These spillover effects ensure that treasury bond funds are not only well-spent but also efficiently circulated.”
Against the backdrop of escalating external technological blockades and the urgent need for internal industrial upgrading, ultra-long-term special treasury bonds have made heavy investments in hard technology, demonstrating confidence in its ability to drive national development. However, with the funds allocated, strengthened supervision is essential to prevent false project packaging and fund leakage during circulation.
To form a positive cycle between investment and innovation, relevant measures have been put forward, including establishing an innovation performance evaluation system to ensure funds are directed to real R&D, guiding social capital to follow up investments to create a multiplier effect, and providing sufficient exploration space for researchers and enterprises to brave uncharted technological territories. Xinhua News Agency noted that these measures will effectively promote the integration of investment and innovation, laying a solid foundation for technological breakthroughs.
The large-scale investment in “Two Priorities” projects reflects China’s determination to build a world science and technology power. By focusing on key technological fields and optimizing investment efficiency, the country is steadily advancing industrial upgrading and technological independence, injecting strong momentum into high-quality development.
