Xi calls for decisive progress in Healthy China Initiative during 15th Five-Year Plan period

Robot rentals in China are shifting from a niche, individual pastime to a mainstream trend. Prices have fallen dramatically—from 10,000 yuan (about $1,455) a day to just over 100 yuan, and the market is expanding to lower-tier cities.

Senior Chinese leaders on Thursday attended deliberations at the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature. When joining NPC deputies from Yunnan Province in a group deliberation, Premier Li Qiang noted that this year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) amid increasing uncertainties in the external environment and arduous tasks in domestic reform and development.

China targets an economic growth of 4.5 percent to 5 percent this year and will strive for better in practice, according to a government work report submitted Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation.

The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) held a meeting in Beijing on Monday to mark International Women's Day, which is observed on March 8, and to honor outstanding female role models across the country.

China's annual sessions of its top legislature and political advisory body, known as the "two sessions," are about to kick off in Beijing. 2026, the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, sees the event taking on heightened expectations.