China is placing greater emphasis on innovation-led, high-quality development, a shift that is expected to shape the country's economic trajectory over the next five years, a Europe-based U.S. scholar has told Xinhua.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Carl Fey, professor of strategy at BI Norwegian Business School, said the policy signals emerging from China's annual "two sessions" and the newly-adopted 15th Five-Year Plan point to a stronger focus on innovation, emerging industries, green transition, opening up and people-centered development.

China has set a gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of around 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026, aiming to secure a good start for the new five-year plan and lay a solid foundation for high-quality development, Fey said.

"The direction is increasingly clear: China is not only pursuing growth, but also placing greater weight on the quality of that growth," he said.

Fey said the emphasis on "new quality productive forces" offers an important lens for understanding China's development priorities. In his view, the concept highlights the role of scientific and technological innovation in boosting productivity, upgrading industries and fostering new growth drivers.

"That means China is attaching greater importance to strengthening competitiveness through innovation and making further advances in key technologies," he said.

He noted that China has built notable strengths in advanced manufacturing and technological innovation in recent years, adding that the development of such industries will not only foster new growth drivers but also enhance the resilience of industrial and supply chains.

"The international community is increasingly recognizing that China not only holds strong advantages in traditional manufacturing, but is also showing considerable momentum in a number of high-tech sectors," he said, citing areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, new energy, quantum technology, 6G and advanced materials.

"China has already built a relatively strong industrial ecosystem in these areas, which should provide solid support for future development," he said.

On green development, Fey said China has made notable progress over the past decade in sectors such as new energy vehicles, solar power and wind energy, and that the green transition has become an important part of the country's push for high-quality development.

The new five-year plan, he noted, reinforces China's commitment to peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality, while promoting renewable energy, the circular economy and green infrastructure.

"Continuing to advance green and low-carbon development will not only help improve the environment and people's quality of life, but also contribute meaningfully to global sustainable development," he said.

Fey applauded China's commitment to continuously expanding high-standard opening up and fostering a fairer, more transparent, and more predictable business environment for foreign companies.

"That is important for stabilizing expectations and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation," he said. "A China that continues to open up will keep creating significant opportunities for international businesses and the global economy."

He also commented positively on China's efforts to improve education, healthcare and overall quality of life, saying it shows the country's pursuit of broader and more equitable development.

"This suggests that China is not only focused on expanding the size of the economy, but is also paying more attention to development opportunities and gains for individuals," he said.

Acknowledging challenges, Fey said China has a complete industrial system, a huge market, improving innovation capacity and relatively strong policy execution. "These factors should provide a solid foundation for future development."

Looking ahead, Fey said China is firmly moving toward innovation-driven, high-quality development. "This will not only inject stronger momentum into China's development in the coming years, but also bring greater stability and new opportunities to the world economy," he said.