Understanding Chinese Legislature’s New Five-Year Legislative Plan: Part I

On September 7, China’s national legislature, the 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC), released its five-year legislative plan (Plan or New Plan), setting the contours of its legislation through 2028. As a refresher, the Plan includes 79 top-priority projects in Category I, 51 lower-priority projects in Category II, and about a dozen topics for potential legislation in Category III. Starting with this post, we will take a close look at the Plan in a two-part analysis. Below, we will first discuss the principles of agenda-setting embodied in the Plan (and the relevant legislative tasks), then examine the fate of the uncompleted projects in the 13th NPCSC’s five-year legislative plan (Old Plan), and finally look at the areas of law that are featured prominently in the New Plan. The second part will take a primarily quantitative approach and evaluate the same metrics we used to analyze the Old Plan several years ago.

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China to Allow Some Suits Against Foreign States: A Summary of the Foreign State Immunity Law

Photo by UN Climate Change under CC BY 2.0.

On September 1, 2023, China’s top legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), adopted the Foreign State Immunity Law (Law) [外国国家豁免法], which will take effect on January 1, 2024. The Law marks a historic change in China’s stance on foreign state immunity—a doctrine that shields states and their property from the jurisdiction of foreign courts—and brings China’s practice in line with international norms. In short, starting next year, foreign states will be subject to suit in China in certain circumstances as provided in the Law in which they currently enjoy immunity. Below, we for the most part offer only a straightforward summary of the Law, without attempting any critical or comparative analysis. For that, we recommend instead Prof. William Dodge’s two–part analysis of the Law’s December 2022 draft at Transnational Litigation Blog, which we drew on for our summary. Our English translation of the Law is available here and a chart comparing the Law’s two public versions here.

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Translation: Five-Year Legislative Plan of China’s National People’s Congress for 2023–2028

On Thursday, September 7, 2023, China’s national legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), released the five-year legislative plan for its current term ending in 2028. Since 1993, each NPCSC has adopted such a plan to outline and prioritize the legislative tasks during its five-year term. Those plans are important documents that require the approval of the Communist Party’s central leadership.

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NPC Calendar: September 2023

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Ecological Conservation Law [青藏高原生态保护法] (adopted on Apr. 26, 2023) and Barrier-Free Environments Development Law [无障碍环境建设法] (adopted on June 28, 2023) take effect on September 1.

On September 1, the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC)—

The NPCSC is soliciting public comment on the following bills through September 30:

The 14th NPCSC may convene a quinquennial legislative work conference and release its five-year legislative plan some time this month.

The NPCSC will convene for its next regularly scheduled session in late October.

NPCSC Seeks Public Comment on 5 Bills: Public Security Violations, Company Regulation, VAT, Preschool Education & Academic Degrees

China’s national legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), is soliciting public comment on the following five bills through September 30, 2023:

Draft NameChinese TextExplanatory Document
Company Law (3rd Draft Revision)
公司法修订草案三次审议稿		PDFPDF
Value-Added Tax Law (2nd Draft)
增值税法草案二次审议稿		PDFPDF
Preschool Education Law (Draft)
学前教育法草案		PDFPDF
Academic Degrees Law (Draft)
学位法草案		PDFPDF
Public Security Administrative Punishments Law (Draft Revision)
治安管理处罚法修订草案		PDF
(English)		PDF

English translations will be provided if and when available. All explanatory documents are in Chinese and compiled in a single PDF; the links above will take you to the corresponding pages in the PDF only if you use a desktop browser—this does not work on a phone or a tablet.

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NPCSC Session Watch: Administrative Reconsideration, Foreign-Related Litigation, Public Security Offenses & Education

UPDATE (Aug. 28, 2023): The NPCSC is expected to approve the draft revision to the Administrative Reconsideration Law, draft Foreign State Immunity Law, and draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law on Friday, September 1. The draft revision to the Company Law will be subject to a fourth (and mostly likely final) review.

China’s top legislature, the 14th NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC), will convene for its fifth session from August 28 to September 1, the Council of Chairpersons decided on Monday, August 21. In addition to proposing an agenda that includes nine legislative bills, the Council also discussed a few other interesting matters at Monday’s meeting. We briefly discuss all those developments below. 

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NPC Calendar: August 2023

Here is our recap of NPC-related events in August 2023 at our monthly newsletter.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comment on a draft Criminal Law Amendment (XII) [刑法修正案（十二）] through August 24.

The 14th NPCSC will convene for its 5th session in late August. The Council of Chairpersons is expected to meet in mid-August to decide on the agenda and dates of the session.

According to the NPCSC’s 2023 legislative work plan, the following bills will return for further review:

The NPCSC is likely to extend a pilot program allowing eligible lawyers licensed in Hong Kong or Macao to practice mainland law in nine Guangdong cities after passing a special bar exam. It is also expected to review one or more additional bills at its upcoming session.

NPCSC Seeks Public Comment on Draft Criminal Law Amendment (XII)

We offered a quick summary of the draft Amendment (XII) in our monthly newsletter.

The NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC) is seeking public comments on a draft Criminal Law Amendment (XII) [刑法修正案（十二）] through August 24, 2023. The draft is available in PDF here (with a comparison chart included) and an explanatory document (in Chinese) here. An English translation of the draft and comparison chart is available here.

To submit comments online, please refer to this guide. Comments can also be mailed to the NPCSC Legislative Affairs Commission [全国人大常委会法制工作委员会] at the following address:

北京市西城区前门西大街1号 邮编: 100805
1 West Qianmen Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805

Please clearly write “刑法修正案（十二）草案征求意见” on the envelope.

China’s National Legislature to Convene Emergency Session Amid Foreign Minister’s Month-Long Absence

UPDATE: On Tuesday, the NPCSC decided to remove Qin Gang as minister of foreign affairs and instead reappointed his predecessor and China’s current top-ranked diplomat, Wang Yi, to that post. Qin remains a state councilor. His removal [免职], unlike a dismissal [撤职], is not inherently considered a disciplinary action. In addition, the NPCSC has the statutory authority (under the 2021 amendments to the NPC Organic Law) to remove Qin as a state councilor, but did not exercise that power today. We won’t speculate as to why.

The Council of Chairpersons meeting on Monday to convene Tuesday’s NPCSC session. Photo by Xinhua.

Senior leaders of China’s national legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC), decided on Monday, July 24 to convene the NPCSC for an emergency session just a day later, on Tuesday, July 25. According to the official readout of their meeting, the sole items on the session’s agenda are a draft Criminal Law Amendment (XII) [刑法修正案（十二）], which is not expected to pass on Tuesday, and unspecified personnel matters—or, in legal-speak, “bills of appointments and removals” [任免案]—which will pass and appear to be the source of the emergency.

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China’s Foreign Relations Law: Balancing “Struggle” with Beijing’s “Responsible Great Power” Narrative

By Moritz Rudolf

On June 28, China’s national legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, adopted the Foreign Relations Law [对外关系法]. It went into force on July 1, 2023.

The Law underlines two important trends: China’s increasing global outreach and its willingness to embed this global outreach within a legal framework.

As a framework law, it restates China’s long-standing foreign policy positions and codifies its foreign policy praxis. It also highlights new priorities such as the recently launched Global Security Initiative [全球安全倡议], Global Development Initiative [全球发展倡议], and Global Civilization Initiative [全球文明倡议]. While it clarifies many aspects of the function and vision of China’s foreign policy apparatus, it also creates significant legal uncertainty, especially with regards to the application and implementation of international treaties. This is particularly relevant given the deterioration of U.S.-China relations and the renewed prioritization of “struggle” [斗争] in the PRC’s foreign policy vocabulary and as a new key element of Xi Jinping Thought.

The Law outlines China’s foreign policy framework and goals in 45 articles spanning six chapters, which I discuss in turn below.

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