The National People’s Congress (NPC) has released its 2021 Session’s agenda and daily schedule of meetings. The Session will open on the morning of Friday, March 5 and close on the afternoon of Thursday, March 11, lasting a total of seven days. The Session has not released a full schedule of press conferences; we will update this post when new press conferences are announced. All times below are in China Standard Time (UTC +8:00). If you are new to the NPC and its annual sessions, remember to check out this FAQ.
The agenda contains the following ten items:
- Deliberate the Government Work Report;
- Review the draft Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through 2035 (“14th Five-Year Plan”) [国民经济和社会发展第十四个五年规划和2035年远景目标纲要];
- Review a report on the implementation of the 2020 Plan for National Economic and Social Development (“Development Plan”) and on the draft 2021 Development Plan; and review the draft 2021 Development Plan;
- Review a report on the execution of the 2020 Central and Local Budgets (“Budgets”) and on the draft 2021 Budgets; and review the draft 2021 Budgets;
- Deliberate a draft amendment to the NPC Organic Law [全国人民代表大会组织法];
- Deliberate a draft amendment to the NPC Rules of Procedure [全国人民代表大会议事规则];
- Deliberate a draft Decision on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (“Hong Kong Decision”) [关于完善香港特别行政区选举制度的决定];
- Deliberate the work report of the NPC Standing Committee (NPCSC);
- Deliberate the work report of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC); and
- Deliberate the work report of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP).
The Session will hold the following three plenary meetings:
- March 5 (a.m.): Hear the Government Work Report; review the 14th Five-Year Plan; review the report on the Development Plans and the 2021 Development Plan; review the report on the Budgets and the 2021 Budgets; and hear explanations of the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and draft Hong Kong Decision.
- March 8 (p.m.): Hear the NPCSC’s, the SPC’s, and the SPP’s work reports.
- March 11 (p.m.): Vote on all resolutions, the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, the draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and the draft Hong Kong Decision.
A more detailed description of the Session’s daily schedule follows. As in 2020, the delegates will again mostly meet in small groups, not as delegations, as a prophylactic measure. We will update this schedule with links to all plenary sessions and press conferences throughout the Session.
Friday, March 5
9 a.m. (1st Plenary Meeting): Hear the Government Work Report from Li Keqiang (Premier); review the 14th Five-Year Plan; review the report on the Development Plans and the 2021 Development Plan; review the report on the Budgets and the 2021 Budgets; and hear explanations of the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and draft Hong Kong Decision from Wang Chen (NPCSC Vice Chairman).
3 p.m.: Delegates deliberate the Government Work Report as delegations.
Saturday, March 6
9 a.m.: Delegates review the 14th Five-Year Plan as delegations.
3 p.m.: Delegates review the Government Work Report and review the 14th Five-Year Plan in small groups.
Sunday, March 7
9 a.m.: Delegates review, in small groups, the report on Development Plans and the draft 2021 Development Plan, as well as the report on the Budgets and the draft 2021 Budgets.
3 p.m.: Delegates review, in small groups, the report on Development Plans and the draft 2021 Development Plan, as well as the report on the Budgets and the draft 2021 Budgets.
🎙3 p.m.: “China’s foreign policy and foreign relations”
Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Monday, March 8
9 a.m.: Delegates deliberate the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and draft Hong Kong Decision in small groups.
3 p.m. (2nd Plenary Meeting): Hear the NPCSC’s work report from Li Zhanshu (NPCSC Chairman); hear the SPC’s work report from Zhou Qiang (SPC President); and hear the SPP’s work report from Zhang Jun (SPP Chief Procurator).
Tuesday, March 9
9 a.m.: Delegates deliberate the NPCSC’s work report in small groups.
3 p.m.: Delegates deliberate, in small groups, revised versions of the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and draft Hong Kong Decision; as well as the SPC’s and SPP’s work reports.
Wednesday, March 10
9 a.m.: Delegates deliberate the SPC’s and SPP’s work reports in small groups.
3 p.m.: Delegates deliberate, in small groups, four draft resolutions on the Government Work Report, the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Development Plans, and the Budgets, respectively.
Thursday, March 11
9 a.m.: Delegates deliberate, in small groups, seven draft resolutions on the Government Work Report, the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Development Plans, the Budgets, the NPCSC’s work report, the SPC’s work report, and the SPP’s work report, respectively.
3 p.m. (3rd Plenary Meeting): Vote on all resolutions, the draft NPC Organic Law amendment, the draft NPC Rules of Procedure amendment, and the draft Hong Kong Decision.
🎙4 p.m.: Q&A with the Premier
Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council