Hong Kong will unveil its first-ever five-year plan and its annual Policy Address jointly on September 16, Chief Executive John Lee has announced.

Hong Kong leader John Lee (centre) meets the press on August 26, 2026. Photo: GovHK.

Lee told reporters after a community visit to Sham Shui Po on Wednesday that he would present both important documents together in the Legislative Council – starting with the five-year plan, and then moving on the Policy Address.

“This arrangement is designed to make it easier for the public to understand the seamless connection between the five-year plan and the Policy Address,” Lee said in Cantonese.

He added: “Simply put, the five-year plan is like dotting the eyes of the dragon, while each annual Policy Address is like drawing the dragon itself.”

Lee said that while the five-year plan lays out the “direction and strategy” for Hong Kong’s development, the Policy Address will “turn the blueprint into policy measures.”

The Chief Executive’s Policy Addresses last year lasted just under three hours, while his 2023 Address clocked in at nearly three and a half hours – a record among Hong Kong leaders.

Citing anonymous sources, local newspaper Ming Pao reported that Lee will only outline the main points from both policy road maps on September 16, in an effort to keep the briefing around the same length as previous years.

Plan vs. programme

Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Lee said in Cantonese that “many people” used a dated term when referring to the five-year roadmap, reflecting a shallow understanding of the document among the public.

Hong Kong in March 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Lee pointed out that the five-year plan is not a plan but a programme, reflecting a shift in official terminology dating from 2006.

In that year, Beijing renamed the Soviet-inspired initiative from the Five-Year Plan (五年計劃) to the “Five-Year Programme” (五年規劃) in Chinese, emphasising the country’s market reforms and transition away from a command economy.

The document’s official name in English, however, has remained unchanged.

China unveiled its 15th National Five-Year Plan during the Two Sessions high-level political meetings earlier this year. Ahead of the meetings, Hong Kong announced that it would deliver its own version of the blueprint guiding the city’s development over the next five years.

“The five-year plan will create a synergising force in society,” Chief Executive Lee said in February, “and provide more certainty for businesses to pursue development.”

The government launched a public consultation for the five-year plan in mid-June, with consultation sessions for the Policy Address beginning soon after at the end of that month.