How China's 13th five-year plan could affect copper demand

China's government released the framework for its 13th five-year plan (FYP) in March. The FYP outlines the priorities and economic and social development goals for 2016-2020. Some of these goals will be key drivers of China's copper demand between 2016 and 2020. In this insight, we present our initial views before more detailed plans are released in the coming months. Although China's GDP growth target has been lowered to 6.5% during the 13th FYP period, we believe this target and the development focus outlined in the framework should still support our total copper consumption outlook for the next five years. The key positive takeaways for each copper end-use sector are: an increase in underground cables in the electrical network sector; acceleration in the renovation of substandard housing in the construction sector; the development of high value-added equipment in the machinery sector; and the increasing penetration of electric vehicles in the transport sector.