Fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress
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The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China was held from 5 March to 12 March 2026, concurrently with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) as part of the annual Two Sessions at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Preparation
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) decided after a vote at a meeting on 27 December 2025 that the fourth session of the 14th NPC will be convened in Beijing on 5 March 2026.[1] A press center for China's annual two sessions opened at the Media Center Hotel in Beijing on 27 February 2026.[2]
On 27 February 2026, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party chaired a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party to discuss a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development and a draft government work report to be submitted by the State Council to this annual session of the national legislature for review.[3][4]
The Session
March 5
The session heard the Report on the Work of the Government delivered by State Council Premier Li Qiang, and examined the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development. Deputies also reviewed the State Council's report on the implementation of the 2025 National Economic and Social Development Plan together with the draft 2026 National Economic and Social Development Plan, as well as the report on the implementation of the 2025 central and local budgets and the draft 2026 central and local budgets. In addition, explanations were heard from Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Hongzhong, regarding the draft Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China, the draft Law of the People's Republic of China on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress, and the draft Law of the People's Republic of China on National Development Planning. In the afternoon, plenary meetings were held by individual delegations to deliberate the Report on the Work of the Government.[5][6]
Premier Li Qiang stated in the Report on the Work of the Government delivered on the 5th that 2025 marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan:[7]
- China's overall economic strength reached new heights, with gross domestic product successively surpassing 110 trillion, 120 trillion, 130 trillion, and 140 trillion yuan,[8] achieving an average annual growth rate of 5.4%, markedly higher than the global average.[7][9]
- New breakthroughs were made in scientific, technological, and industrial innovation, with nationwide research and development expenditure growing by an average of 10% annually, the number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reaching 16, major core and key technologies being successfully developed, manufacturing value added remaining the world's largest for 16 consecutive years, and the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains steadily improving.[7]
- Reform and opening up advanced to a new stage, with solid progress in reforms in key areas, accelerated development of a unified national market, continuous expansion of high-level opening up, full removal of foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing sector, further consolidation of China's position as the world's largest trader in goods, and high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative gaining sustained momentum.[7]
- People's well-being reached new levels, as per capita disposable income grew by an average of 5.4% annually, more than 60 million urban jobs were created in total, the five-year transition linking poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization was successfully completed, income growth in formerly impoverished rural areas consistently exceeded the national rural average, national pooling of basic pension insurance advanced steadily, the average years of schooling for the working-age population rose to 11.3 years, average life expectancy increased to 79.25 years.[7]
- New progress was made in building an ecological civilization, with the proportion of days with good air quality in cities at or above the prefectural level rising to 89.3%,[10] forest coverage exceeding 25%, making China the country with the fastest and largest growth in forest resources globally, and with the establishment of the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system.[7]
- China's capacity to safeguard security was further strengthened, with markedly enhanced capabilities in key areas such as food, energy and resources, finance, and cyberspace, overall social stability maintained, and the bottom line against systemic risks firmly upheld. Through arduous efforts and sustained hard work, all 20 major indicators, 17 major strategic tasks, and 102 major projects set out in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan were successfully completed.[11]
When outlining the main anticipated targets for development in 2026, the Report on the Work of the Government states that economic growth is projected at 4.5% to 5%.[12]
March 6
On March 6, a press conference was held during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Media Center in Beijing. Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission; Lan Fo'an, Minister of Finance; Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce; Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China; and Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on issues related to economic planning and reform, fiscal policy and the budget, commerce, and financial and securities regulation.[13][14][15]
March 7
On March 7, a press conference was held during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Media Center in Beijing. Huai Jinpeng, Minister of Education; Lu Zhiyuan, Minister of Civil Affairs; Wang Xiaoping, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security; Sun Yeli, Minister of Culture and Tourism; and Lei Haichao, director of the National Health Commission, answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on issues related to education, civil affairs, human resources and social security, culture and tourism, and health care.[16][17]
March 8
On March 8, a diplomacy-themed press conference was held during the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress at the Media Center in Beijing.[18] Wang Yi, member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs, answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on issues related to China's foreign policy and international relations.[19]
March 9
The second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress was held on 9 March at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Deputies heard and deliberated the work report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, as well as the work reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate. They also reviewed a report of the NPC Standing Committee on the progress of legislative clean-up work and on proposed decisions regarding the handling of relevant laws and resolutions. Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, and Han Zheng attended the meeting.[20]
March 12
The closing meeting of the session was scheduled for 12 March 2026. Deputies voted on draft resolutions approving the Government Work Report, the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and reports on economic planning and budget implementation. The session also voted on the work reports of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.[21]
On March 12, 2026, Xi Jinping signed Presidential Decrees No. 70, No. 71, No. 72, and No. 73. Presidential Decree No. 70 promulgated the Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China (Chinese: 中华人民共和国生态环境法典), which had been adopted at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress on March 12, 2026, and will take effect on August 15, 2026. Presidential Decree No. 71 promulgated the Law of the People's Republic of China on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, also adopted at the same session, which will enter into force on July 1, 2026.[22]
Presidential Decree No. 72 promulgated the National Development Planning Law of the People's Republic of China (Chinese: 中华人民共和国国家发展规划法), adopted at the same session, which took effect on the date of promulgation. Presidential Decree No. 73 announced that, in accordance with the Decision of the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress on Approving the Report of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Work of Legal Clean-up and the Handling Opinions on Relevant Laws and Decisions, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Industrial Enterprises Owned by the Whole People (Chinese: 中华人民共和国全民所有制工业企业法) was abolished.[22]
Voting results
Resolutions
| Topic | For | Against | Abstain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premier Li Qiang's Government Work Report[23] | 2759 | 1 | 2 |
| 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Developmentt[24][25] | 2758 | 1 | 2 |
| Report on the Implementation of the 2025 National Economic and Social Development Plan and the 2026 Draft Plan | |||
| Report on the Execution of the Central and Local Budgets for 2025 and on the Draft Central and Local Budgets for 2026[23] | 2745 | 11 | 6 |
| Deliberation on the motion of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress regarding the submission of the Draft Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China[26] | 2752 | 7 | 3 |
| Deliberation on the motion of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress regarding the submission of the Draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress[26] | 2756 | 3 | 3 |
| Deliberation on the motion of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress regarding the submission of the Draft National Development Planning[26] | 2753 | 3 | 6 |
| Chairman Zhao Leji's NPCSC Work Report[23] | 2748 | 3 | 11 |
| Chief Justice Zhang Jun's Supreme People's Court Work Report[24][27] | 2703 | 44 | 15 |
| Procurator-General Ying Yong's Supreme People's Procuratorate Work Report[24] | 2726 | 23 | 13 |
Economic targets and budget
The following economic targets were set by the government work report submitted to the NPC:
| 2025 target | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|
| GDP growth | ~4.5–5% | [28] |
| CPI | ~2% | [28] |
| New urban jobs | 12 million | [28] |
| Grain Output | 1.4 trillion pounds | [28] |
| Energy consumption per unit of GDP | reduced by about 3.8% | [28] |
See also
References
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