February 2025: Updates on NPC Delegates’ 2024 Legislative Proposals
Hukou, detention centers, climate change, labor standards, child welfare, digital economy, defense industry, chips, AI, and more. Plus: Draft revision to Civil Aviation Law for public comment.
Welcome back to NPC Observer Monthly, a monthly newsletter about China’s national legislature: the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee (NPCSC).
Each issue will start with “News of the Month,” a recap of major NPC-related events from the previous month, with links to any coverage we have published on our main site, NPC Observer. If, during that month, we have also written posts that aren’t tied to current events, I’ll then provide a round-up in “Non-News of the Month.” Finally, depending on the month and my schedule, I may end an issue with discussions of an NPC-related topic that is in some way connected to the past month.
If you’re enjoying the newsletter, I hope you’ll share it widely. —Changhao
News of the Month
On February 24–25, the 14th NPCSC met for its fourteenth session, which was convened by the Council of Chairpersons on February 17. While the session focused on preparing for the 2025 NPC session, it also reviewed a draft Private Economy Promotion Law (PEPL) [民营经济促进法] and a draft revision to the Civil Aviation Law [民用航空法].
On February 25, the NPCSC released the draft Civil Aviation Law for public comment through March 26. The draft PEPL was not released at the same time, however. The legislature may be revising that draft based on lawmakers’ feedback and could release an updated version for public comment later. Or it may have decided to forego another round of public consultation in hopes of passing the law quickly. When asked about the PEPL’s status on Tuesday, the NPC’s spokesperson didn’t mention any plan to seek public comment again (or, for that matter, any decision not to do so).
2024 Delegate Bills: Selected Developments
The NPC will convene in less than 24 hours, opening an annual window for the delegates to submit bills. There’s thus no better time to review the fate of their submissions last year. I’ve previously posted an explainer on delegate bills, focusing on the procedure for processing them and their role in Chinese lawmaking.
For purposes of this post, here’s what you need to know: Delegate bills are referred to the various NPC special committees for deliberation after an NPC session closes. The special committees then report their recommended dispositions to the NPCSC at the end of the year. Depending on what the delegates propose in a given year, the reports may offer updates on legislative projects already included in an official legislative plan. They also discuss the possibility that new legislative proposals may (eventually) appear on the official agenda. The special committees’ 2024 year-end reports are compiled here.
In 2024, NPC delegates submitted 298 bills, all but 4 of which propose legislation. Below, I discuss a few developments disclosed in the reports that I found important or interesting.
Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee
Two delegate bills propose enacting a Household Registration Law [户籍法] to, among other things, relax the restrictions on migration and simplify the procedures for household registration and migration. This Law was already included in the 14th NPCSC’s five-year legislative plan as a Category II project. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) disclosed that it had begun research and drafting and would next carry out field research and “widely solicit opinions” in conjunction with the relevant departments.
The Hainan delegation proposes enacting a Detention Centers Law [看守所法] to replace the State Council’s 1990 Detention Center Regulations and its implementing rules. The bill argues that the existing legislation is “too general” and lacks specific provisions on the functions, management, and oversight of detention centers. This Law, too, is a Category II project in the 14th NPCSC’s legislative plan. The MPS previously released a draft for public comment in 2017. According to the report, the MPS included “clear provisions” on “all the major issues raised by the bill” in a draft that it was preparing for the State Council’s review.
Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee
Two delegate bills propose enacting a Climate Change Response Law [应对气候变化法] to achieve China’s “dual carbon” goals and develop a legislative scheme for reducing carbon emissions. Legislation to “address climate change as well as achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality” is a research project in the current NPCSC’s five-year legislation plan. According to the report, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment had completed a draft Climate Change Response Law and was actively working to advance the process. The report also discloses that the Environmental and Ecological Code being drafted would include “general and guiding provisions” on climate-change response. The Code may be submitted for review as early as 2025.
Social Development Affairs Committee
Two delegate bills propose enacting a Basic Labor Standards Law [基本劳动标准法] to lay down comprehensive and uniform rules on matters including working hours, rest and leave, salary and wages, and occupational safety and health. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions agreed, believing it is necessary to “review and integrate existing basic labor standards and related regulations.” The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security sounded less enthusiastic: “[T]he establishment of basic labor standards requires a comprehensive consideration of various factors, including the level of economic and social development, the supply and demand relationship in the labor market, the tolerance of both labor and management, and their respective interests and demands.” It vowed to conduct further research and “initiate legislative work when conditions are ripe.” The Committee, for its part, noted that the Law was a research project in the NPCSC’s current five-year legislative plan. It argued that basic labor standards are “closely linked to the most pressing, direct, and practical concerns of workers” and disclosed it had begun research on such a Law to “help build a societal consensus as early as possible.”
Delegates Chen Jing et al. propose enacting a Child Welfare Law [儿童福利法]. In response, the Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed that such a Law had been included in the Central Commission for Comprehensive Law-Based Governance’s legislative plan on “major and emerging fields” and that it had already drawn up a preliminary recommended draft and would next work on improving it. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ), for its part, emphasized the complexity of such a Law, noting that it would implicate matters such as “infant and child development, health services, family parenting services, and maternal and childcare facilities” and would require a comprehensive consideration of “social needs, fiscal capacity, and the sustainability of the welfare system.” The Committee promised to advocate for the Law’s inclusion in an annual NPCSC legislative plan when the time is ripe.
Delegates Lu Luanmei et al. propose amending the Anti–Domestic Violence Law [反家庭暴力法] to, among other changes, designate “economic control” and sexual abuse as independent forms of domestic abuse and include former spouses and former cohabitants within the Law’s scope. While the MOJ and the All-China Women’s Federation appear to favor the changes, all national criminal justice authorities showed little enthusiasm. The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) thought it “somewhat reasonable” to treat “abnormal economic control and sexual coercion” as domestic abuse, but contended that “it is difficult to delineate their scope and standards.” The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) and the MPS argued that sexual coercion and abuse of former intimate partners are already punishable under China’s criminal and public-order laws. They also worried that “treating economic control as an independent category of domestic violence might raise public concerns about excessive state intervention in family life,” so recommended caution. The Committee, too, believed that the definition of domestic abuse must consider “the prevailing societal consensus and level of public acceptance” and carefully “determine the extent of state intervention in family relationships.” So it looks like the Law won’t be amended any time soon.
Constitution and Law Committee
Delegates Li Li et al. propose including a part on green and low-carbon development in the Ecological and Environmental Code [生态环境法典] to provide for carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Two other delegate bills propose enacting laws on environmental civil public interest litigation and compulsory environmental pollution liability insurance, respectively. The Committee revealed that the NPCSC had formed a special working group to draft on the Code and reaffirmed the goal of enacting such a Code within the current NPC’s term (ending in 2028). The report also indicated that the Code would address all three issues raised by the delegate bills (so no separate law would be enacted).
Delegates Tang Weijian et al. propose enacting a Law on Judicial Interpretations [司法解释法] to prescribe the basic principles that judicial interpretations (JIs) should follow; regulate the agenda-setting, drafting, deliberations, promulgation, filing, and oversight of JIs; establish a public hearing mechanism for JIs; improve the legality review of JIs; and authorize collateral review of JIs in litigation. The Committee notes that the Legislation Law and the NPCSC’s recent legislation on “recording and review” have provided the “basic statutory bases” for the formulation and oversight of JIs. It vowed to work with the SPC and SPP to carry out further research, but it does not appear such a Law would be forthcoming.
Delegates Ding Shunsheng et al. propose amending the Administrative Litigation Law [行政诉讼法] to grant the procuratorates the general authority to issue “procuratorial suggestions” [检察建议] to administrative organs that unlawfully exercise their authority or fail to act when required by law, urging them to make corrections. The Law now allows the procuratorates to do so only over certain issues (e.g., environmental protection). According to the Committee, the relevant parties disagreed on whether the procuratorates should be allowed to conduct general oversight of administrative organs in this way, so the delegates’ proposal is unlikely to become law anytime soon.
Financial and Economic Affairs Committee
Three delegate bills propose enacting a Digital Economy Promotion Law [数字经济促进法] to, among others, establish schemes on the rights protection, income distribution, and circulation involving data elements; define the ownership, usage, and operational rights for corporate, personal, and public data; enhance the protection of data throughout their lifecycles; and promote the integration of digital and real economies. The Committee noted that such a Law was already included as a Category II project in the current NPCSC’s five-year legislative plan. It also disclosed that it formed a drafting team with 18 other agencies—including the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Data Administration—and began working on the Law in May 2024. The Committee vowed to advance the legislative process and would strive to submit a bill to the NPCSC “as soon as possible.”
Delegates Wang Wei et al. propose enacting a Defense Industry Law [国防工业法] to regulate the development and management of the defense industry. According to the report, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense began drafting such a Law in 2015. The report also discloses that such legislation was included in the Central Commission for Comprehensive Law-Based Governance’s legislative plan on “major and emerging fields” as well as the agendas of two other Communist Party bodies on defense matters. The Committee recommended that the relevant departments speed up research and drafting and submit the bill when the time is ripe.
Delegates Si Fuchun et al. propose enacting a Chips Law [芯片法] to regulate key aspects of the integrated circuit industry, including critical supply chains, materials, equipment, high-end applications, and fundamental scientific research. The National Development and Reform Commission was of the view that legislation on the semiconductor industry requires an overall consideration of various factors including industrial development, market competition, and international impact, and that its necessity and feasibility require further debate and research. The Committee agreed, signaling that a Chips Law wouldn’t appear on the legislative agenda soon.
Education, Science, Culture & Public Health Committee
Delegates Fang Yan et al. propose enacting an Artificial Intelligence Law [人工智能法] to regulate the application and development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially by strengthening protections for state secrets and preventing AI-driven espionage. The report notes that legislation on the “healthy development of AI” has appeared in both the NPCSC’s current five-year legislative plan as a research project and in its 2024 legislative plan as a backup project. The Committee also disclosed that the Ministry of Science and Technology is leading the drafting of an AI Law and has drawn up a “framework draft.” For its part, the Committee has been conducting its own research and promised to monitor the development of AI and urge the relevant parties to speed up the drafting process.
That’s all for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading!
I’ll be back in your inbox later today with the agenda and daily schedule of the 2025 NPC session. Stay tuned!
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