China's housing and urban-rural development authorities will continue to promote high-quality urban upgrading during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), according to Zhang Yan, an official with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Zhang, vice director of the department of building energy efficiency and science & technology, made the statement in the latest episode of China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

The first priority is to carry out high-quality urban renewal. "We are placing urban renewal in a more prominent position, systematically advancing the quality housing, residential communities, neighborhoods, and urban districts, while coordinating a series of projects concerning people's livelihoods, safety, and development to create high-quality living spaces for the people," Zhang said.

"Then, we will promote high-efficiency urban governance," Zhang said. "Aiming to modernize urban governance systems and capabilities, we will continuously increase investment in governance, strengthen overall coordination in urban management, and shift the focus of governance and supporting resources to the grassroots level."

The department is tasked with formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for the housing and urban-rural development sector at a high level, according to Zhang.

"Furthermore, we will solidly advance the compilation of the special plan for urban renewal under the 15th Five-Year Plan, giving full play to its strategic guiding role and mapping out a high-quality blueprint for urban development."