NPC Calendar: April 2026 The 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) will convene for its 22nd session in late April. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-April to decide on the agenda and the dates of the session. The Council is also expected to approve the NPCSC’s 2026 work priorities as well as plans for legislative, oversight, and delegates-related work. These documents will be released after the upcoming NPCSC session (likely in early May).

NEW POST – NPC Calendar: April 2026

China Elevates Environmental Law to an Official Branch of Law New branch includes the Environmental Code and 20-plus statutes on natural resources and ecological conservation.

NEW POST – China Elevates Environmental Law to an Official Branch of Law

New branch includes the Environmental Code and 20-plus statutes on natural resources and ecological conservation.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/20/c...

Finance Law - NPC Observer Texts, legislative records, translations (if any), and related coverage of China's Finance Law. - Finance Law of the People’s Republic of China中华人民共和国金融法 Status: Planned Legislative Body (Vot

#NewDraftLaw: China's Ministry of Justice & 4 other agencies are seeking public comment on a draft 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒘 [金融法] through Apr. 19, 2026.

Official announcement: www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgw/lf...

Bill page w/ draft & explanation in PDF: npcobserver.com/legislation/...

NPC 2026: Chinese Legislature Revokes Landmark 1985 Delegation of Economic Lawmaking Power to the State Council The legislature also repealed China’s 1988 state-owned enterprise (SOE) law, following the transformation of traditional SOEs into modern companies.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: Chinese Legislature Revokes Landmark 1985 Delegation of Economic Lawmaking Power to the State Council

It also repealed China’s 1988 state-owned enterprise (SOE) law, following the conversion of traditional SOEs into modern companies.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/18/c...

NPC 2026: Documents and Votes A list of documents approved by China's National People's Congress in 2026 and the vote results.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: Documents and Votes

npcobserver.com/2026/03/16/c...

NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s New Environmental Code The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

All that's to say we don't have any magic power to divine the hidden meaning of Chinese statutory text when there is none!

Anyway, here's our first look at the environmental code:
npcobserver.com/2026/03/11/c...

You can read the primary source, a report issued by the NPC Environmental Protection and Resource Conservation Committee in 2024, here (the relevant passages are on page 14 of the PDF):

npcobserver.com/wp-content/u...

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Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee Two delegate bills propose enacting a Climate Change Response Law [应对气候变化法] to achieve China’s “dual carbon” goals and develop a legislative scheme for reducing carbon emissions. Legislation to “address climate change as well as achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality” is a research project in the current NPCSC’s five-year legislation plan. According to the report, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment had completed a draft Climate Change Response Law and was actively working to advance the process. The report also discloses that the Environmental and Ecological Code being drafted would include “general and guiding provisions” on climate-change response. The Code may be submitted for review as early as 2025.

If you go to the source we cited, which is a newsletter of ours, you'll see that the Chinese government literally said it'd enact a dedicated Climate Change Response Law—and that the environment ministry had already prepared a draft (this was in 2024).

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Finally, the Code introduces a general statutory framework for climate governance in Part IV, Chapter IV, laying the foundation for a future dedicated climate law. For climate change mitigation, this Chapter requires the integration of carbon-peaking and carbon-neutrality goals into national development plans and establishes a scheme to control the total amount and intensity of carbon emissions. It also codifies key mitigation mechanisms, including carbon accounting, product carbon-footprint management, and the monitoring and enhancement of carbon sinks (e.g., forests, wetlands, and soils). Notably, the Code elevates China’s nascent carbon emission trading system into a statutory scheme, under which key emitters must surrender emissions allowances based on verified annual emissions reports. Failing to report emissions data or surrender required allowances could result in substantial fines and suspension of operations. For climate change adaptation, the Code requires relevant authorities to formulate national and local adaptation plans, incorporate climate risks into spatial planning, and assess climate impacts on ecosystems and key sectors. This Chapter also articulates general goals for improving early-warning and response systems for disasters, extreme weather events, and climate-sensitive diseases. It concludes by codifying China’s position on international climate cooperation and governance.

Here's what we wrote: "[T]he Code introduces a general statutory framework for climate governance in Part IV, Chapter IV, laying the foundation for a future dedicated climate law."

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The legislation endorsed in Beijing also includes a section on green and low-carbon development, read by some observers as paving the way for a future climate law, which would be a first for China.

This @bloomberg.com report cites us as "read[ing]" Part IV of China's new environmental code "as paving the way for a future climate law."

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

We didn't say we read the law that way and we aren't sure one *can* read it that way.

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A few additional thoughts:
1. China isn't alone in this moment for trying to establish a cohesive national identity at the expense of minorities. The codification of assimilationist policies should probably be viewed in the global context as well as China's domestic historical context.

UPDATE: China has released the full text of its new Ecological and Environmental Code. Read it here: www.news.cn/politics/202....

#NPC2026: Now that the session is over, here's our expected document release timeline:

• 3/12: all legislation (still awaiting the Environmental Code)
• 3/13: 15th FYP & Gov Work Report
• 3/14: budget & annual dev plan reports
• 3/15: NPCSC work report
• 3/16: SPC & SPP work reports

Ecological and Environmental Code - NPC Observer Texts, legislative records, translations (if any), and related coverage of China's Ecological and Environmental Code. - Featured Coverage NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming E

Full text of the Ecological and Environmental Code (effective Aug. 15, 2026) is expected shortly. It looks like it's taking Xinhua some time to upload it.

npcobserver.com/legislation/...

2. Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress (effective July 1, 2026)

Official link: www.news.cn/politics/202...

Bill page: npcobserver.com/legislation/...

#NPC2026: China has released the full text of two of the three laws passed on March 12.

1. Law on National Development Plans (effective immediately)

Official link: www.news.cn/politics/202...

Bill page: npcobserver.com/legislation/...

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

Once passed, this law will finalize the collapsing of many ethnic identities in China that I write about in my book, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom npcobserver.com/2026/03/05/c...

NPC 2026: China to Enact Law on the Formulation and Implementation of Five-Year Plans The Law will codify China's existing procedural framework governing the drafting, approval, and implementation of Five-Year Plans for Economic and Social Development, including the Communist

3. Law on National Development Plans

The Law will codify China's existing procedural framework governing the drafting, approval, and implementation of Five-Year Plans for Economic and Social Development, including the Communist Party's role throughout process.

npcobserver.com/2026/02/24/c...

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

2. Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress

The Law is expected to codify China's X-era assimilationist ethnic policy that mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/05/c...

NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming Environmental Code The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

1. Ecological and Environmental Code

The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.
npcobserver.com/2026/03/11/c...

#NPC2026: We have finally posted analysis of all three laws that China is expected to pass today (Thursday, March 12):

🪡 A quick thread:

NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming Environmental Code The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming Environmental Code

The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/11/c...

NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming Environmental Code The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: A First Look at China’s Forthcoming Environmental Code

The Code is expected to address new types of pollution and climate change, while weakening public interest litigation and maintaining a fragmented conservation framework.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/11/c...

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

Strongly recommend @npcobserver.com 's discussion on the importance and content of this law. npcobserver.com/2026/03/05/c...

Chinese Legislature Declares Initial Batch of 104 Enactments Lapsed—Another Batch Expected at NPC 2026 Over a dozen administrative offenses from the 1990s were quietly repealed as part of the comprehensive legislation cleanup.

This forthcoming move is disclosed by a report submitted to the legislature today on "legislation cleanup": npcobserver.com/wp-content/u...

According to the report, the NPC will also repeal a landmark state-owned enterprises law from 1998, as we predicted here: npcobserver.com/2026/02/26/c...

Tracking China’s Progress Towards Law-Based Taxation Tracking efforts of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China to elevate administrative tax regulations to statutes.

BREAKING: China's national legislature to revoke landmark 1985 decision granting the State Council blanket authority to issue economic regulations—which it used to build China's modern tax system.

4 taxes are still solely governed by regulations today.

Background: npcobserver.com/2018/08/14/t...

#NPC2026: The NPC Standing Committee's 2026 work report* is out, available in both Chinese and English:

🇨🇳: npcobserver.com/wp-content/u...

🇬🇧: npcobserver.com/wp-content/u...

*Subject to changes before NPC approval

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law

China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/05/c...

NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

NEW POST – NPC 2026: China to Enshrine Xi-Era Ethnic Policy in New Law

China's new assimilationist ethnic policy mandates forging a common Han-centric Chinese culture and identity, while muting minority identity expression.

npcobserver.com/2026/03/05/c...

NPC Observer - Covering China’s National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee An independent website offering original coverage of China's National People's Congress and its Standing Committee

#NPC2026 We have also uploaded the latest drafts of the following bills & their accompanying explanations:

• Ecological & Environmental Code
• Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress
• Law on National Development Plans

The files are available here: npcobserver.com#docs