Environmental protection is a central pillar of Xi Jinping's domestic agenda. The EEC (Ecological and Environmental Code) was adopted on 12 March at the 14th NPC (National People's Congress). It is only the second PRC statute designated a code after the Civil Code of 2020.
environment & carbon neutrality
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17 Apr 2026
For the first time, the 2026 GWR (Government Work Report), delivered at the Two Sessions, includes an income growth plan for urban and rural residents. When the PRC enjoyed decades of double-digit growth, rising household income was a byproduct. With growth now roughly half that pace, lifting incomes means actively slicing the pie differently.
health & aged care
labour & social security
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07 Apr 2026
Beijing built its export economy on Special Economic Zones. Now it is applying that same model to the carbon problem that those zones helped in part to create. The March Two Sessions confirmed zero-carbon industrial parks as a national priority, with the ensuing 15th 5-year plan targeting 100 parks by 2030, with the first 52 already announced.
energy
environment & carbon neutrality
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03 Apr 2026
The 2026 Two Sessions confirms a shift in Beijing's fiscal thinking. After the sharp expansion of 2025, the question is no longer how much to spend but how to spend it wisely..
economy
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01 Apr 2026
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Two Sessions: what does the EEC do—and what not?
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Two Sessions: slicing the pie differently
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Two Sessions: Beijing turns industrial parks green
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Two Sessions: fiscal shift from scale to structure
monitoring
recent commentary
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growth modelcapital accountsSOE reformcentral SOEsgoing globaltrade facilitationexports...read more09 Apr 2026
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growth modelstrategic and emerging industriespolitical trendsscience and technologytech transfer, R&DAI...read more09 Apr 2026
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growth modelconsumptionservicesstrategic and emerging industrieslabour relationslabour supplyunemploymentscience and technology...read more08 Apr 2026
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growth modelstrategic and emerging industriesinfrastructurebig data...read more07 Apr 2026
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Zhang XiaolanDeputy director, Policy Simulation Laboratory, Economic Forecasting Department, State Information Centre (under NDRC) State Information Centre
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