China’s NPC to Review Sweeping Legislative Agenda
China’s top legislature is preparing to convene its 24th session from August 25 to 28 in Beijing, with an ambitious legislative agenda spanning eight draft laws and amendments that touch on healthcare, food security, financial regulation, and anti-corruption efforts. The session, announced at the 71st meeting of the Council of Chairmen chaired by Zhao Leji on August 18, represents one of the most substantive legislative periods for the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.
Context: A Busy Legislative Calendar
The upcoming session follows a period of intense legislative activity for China’s top legislature. The September 2023 five-year legislative plan established a roadmap for major legal reforms, and several bills now reaching their final review stages reflect that planning. The Ecological Environment Code—China’s second law named as a Code after the Civil Code—took effect on August 15, 2026, setting the stage for related amendments to align with its provisions.
According to Xinhua News, NPC Standing Committee Legislative Affairs Commission spokesperson Huang Haihua briefed the media on August 21 about the legislative items slated for review.
Key Legislative Proposals
Medical Security Law: Third Review
The Medical Security Law draft, now in its third review, aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for China’s medical insurance system. Huang Haihua emphasized the law’s importance, stating that “medical security funds are the people’s money for seeing doctors and saving lives, and there is high social attention on this matter.”
The third draft responds to feedback from various stakeholders, stipulating that when the State Council medical security administrative department organizes the formulation of basic medical insurance fund payment scope and conducts evidence-based medicine and economic evaluations, it should listen to opinions from medical institutions, pharmaceutical operating units, relevant enterprises, experts, and insured persons—in addition to soliciting input from relevant departments. The draft also includes provisions on centralized drug procurement, diversified medical insurance payment methods, and optimized cross-regional medical settlement services, as China News Service reported.
Cultivated Land Protection and Quality Improvement Law
The third draft of the Cultivated Land Protection and Quality Improvement Law strengthens mechanisms for high-standard farmland project initiation, construction, acceptance, and management. It establishes a full-cycle responsibility retroactive investigation and lifelong accountability mechanism for high-standard farmland construction projects, with corresponding legal liability for illegal acts such as encroaching upon or damaging high-standard farmland engineering facilities.
The draft also adds provisions for comprehensive treatment of desertified, wind-eroded, and water-eroded farmland, protects the productive capacity of black soil, and establishes a national mechanism for compensating major grain-producing areas. These measures align with the 20th Party Congress report’s call to gradually convert all permanent basic farmland into high-standard farmland.
Banking Supervision and Administration Law Amendment
The Banking Supervision and Administration Law amendment, originally enacted in 2004, is now in its second review. The revised draft adds the legislative purpose of “improving the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy” and coordinates with the Financial Law draft. It introduces provisions for classified and graded supervision of banking institutions.
Significantly, the amendment responds to public concerns about bank employees misappropriating customer funds. The second draft adds provisions stating that banking institutions and their employees must not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of depositors and other customers through misappropriation of funds, and banking institutions must bear civil liability for employee violations.
Water Law Amendment
The Water Law amendment’s second draft coordinates with the recently enacted Ecological Environment Code, which took effect on August 15. The draft adds provisions for accelerating the construction of the national water network and coordinating water resources, water environment, water ecology, and water disaster governance. It establishes institutional measures combining total water use control with quota management and differentiated water resource control, as well as improving water pricing mechanisms.
Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law: First Review
A landmark development is the first review of the Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law, submitted by the National Commission of Supervision. Listed as a Category 1 project in the September 2023 five-year legislative plan, the law aims to deepen cross-border corruption governance by advancing case investigation, risk prevention, and institutional building together.
As Yicai (First Financial) noted in its editorial analysis, the law focuses on combating fugitives abroad and illegal assets, as well as corruption involving overseas enterprises. It will improve the joint punishment mechanism for key bribe-givers and promote international cooperation. The law builds on the May 22, 2026, provisions on criminal trial in absentia procedures issued by the Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate, which were specifically designed for cross-border corruption governance. China is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Corruption (2003).
Additional Legislative Items
The session will also review amendments to the Agriculture Law, which adds provisions on international cooperation, farmer rights protection, and rural governance; the National Defense Mobilization Law, which clarifies the concept of national defense mobilization and promotes advanced technology application; the Lawyers Law, which adds constitutional basis and improves foreign-related legal services; and the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, which improves bankruptcy manager provisions and enhances the restructuring system.
The Council of Chairmen meeting, as reported by Xinhua, also recommended the session consider the State Council’s proposal on the Road Traffic Safety Law amendment draft, ratification of the Extradition Treaty between China and Hungary, and reports on economic and social development plan implementation, budget execution, government debt management, cultural product quality, and rural revitalization.
Analysis: Strengthening the Rule of Law
The breadth of this legislative session underscores China’s systematic approach to legal reform. The Ministry of Justice Legal Information Platform highlighted that the Medical Security Law third draft includes six major modifications, from reflecting the health-first development strategy in its legislative purpose to adding long-term care insurance provisions.
The legislative agenda reflects a coordinated effort to address emerging challenges across multiple sectors simultaneously. The Banking Supervision amendment responds to public concerns about financial consumer protection, while the Water Law amendment aligns with the new Ecological Environment Code to create a more coherent environmental legal framework. The Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law represents a significant step in extending China’s anti-corruption campaign beyond its borders.
What to Watch For
As the session convenes, observers will be watching for final amendments to the draft laws, particularly around the Medical Security Law’s long-term care insurance provisions and the Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law’s scope and enforcement mechanisms. The session will also provide insight into how China’s legislative priorities are evolving in response to both domestic needs and international obligations.
The Yangtse Evening News reported that Huang Haihua also noted the publication of the Ecological Environment Code in Chinese-English bilingual edition, part of ongoing efforts to facilitate international understanding of China’s legal system and support high-level opening-up.
With the 24th session set to begin, the legislative outcomes will shape China’s legal landscape for years to come, touching everything from how citizens access healthcare to how the nation combats corruption across its borders.