BEIJING - China's ‍state planner ‍on Wednesday approved major projects and an ​investment plan for the central government's budget for 2026 ⁠that amounts to about 295 billion yuan ($42.21 billion), its ⁠latest move in ‌an effort to expand investment and support economic growth.

Li Chao, a spokesperson for ⁠the National Development and Reform Commission, said around 220 billion yuan was set aside for 281 projects that are part of major ⁠national and security-related strategies like ​underground pipelines.

In addition, China's central government has allocated more than 75 ‍billion yuan to fund 673 projects covering areas like ​ecological protection and carbon reduction.

The projects "will further improve China's modern infrastructure system and provide strong support for a smooth start to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030)," Li said in Beijing.

The world's second-largest economy allocated 800 billion yuan in 2025 for its "Two Major" programmes which focus on major national projects and key ⁠security-related capacity building as the Chinese ‌government works to stabilise growth amid economic headwinds while strengthening infrastructure, energy and resource security.

($1 = ‌6.9881 Chinese ⁠yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Shi Bu and Kevin Yao; ⁠Editing by Lincoln Feast and Thomas Derpinghaus)