Interpretation Report on the Development of the Software Industry in the "15th Five-Year Plan" with a Focus on Open-Source Software

I. Report Summary

The proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, put forward at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, clearly identifies "new quality productive forces" and "scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening" as the main lines of the national strategy for the next five years. Within this framework, the software industry plays a fundamental, strategic, and leading role, serving as the core driving force for optimizing the economic structure, upgrading industries, and building a digital China.

This report focuses on sections of the planning document closely related to the software industry, systematically analyzing national strategic directions, key tasks, policy trends, and development prospects, providing references for government decision-making, enterprise layout, and scientific research planning.

II. Overall Assessment: Software is the Core Engine of New Quality Productive Forces during the "15th Five-Year Plan" Period

During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, software will no longer be merely an informatization tool, but a strategic industry supporting national competitiveness.

Its role has shifted from "supporting service" to a systemic foundation that empowers manufacturing, governance, culture, finance, security, and other fields.

The country positions software as:

• Core components of new quality productive forces;
• An important breakthrough in achieving technological self-reliance and self-strengthening;
• Key pillars of the digital economy system;
• The safeguarding link of national security and industrial security.

III. Strategic Positioning and Overall Objectives

IV. Interpretation of Core Policies and Key Tasks

(I) Basic Software Autonomy Strategy

Source: Article (11) "Strengthen original innovation and tackle key core technologies"

For the first time, the state has placed "basic software" on par with chips and industrial machine tools, establishing its strategic position.

Key Directions:

• Operating systems, databases, middleware, compilers, and other foundational software;
• Industrial control and embedded systems;
• Open-source ecosystem and key algorithm frameworks;
• Software security and trusted verification technology.

Policy Expectations:

• Implement the "Basic Software Breakthrough Project";
• Promote domestic substitution and ecological compatibility;
• Establish a national-level software innovation center and testing verification system.

(II) Integrated Innovation of Software and Hardware

Source: Article (12) "Promoting Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation with Industrial Innovation"

The plan proposes to build a deeply integrated system of "innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain, and talent chain," and to strengthen the coordinated development of software and hardware.

Key Directions:

• Smart manufacturing system software;
• Industrial Internet platform and digital twin;
• EDA, CAE, MES, SCADA and other industrial software;
• Software Defined Manufacturing.

Trend Interpretation:

• Software enterprises will become the dominant force in industrial innovation;
• National-level industrial innovation consortia will be led by software companies;
• Industrial policy will lean towards "hardware-software integration."

(III) Digital China and Software Infrastructure System

Source: Article (14) "Deeply Advancing the Construction of Digital China"

Main Tasks:

• Improve the basic system for data factors;
• Build a unified national data and computing power market;
• Implement the "AI+" initiative;
• Promote the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.

Software Highlights:

• Cloud computing and distributed system software;
• Data governance and privacy computing;
• Blockchain trusted software foundation;
• AI algorithm framework and large model platform;
• Smart middle platform and application development ecosystem.

Strategic Shift:

Software will become a component of national-level digital infrastructure, evolving from an "information tool" to a "digital foundation."

(4) Software Talent and Open-Source Ecosystem Development

Source: Article (13) "Integrated Advancement of Education, Science and Technology, and Talent Development"

Core Content:

• Establish an integrated promotion mechanism for education, science and technology, and talent;
• Strengthen collaborative talent cultivation between research institutions and enterprises;
• Build open-source communities and innovation platforms.

Policy Orientation:

• Support the development of the open-source software ecosystem;
• Establish a national training system for software engineers;
• Encourage enterprises to participate in the construction of university software courses and laboratories;
• Promote the institutionalization of open-source governance and build an "open-source system with Chinese characteristics."

(5) Software Empowers Digital Transformation of Industries

Involving articles (7), (9), (10), (15), etc.

Key Areas:

• Industrial Software: Core Tools for a Manufacturing Powerhouse;
• Agricultural software: smart agriculture and digital villages;
• Service industry software: digital trade, integration of culture and technology;
• City software: smart city, smart transportation, smart water network;
• Government software: Digital government and public service platform.

Trend:

The integration of software with traditional industries is accelerating, forming a new model of **"software as productivity"**.

In government projects, industry standards, and bidding processes, the proportion of software self-reliance will become an important indicator.

(6) Software Security and Trusted System Construction

Source: Articles (49)-(51) National Security System Section

Main Tasks:

• Strengthen security in the fields of network, data, and artificial intelligence;
• Promote traceability of the software supply chain;
• Improve data security and personal information protection regulations.

Policy Trends:

• Build a "software trust authentication system";
• Promote source code security auditing and domestic substitution;
• Strengthen software export and cross-border data security management;
• Promote the legalization of software supply chain security.

V. Outlook on Software Industry Development Trends for the Next Five Years (2026–2030)

6. Enterprise and Industry Recommendations

1. Policy alignment direction

• Actively participate in national foundational software research projects;
• Pay attention to local "Software Industry Park" and "Digital China" special funds;
• Strengthen cooperation with research institutions and universities to jointly build innovation laboratories.

2. Key Technology Layout

• Focusing on the autonomous and controllable technology chain: OS, databases, middleware;
• Expand AI+ software, low-code, and industrial internet directions;
• Strengthen the construction of the security compliance system.

3. Ecological Synergy Suggestions

• Actively participate in the open-source community;
• Promote the adaptation and certification of domestic software and hardware;
• Build a multi-layered cooperative ecosystem to achieve co-cultivation of technology and co-construction of markets.

VII. Conclusion

The "15th Five-Year Plan" marks the transition of China's software industry from the "filling gaps" stage to the "ecosystem-led" stage.

In the next five years, software will become:

• The core engine of new quality productivity,
• Digital China's infrastructure,
• A key breakthrough in independent innovation,
• An important barrier to national security.

One-sentence summary:

Software is the invisible main thread of the "15th Five-Year Plan" and serves as the digital foundation and technological soul for realizing Chinese-style modernization.