"15th Five-Year Plan" Launch to Boost Government Legislation, Focusing on Unified Market, Tech, Livelihoods, and Foreign Affairs

On May 27, the State Council Information Office held a press conference under the thematic series “Launching the 15th Five-Year Plan Period.” A senior official from the Ministry of Justice stated that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), the State Council submitted 60 legislative bills to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation and formulated or revised 165 administrative regulations, focusing on areas critical to economic and social development, emerging sectors, and foreign-related affairs, thereby supporting the advancement of Chinese-style modernization. Specific measures included promoting the formulation and revision of laws such as the National Development Planning Law and the Foreign Trade Law, issuing the Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft Operations, and implementing relevant provisions of the People’s Republic of China Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law. To ensure a strong start for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the government will comprehensively strengthen legislative work in 2026 through four key initiatives: First, enacting the Regulation on Building a Unified National Market to remove bottlenecks and barriers hindering market development; second, accelerating comprehensive legislation on the healthy development of artificial intelligence and legislation related to the low-altitude economy to support China’s goal of becoming a science and technology powerhouse; third, formulating or revising administrative regulations concerning essential public welfare areas—such as water supply, pharmaceuticals, housing safety, healthcare, and road transport—that directly affect people’s daily lives; and fourth, enhancing foreign-related legislation by amending laws including the Customs Law and the Administrative Regulations on Overseas Labor Cooperation, steadily expanding institutional opening-up, and safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development interests.