China mulls law on standards for national 5-year plans

The legislation is meant to improve strategic guidance for national development plans and “advance the modernisation of the national governance system”, according to Xinhua. The draft, one of 23 bills to be given their first reading this year, has not been released to the public. It is expected to be adopted after a third reading, which could be in time for March, when China’s next five-year plans covering 2026-2030 will be released.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, decided at a meeting in February to submit the draft to the legislature for review. The meeting noted the need to improve “the scientific, democratic, law-based, and standardised formulation of national development plans”. Preparation for the new law has been under way for years, first appearing in the NPC Standing Committee’s five-year legislative plan in 2013, before being included in the country’s five-year plans for national economic and social development.



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