Against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions and supply-chain uncertainty, China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) signals continuity with earlier policy priorities while sharpening its focus on industrial strength, technological self-reliance, energy security, and high-standard opening up.

For the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the plan matters because it points to where China is likely to buy, build, and compete through 2030. That makes it relevant not only as a domestic policy blueprint, but also as a guide to China’s external economic behaviour.
 

What the plan prioritises

Compared with its predecessor, China’s 15th Five-Year Plan appears to place even greater emphasis on advanced manufacturing, innovation, domestic demand, green transition, and high-quality ‘Belt and Road’ cooperation. It also highlights emerging technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and energy-related innovation, while reinforcing the importance of technological self-reliance and supply-chain resilience.

The plan sets several specific measurable targets. On technology and innovation, it targets R&D spending growth of at least 7% annually. On energy, it targets a 17% reduction in carbon intensity relative to the 2025 baseline, and a 16 to 20% increase in energy production capacity, driven mainly by renewables. 

On agriculture, the plan targets grain production capacity of 725 million tonnes by 2030, alongside greater seed self-sufficiency and more integrated digital farming systems. On the digital economy, it targets value-added output reaching 12.5% of GDP by 2030, with AI given significantly greater prominence than in the previous plan.

This resilience push also reflects broader geopolitical and supply-chain instability. As Dr Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow on China at Chatham House, observed: “Conflicts, geopolitical rivalry and the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the fragility of global supply networks. And intensifying technology restrictions by advanced economies have underscored how dependence on foreign inputs can constrain national development.”

She added that the turmoil in the Gulf would only reinforce Beijing’s conviction. “Instability in several of the world’s most important energy suppliers illustrates how quickly geopolitical crises can ripple through global markets. For a country like China, which remains the world’s largest energy importer and a central hub in global manufacturing networks, the war is a stark reminder of the risks inherent in overreliance on external conditions beyond its control.”

The plan also reflects China’s effort to align economic development with national security. In practical terms, that means reducing vulnerability to external shocks, strengthening industrial chains, and ensuring that energy, technology, and manufacturing policy are more tightly integrated.

This has implications for OIC countries. China’s push for resilience and self-sufficiency may sustain demand for energy, minerals, and industrial inputs, but it will also increase competition for countries that are trying to move up the manufacturing ladder themselves.

The OIC foundation that already exists

The ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ has already created a substantial infrastructure footprint across several Muslim-majority economies. Chinese-linked economic zones, agricultural cooperation centres, transport corridors, ports, and industrial parks already exist in parts of Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The scale of this existing base is documented. Ten Chinese-linked economic zones are recorded across OIC countries — in Algeria, Egypt, Mauritania, Nigeria (two zones), Djibouti, Pakistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — covering industries from textiles and automotive assembly to petrochemicals and clean energy.

Four Chinese agricultural technology centres are operational in OIC member states in Africa: Sudan, Cameroon, Mauritania, and Senegal, covering crop cultivation, rice, irrigation, and subsistence farming. Cumulative BRI engagement since 2013 has reached $1.399 trillion, comprising roughly $837 billion in construction contracts and $561 billion in non-financial investments. In 2025, the Middle East was the second-largest recipient of BRI engagement globally, receiving $39.4 billion.

That existing base matters because the 15th Five-Year Plan does not start from zero. Its emphasis on quality, integration, and innovation can be read as an attempt to upgrade and better coordinate the infrastructure and partnerships China has already built.

This creates both opportunity and risk for OIC states. Countries that can align their industrial strategies with China’s priorities may attract more investment, technology transfer, and market access. Countries that remain passive may find themselves more deeply embedded in Chinese supply chains without gaining enough value-added production in return. 

Identifying where the opportunities are

Agriculture: China’s focus on food security, smart agriculture, and seed innovation creates room for agricultural cooperation, machinery exports, and value-chain integration. OIC countries with strong agricultural sectors could position themselves as suppliers of food, inputs, and processing capacity.

Manufacturing: China’s continued industrial upgrading will intensify competition in labour-intensive and mid-tech manufacturing. OIC economies seeking industrialisation will need to specialise, improve productivity, and target niches where they can compete effectively.

Green energy: The plan’s green transition agenda supports new opportunities in renewables, batteries, green hydrogen, grid infrastructure, and energy-efficient manufacturing. This is especially relevant for OIC countries with solar, wind, or critical mineral potential.

Connectivity and trade: High-quality Belt and Road cooperation may continue to support ports, railways, logistics corridors, and digital trade systems across OIC regions. That could improve trade efficiency, but only if projects are commercially viable and fiscally sustainable.

The risks to manage

The biggest structural risk for many OIC countries is increased competition from Chinese firms in manufacturing and exports. As China moves further up the value chain, it may become harder for emerging industrial economies to build export capacity in sectors where Chinese firms already have scale, efficiency, and policy backing.

A second risk is technological dependence. Chinese firms may expand exports of digital infrastructure, automation, and industrial software, but these partnerships can also create dependence on Chinese standards, platforms, and data governance systems.

For oil- and gas-exporting OIC states, the energy transition is another medium-term challenge. China will continue to need hydrocarbons, but its demand mix may gradually shift toward cleaner energy, strategic minerals, and inputs linked to electrification and advanced manufacturing.

Hong Kong’s possible role

Hong Kong may also become a more important bridge between China’s industrial base and OIC markets. Its strengths in finance, legal services, trading, and international connectivity could make it a useful platform for firms trying to reach Muslim-majority markets.

That said, the halal and certification gap should not be overstated. Hong Kong can help facilitate market access and trust-building, but any claim that it can single-handedly solve the challenge would be too strong. The more realistic view is that it can support a wider ecosystem of trade, certification, and service provision.

This view was echoed by Sharifa Leung, Managing Director, 3 Hani Enterprises Ltd when speaking to Salaam Gateway. She said: “By bridging rigid regulatory frameworks with modern ecosystem safety, Hong Kong and Macau can translate China’s Belt and Road vision into tangible economic trust, unlocking multi-trillion-dollar OIC markets through standardised, premium halal and tourism experiences.”

How OIC countries should respond

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan is best understood as a framework for selective engagement, and not automatic alignment. For OIC countries, it creates opportunities in trade, investment, energy transition, infrastructure, and industrial upgrading — but only if they negotiate carefully and build stronger domestic capabilities.

OIC governments are likely to do best if they engage China selectively rather than passively. That means negotiating sector by sector, insisting on local value addition, and ensuring that projects include technology transfer, maintenance capacity, and realistic financing terms.

It also means coordinating more regionally where possible. States with complementary strengths — in energy, logistics, agriculture, or manufacturing — can improve their bargaining position if they act with greater coherence.

The central point is simple: China is moving up the ladder, and OIC countries will benefit most if they do the same. Those that focus only on commodity exports or debt-heavy infrastructure risk becoming more dependent on Chinese supply chains without capturing enough of the value.

Sidr & Stone was carved out of a need to honour centuries-old prophetic remedies. Nigella Sativa, named in Sunnah as a powerful healing tool, and widely overlooked in modern medicine for years, has gained ground in recent years for its antioxidant and immune-supporting properties. 

We speak with Yusuf Elsayed, founder of Sidr & Stone, on the underlying need to create the enterprise, and his overarching intent to converge traditional healing with modern technique. 

Salaam Gateway: What inspired you to launch Sidr & Stone, and what market gap were you aiming to fill?
 

Elsayed: I came to this from a tech sales career, and as an Imam I'd long been struck by how seriously our tradition takes certain natural foods — black seed, olive oil, honey — and how poorly the modern market serves them.

The gap was trust. The category is full of bold claims and very little proof; brands talk about potency but almost none publish an independently verified figure. I wanted to build a brand around the foods of the Sunnah, held to modern quality standards — taking something 1,400 years old seriously enough to lab-test it.

Salaam Gateway: How do you source and verify the quality of your ingredients?
 

Elsayed: Sourcing first, then proof. For our black seed oil I personally evaluated more than 36 suppliers across several countries before settling on cold-pressed Ethiopian Nigella sativa, widely regarded as a high-quality seed source.

We then commissioned independent European laboratory testing rather than relying on a supplier's word — our oil is verified at 2.67% thymoquinone (the active compound used to judge black seed oil), and we publish the certificate of analysis openly on our quality assurance page. We keep it cold-pressed and unfiltered so the natural compounds aren't stripped out.

Salaam Gateway:The wellness market is crowded and often criticised for weak regulation. How do you build trust with consumers?

Elsayed: By being verifiable rather than loud. We don't chase the biggest number — we publish only what we can evidence. The certificate of analysis is the heart of it: a customer doesn't have to take our word on potency, they can see the independent lab result. I'd rather state an honest, verified 2.67% thymoquinone than an unverifiable higher figure. In a category criticised for weak regulation, transparency is the product.

Salaam Gateway: Where do you see Sidr & Stone in the next three to five years regarding product expansion, markets, or partnerships?
 

Elsayed: We began with cold-pressed black seed oil and olive oil; sidr honey and oregano oil are next — all within the same thesis of traditional, minimally-processed foods.

We serve the UK, EU and US and want to deepen those markets rather than spread too thin. On partnerships, I'm most interested in retailers and platforms that value third-party verification, and in continuing to publish our testing openly so the whole category is pushed toward proof over marketing.

The global sukuk market has undergone significant structural evolution since its modern inception, adapting to investor appetites, regulatory frameworks, and market dynamics while navigating persistent tensions between Shariah authenticity and financial functionality and adapting to the changing needs and dynamics of the global financial market and stakeholder appetites. The following evolutionary depiction, adapted from Yagci, Izhar, and Turkhan Ali (2025), traces this trajectory:

AAOIFI Shariah Standard 62 (SS62) represents a pivotal development in the evolution of the global  sukūk market. At its core, the standard seeks to address a long-standing structural imbalance—namely, the pre-dominance of asset-based sukuk structures that grant investors only beneficial ownership rather than the asset-backed arrangements grounded in genuine ownership and effective risk transfer. While this corrective shift is firmly anchored in classical Shariah principles, its implications for contemporary financial markets are significant and potentially far-reaching.

By requiring substantive ownership and the assumption of risk, SS62 realigns sukuk structures with foundational Shariah maxims such as al-ghunm bi al-ghurm and al-kharāj bi al-ḍamān. The standard also carries important implications for tradability, placing greater emphasis on the actual composition and nature of underlying asset pools rather than relying solely on numerical thresholds or ratios. In doing so, it reinforces the legitimacy of jurisprudential approaches where ownership and risk-bearing are genuine and substantive.

 

In response to these developments, the Islamic Development Bank Institute has conceptualized two complementary institutional mechanisms: the Ṣukūk Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Ṣukūk Enhancement Fund (SEF). The DFC is designed to issue asset-backed sukuk to finance development projects while avoiding the need for governments to transfer strategic public assets. The SEF, in turn, functions as a mutual risk-sharing platform among issuers, strengthening credit quality and improving pricing without reliance on external guarantees.

Together, these mechanisms provide a practical pathway for the gradual transition toward SS62-compliant sukuk structures. While the DFC facilitates the large-scale issuance of asset-backed sukuk for sovereign and development financing, the SEF mitigates systemic risk and expands access to authentic sukuk for smaller issuers, including SMEs. Collectively, they offer scalable institutional solutions capable of supporting the implementation of AAOIFI SS62 while minimizing disruption to existing market dynamics.

Dr. Hylmun Izhar is a Senior Research Economist at the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI). Dr. Turkhan Ali Abdul Manap is a Senior Research Economist at IsDBI. Yahya Rehman is Associate Manager, Knowledge Leaders Section, at IsDBI.

Muslims comprise just 16% of Singapore’s population, yet halal products and services have become increasingly mainstream across the city-state. From multinational restaurant chains securing certifications to digital halal verification systems, the country is positioning itself as a gateway for the global halal economy.

“Singapore has moved beyond niche market appeal to become a credible, trusted hub,” Dewi Suratty, founder and CEO of Singapore-based halal consultancy Dawn Horizon tells Salaam Gateway. 

Singapore’s food service industry offers perhaps the clearest evidence of the halal sector’s growing appeal – more than 4,000 of Singapore’s 23,600 food establishments are halal-certified, growing at roughly 10% annually.

Major fast-food chains including McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subway operate halal-certified outlets across the island, while delivery platforms such as GrabFood and Foodpanda offer halal search filters.

In February, Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons and South Korean bakery-café giant Paris Baguette secured halal certification for 17 and 20 Singaporean outlets, respectively. Singapore’s only halal-certified Filipino eatery, Nanay’s Kitchen, opened its fourth outlet in April, while Gyusei Gyukatsu Wagyu-Steakhouse introduced the country’s first halal A5 wagyu katsu earlier this year. 

Meanwhile, local meat importer and processor Lim Traders recently launched a direct-to-consumer platform, The Halal Meat Specialist, further expanding the local halal retail landscape.

Convenience retail is also evolving. In late 2025, 7-Eleven rolled out halal-certified Korean snacks nationwide, while Thai restaurant Pratunam Plus by Soi Thai Soi Nice became halal-certified nearly a decade after first opening. 

For consumers, the change reflects a dramatic expansion of choice. “Halal doesn’t mean just traditional Malay or Indian Muslim food anymore,” says Suratty. 

“We’ve got halal-certified Japanese, Chinese, Western, even fine dining. That diversity has removed a lot of friction from consumer choice. You can access halal food at a hawker for four dollars or at an eighty-dollar fine dining establishment. That’s inclusive access across economic segments.”

Building cross-border trust through regulation

Singapore began developing its halal governance framework in 1978 through the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, also known as MUIS, which oversees halal certification and Muslim affairs under the Administration of Muslim Law Act. 

That foundation is becoming more important as Southeast Asian nations seek to strengthen cross-border halal cooperation. A recent report by Indonesia’s halal inspection body highlighted collaboration between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore as a major opportunity to establish ASEAN as a global halal hub.

“When a product carries the MUIS halal stamp, traders in the GCC, Malaysia and Indonesia know exactly what they’re getting,” says Suratty.

Singapore is also modernising its certification systems through digital halal certificates introduced by MUIS last October, enabling consumers to instantly verify certifications via their mobile devices.  

“The amendment grants MUIS robust legal authority to govern its foreign halal certification bodies (FHCB) recognition scheme, enabling it to impose recognition conditions, prosecute certificate forgery, and establish a structured appeals process,” says Muhammad Faizal bin Othman, director of halal development at MUIS.

The move reflects a wider effort to strengthen the integrity of imported halal products, which is critical given Singapore’s reliance on food imports.

Alongside the digital certification rollout, MUIS launched an online portal for its enhanced FHCB recognition framework, streamlining the application and renewal process for overseas certification bodies. To date, the scheme has onboarded 88 recognised FHCBs from across the globe.

MUIS has also introduced the comprehensive halal risk management framework, replacing a one-size-fits-all approach with a more targeted risk-based methodology.

“Establishments are assessed across three dimensions - the nature and scope of certification, the robustness of controls in place, and their compliance track record,” explains Othman.

“Higher-risk establishments are subject to more frequent inspections, while those with strong compliance records qualify for extended certification validity of three to five years.” 

The framework directly links regulatory scrutiny to performance, encouraging businesses to maintain high standards while rewarding strong compliance.

Singapore-based companies are also expanding their halal manufacturing footprint beyond borders to meet growing regional demand. Food manufacturing group OTS Holdings opened a new $9.7 million facility in Malaysia last October that is expected to triple its halal production capacity from 60 tonnes to 200 tonnes per month.

“With two food manufacturing facilities in Singapore and one in Malaysia, we are contributing to the expansion of Singapore’s halal economy through improved efficiency and halal production capacity,” says Ong Shiya, senior manager for group corporate marketing at OTS Holdings. 

For many manufacturers, Singapore’s appeal extends beyond domestic demand.

“A company manufacturing specialty food in Singapore can reach Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the GCC with confidence that MUIS certification will be recognised,” says Suratty. 

The market outlook remains strong -  Singapore’s halal meat market was valued at more than $6.5 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $7.7 billion by 2027, according to Straits Research. 

Food security drives next phase of growth

While consumer demand remains strong, Suratty believes a more pressing force is shaping the future of halal across the region.

“What’s really accelerating halal sector growth across Asia now is something more pressing: food security imperatives,” explains Suratty. “Covid-19 and recent geopolitical tensions have made supply chain diversification impossible to ignore.”

Innovations such as vertical farming, aquaculture, plant-based proteins, precision fermentation, and cultivated meat are increasingly intersecting with halal standards. “The halal angle makes these innovations market-ready not just locally, but regionally,” she adds.

For decades, the global conversation around the annual Hajj pilgrimage has been around scale. Millions of pilgrims. Vast crowds. Endless logistics. But the most meaningful transformation in recent years has been less about scale and more about the experience. 

Increasingly, the kingdom is redesigning Hajj and Umrah as a unified process that begins long before a pilgrim reaches the holy city of Makkah and continues through every stage of the pilgrim’s worship and movement.

“Saudi Arabia is building a pilgrimage system that is not only bigger, but more organized, more responsive, and more aware of the person moving through it,” says Abdulrahman Alkheraigi, communication advisor at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

At its core, this evolution reflects Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 ambition to make Hajj and Umrah journeys more seamless, while preserving the sanctity of the pilgrimage itself.

“If I had to pick the single most meaningful shift, it would be the move away from a fragmented, manual system to a more integrated journey,” Mohammed Binmahfouz, founder and CEO of digital platform Umrahme tells Salaam Gateway. 

“That sounds obvious when you say it, but if you were operating in this space five or six years ago, you would know how far things have come.”

Fragmented to digital

For many pilgrims, the Hajj travel experience once began with uncertainty.

Applications were often handled through layers of intermediaries. Information could be inconsistent. Language barriers complicated planning. Pilgrims frequently relied on informal advice networks to navigate one of the most important journeys of their lives.

Saudi Arabia’s growing digital ecosystem is changing that.

Platforms such as Nusuk and Nusuk Hajj now allow pilgrims to access permits, accommodation, transportation information, and verified packages more directly. The system is still evolving, but the psychological impact is already significant.

“Better access to information, greater transparency, digital permits, and the ability to manage key parts of the journey without going through a chain of intermediaries are all significant,” says Binmahfouz, who has also worked with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to develop a digitalization roadmap.

“For pilgrims arriving from dozens of countries with different languages and expectations, that is more important than people outside the industry might appreciate.”

Behind the scenes, the improvements go beyond digital convenience. They reflect a broader restructuring of how the pilgrimage sector functions.

“What I find equally notable is how much work has gone into coordinating the ecosystem around the pilgrimage,” he says. “Government entities, transport providers, accommodation, health services, crowd management, and licensed operators are now working within a more joined-up framework.”

That coordination matters because Hajj remains one of the most operationally complex annual gatherings in the world.

“Hajj is unique because it’s not simply about bringing people to Makkah,” explains Binmahfouz. “It’s about safely moving very large numbers of pilgrims through a sequence of time-sensitive rituals.”

“Any improvement in flow, scheduling, medical response, transport allocation, or camp services has a direct impact on safety and comfort.”

The invisible infrastructure of care

Many of the biggest improvements to Hajj and Umrah are intentionally invisible.

Pilgrims may never see the command centers coordinating movement between Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, holy places essential for completing Hajj rituals. They may not notice the predictive systems managing transport flows or the expanded medical preparedness operating in the background.

What they encounter instead is something simpler: shorter waits, clearer directions, and faster support when problems arise.

According to Alkheraigi, the transformation centers on reducing avoidable stress around the pilgrimage experience. “A pilgrim’s journey to Hajj rarely begins in Makkah. For many, it begins months earlier, at a desk or on a phone, with a set of questions that are practical but deeply personal.”

“How do I apply? Which package can I trust? Where will I stay? How will I move between the holy sites? What happens if I get lost, fall ill, or cannot understand the instructions around me?”

“These are not small concerns,” he adds. “For a pilgrim preparing for one of the most important journeys of a lifetime, uncertainty can weigh almost as heavily as the physical demands of Hajj itself.”

Reforms to Hajj increasingly attempt to address that anxiety. Health services, shaded areas, hydration infrastructure, emergency response systems, multilingual guidance, and accessibility measures have all expanded over the past few years. 

At the two Holy mosques located in Makkah and Medinah, new services — including interactive maps, free luggage storage, and childcare centers — are intended to improve comfort and peace of mind.

“I would also highlight the growing attention given to elderly pilgrims and people with disabilities,” says Binmahfouz. “Better accessibility, dedicated support services, wheelchair arrangements, improved mobility planning, and stronger medical readiness are all contributing to a more dignified and inclusive journey.”

One of the latest initiatives involves the deployment of 6,000 wheelchairs and 400 electric carts throughout the Grand Mosque to facilitate the movement of worshippers.

Language access has also become a critical layer of the infrastructure.

“Multilingual guidance, translation tools, and wider access to the Arafat sermon have helped worshippers feel less isolated in the crowd,” says Alkheraigi. “To understand what’s being said, where to go, and what comes next is not merely a practical advantage; it allows a pilgrim to remain calm enough to focus on worship.”

Building a resilient ecosystem

The overhaul of Hajj and Umrah services is closely tied to Saudi Arabia’s larger tourism ambitions.

In 2025, the Kingdom recorded over 122 million domestic and international tourists, a 5% increase year-on-year. The figure included nearly 19.5 million Hajj and Umrah pilgrims arriving from abroad.

That growth is changing how the ecosystem connects to the wider Saudi economy.

“The broader destination picture matters too,” says Binmahfouz. “AlUla, Jeddah, Riyadh, Taif, Asir, the Red Sea, Diriyah, and the Eastern Province are all part of a wider story. Visitors increasingly have reason to experience more of the kingdom.”

Projects led by the Royal Commission for Makkah City and Holy Sites and the Madinah Region Development Authority are also reshaping how pilgrims experience historic and religious landmarks beyond the core rituals, according to Binmahfouz. 

Among them is the recently rehabilitated 157-kilometer Badr Historical Path west of Madinah, designed to revive sites connected to prophetic history.

Meanwhile, infrastructure projects such as the Haramain High Speed Railway and the Makkah Route Initiative have improved connectivity and reduced congestion.

The Makkah Route has emerged as one of the kingdom’s most consequential reforms. The program allows visitors to complete visa processing, health checks, and baggage coding at airports in their home countries before flying to Saudi Arabia and proceeding to their accommodations without lengthy arrival procedures. Since its launch in 2017, the initiative has served more than 1.2 million pilgrims.

The next phase: Delivering a seamless experience

Despite the progress, industry leaders argue that the next phase of reform will be harder.

The challenge is no longer building infrastructure. It’s connecting the ecosystem so thoroughly that pilgrims barely notice the systems supporting them.

“The biggest opportunity right now is consistency,” Binmahfouz says. “The journey still has uneven patches depending on the arrival point, the operator, transport connectivity, guide quality, and how well services are coordinated on the ground.”

He argues that many operators continue to depend on traditional coordination methods that can create fragmentation during critical stages of the journey.

“Many businesses still rely heavily on manual processes and WhatsApp coordination,” he says. “Giving them proper digital tools for bookings, operations, supplier management, VAT-compliant invoicing, dynamic packaging, and guest support would raise the quality floor of the ecosystem noticeably.”

Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are expected to play a larger role in the years ahead.

“There’s the longer-term opportunity around data and AI,” Binmahfouz says. “Predictive crowd management, smarter transport allocation, service monitoring, accessibility planning, personalised itinerary building, and real-time guest support will all matter more as the system becomes better connected.”

Still, both industry and government voices insist the future of pilgrimage services cannot be judged solely by technology or infrastructure.

For pilgrims, success is often measured in subtle ways. It’s finding the right bus without panic. Understanding instructions in a familiar language. Reaching the rites safely. Resting in shade. Receiving help before confusion becomes fear.

“The future of Hajj and Umrah services will not be judged only by the scale of infrastructure or the sophistication of technology,” Alkheraigi says.

“For pilgrims, success is felt in smaller, more immediate ways.”