BEIJING -- With a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan under examination and discussion by the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at their ongoing annual sessions, the new development roadmap is set to shape the country's pathways toward a modernization that stands out in how it interacts with nature.

The 2026-2030 period marks a critical stage for China in its quest to basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035, with harmony between humanity and nature standing as a distinctive feature of Chinese modernization.

The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. [Xinhua/Wang Jianhua]

The opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2026. [Xinhua/Wang Xi]

Wang Jinnan, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), speaks on behalf of the Central Committee of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party at the third plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2026. Wang stressed the need to accelerate the green transition in economic and social development and promote eco-friendly lifestyles to advance the building of a Beautiful China. [Xinhua/Zhang Ling]

The 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, opened its fourth session on March 5, 2026, to which a draft environmental code was submitted for deliberation.

Once adopted, it will become China's second formal statutory code, after the Civil Code, which was adopted in 2020.

The latest legislative move comes amid China's historic gains in ecological conservation over the past decade or so. Championing green development, the country has recorded the world's fastest growth in forest resources and afforestation, led globally in renewable energy development, and achieved one of the fastest national reductions in energy intensity worldwide. 

An aerial drone photo taken on July 11, 2025 shows the scenery of Zhagana Village in Tewo County of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu Province. [Xinhua/Chen Bin]

In China, the world's largest electricity consumer, one in every three kilowatt-hours of electricity comes from green energy sources, powering daily life, while reshaping the national and global energy and industrial landscapes, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA). 

An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 21, 2025 shows the offshore oil and gas platforms in the Bohai Oilfield.  [Photo by Du Penghui/Xinhua]

China has also made historic achievements in river protection and governance.

An aerial drone photo taken on June 3, 2025 shows a view of the Qiandao Lake in east China's Zhejiang Province.  [Xinhua/Xu Yu]

Furthermore, efforts to restore key ecosystems have yielded results. The country has achieved a consecutive reduction in both desertified and sandy land areas, becoming the first in the world to reach "zero growth" in land degradation.

An aerial drone photo shows a view of Tianchi Lake scenic spot, transformed from closed mines and abandoned mining pits, at Baihu Mountain in Hetaoyuan Town of Juye County, east China's Shandong Province, June 4, 2025. [Xinhua/Guo Xulei]

China has effectively conserved more than 80 percent of its nationally protected wild terrestrial animal and plant species, following marked improvement in the quality of wildlife habitats, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows a Tibetan fox at the Changtang National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. [Xinhua/Jiang Fan]

The draft outline unveiled a set of tasks and goals to accelerate green transition across the board over the next five years. 

Among the 20 major indicators for economic and social development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, five are related to green and low-carbon development, according to the draft outline.

The country will speed up the shift to eco-friendly production practices and lifestyles, and ensure that the goal of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 is accomplished as planned, paving the way for the realization of carbon neutrality before 2060.

A drone photo taken on Oct. 9, 2025 shows a worker operating industrial robots to produce new energy vehicle components at a digital workshop of an auto parts company in Huzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. [Photo by Tan Yunfeng/Xinhua]