Li Hongzhong, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, on Thursday delivered explanatory remarks on a draft law on promoting ethnic unity and progress submitted to the fourth session of the 14th NPC for deliberation.
He stressed that the draft law aims to lay a solid legal foundation for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, which is of vital importance to promote ethnic unity and mobilize people of all ethnic groups to build a great country and advance national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.
The draft law adopts a unique "preamble plus seven chapters" structure, comprising a total of 64 articles. Its chapters cover general provisions, building a shared spiritual homeland, promoting interactions and integration, driving common prosperity and development, safeguards and supervision, legal responsibilities, and supplementary articles.
The draft law has undergone two rounds of deliberation by the 14th NPC Standing Committee in September and December 2025.
China's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders present alongside more than 2,700 NPC deputies. This year's NPC session is scheduled to run till March 12.
China's draft law on promoting ethnic unity, progress submitted to NPC annual session for deliberation
China will continue to implement a series of more proactive and effective macro policies in 2026 to keep driving the country's economic development, said one of the drafters of the government work report, which was submitted Thursday to the country's top legislature for deliberation.
Chen Changsheng, also deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference held in Beijing on Thursday.
Chen said one of the reasons for continuing implementing more proactive and effective macro policies is to respond to the external environment.
In 2026, China is facing significant uncertainty both at home and abroad, and the country is also confronting strong supply and weak demand, with a gap in its aggregate demand remaining, he said.
Chen said it is necessary for the country to step up policy adjustment and use the certainty of macro policies to offset the uncertainty.
"Compared with other countries around the world, China's overall government debt ratio, particularly that of the central government, remains relatively low. There is still room for cuts in required reserve ratios and interest rates. Besides, there is also room for innovation in the policy mix. At the same time, continuing these policies also aims to send a signal to the society of continuing regulation through macro policies," said Chen.
Chen said China's macro policies will be implemented with greater intensity and wider scope in 2026.
"The deficit-to-GDP ratio remains at 4 percent, a relatively high level in history. The net increase in the deficit stands at 230 billion yuan (over 33 billion U.S. dollars). The scale of newly added government debt comes in at 11.89 trillion yuan, also a record high. Additionally, this year's general budget is expected to exceed 30 trillion yuan. More importantly, its net increase will reach 1.27 trillion yuan. All these demonstrate the stability of our macro and fiscal policies. Similarly, monetary policy will continue to be appropriately accommodative. Besides, we will flexibly employ policies such as cuts to required reserve ratios and interest rates to ensure ample liquidity. We will also implement policies such as policy-based monetary and financial tools with greater intensity and wider scope, with an aim to reduce financing costs across the whole society and support the real economy," said Chen.
The macro policies will also be more targeted and effective, he said.
"In terms of fiscal policy, special emphasis has been placed on deepening zero-based budgeting reforms, with the inefficiently and poorly used funds to be reallocated to more effective areas. The reform had been implemented for a period of time last year and had achieved some results. This year, efforts will be intensified. Additionally, we will further optimize the expenditure structure and make better use of existing funds to boost consumption, invest in people, and increase spending in people's wellbeing. Structural monetary policies will be improved to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), tech enterprises, and the expansion of domestic demand," said Chen.
China to continue implementing more proactive, effective macro policies to drive economic growth in 2026: official
