The Chinese government’s 2026 work report places special emphasis on securing a strong start for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), strengthening reform, innovation and benefiting people's livelihoods, an official said on Thursday.
Shen Danyang, head of the government work report drafting team and director of the State Council Research Office, said at a press conference that this year's report highlights reform and innovation.
The report, which was submitted to the national legislature for deliberation earlier in the day, proposes multiple reforms in key areas, including the formulation of regulations for building a unified national market, zero-based budget reforms, and categorized advancement of university reforms, Shen said.
The report outlines innovative measures to accelerate the cultivation and expansion of new growth drivers and achieve high-level self-reliance in science and technology. These initiatives include forging new forms of intelligent economy, expanding capacity and improving the quality of the service sector, and strengthening innovation and breakthroughs in core technologies, according to Shen.
"The terms 'reform' and 'innovation' appeared 75 times throughout the entire text, making them high-frequency words in this year's [government work] report," he said.
This year's government work report also features people's livelihoods as a major priority, a distinct characteristic of the report in recent years, Shen said.
"This year's [government work] report places a more significant emphasis on ensuring and improving people's livelihoods. The measures proposed are more focused on public concerns, such as stressing greater fiscal support for ensuring people's livelihood, formulating and implementing income-increasing plans for urban and rural residents, and raising the proportion of government investment in livelihood-related areas. All these reflect a development philosophy centered on the people, and a direction for government work that insists on doing more practical and beneficial things for the public, and ensuring that people have a greater sense of tangible gain," said the official
Shen also noted that this year's government work report stands out for its pragmatism and operability. The main tasks and policy measures outlined in the report were proposed after thorough deliberation, emphasizing pragmatism, feasibility, and implementability.
Examples include establishing a 100 billion yuan (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) fund for fiscal and financial coordination to boost domestic demand, raising livelihood subsidy standards, and integrating normalized assistance into the rural revitalization strategy.
The report stresses the importance of establishing and practicing a correct view of political performance, guiding officials to achieve results that serve the people, are produced through diligent work, and stand the tests of practice, the people, and history, Shen said.
Reform, innovation, people's livelihood key themes of gov't work report: official
China will take more effective measures to improve people's wellbeing, especially in education, healthcare, and social security, an official said Thursday in Beijing at a press conference on the interpretation of this year's government work report, which was submitted to the national legislature for deliberation earlier in the day.
Shen Danyang, head of the government work report drafting team and director of the State Council Research Office, said centering on enhancing educational equity and quality, the report made arrangements for education at all educational stages and of all types.
"Regarding preschool education, the policy of free education in the year prior to entering primary school will continue to be implemented this year, which is commonly referred to as free admission to the senior class of kindergartens. So, how can the income reduction of kindergartens be addressed? Subsidies will be provided by both the central and local governments, with the central government taking the lion's share. This year, the funds allocated to support the development of preschool education will increase significantly by 37.8 percent to ensure the implementation of the beneficial policy," he said.
Regarding senior high school education, Shen said the report stated that the supply of regular senior high school places will be increased,
Specifically, for areas with a continuous net inflow of population, a number of regular high schools will be planned and constructed on an annual basis. For regions with a temporary shortage of school places, priority will be given to the renovation and expansion of existing teaching buildings, student dormitories and canteens, he said.
Shen said the report put forward many supportive measures in healthcare.
"For instance, it urged efforts to strengthen coordination in drug use at the grassroots level, which mean improving the list of essential drugs, and optimizing the channels for drug supply and drug use coordination between upper- and lower-level medical and health institutions to make it more convenient for the public to use drugs at their doorstep. Besides, the report has made arrangements for supporting the development of innovative drugs for the third consecutive year. This year, China will strengthen the coordination of supportive policies in an all-round way, further address issues such as the barriers facing innovative drugs entering hospitals, and better meet the diverse medical and medication needs of the people," he said.
In terms of social security, Shen said the report proposed to continue raising the minimum standard of basic pensions for urban and rural residents -- a policy will benefit over 180 million elderly people.
"The central government will allocate 1.25 trillion yuan (about 181.25 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidy funds to ensure the timely and full payment of pensions. In response to the insufficient protection of the rights and interests of people engaging in new occupations, the report proposed to steadily and orderly expand the scale of the pilot program for occupational injury insurance. This year, the policy will cover 31 provincial-level regions across the country and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Meanwhile, enterprises specializing in travel, instant delivery and intra-city freight delivery will be included in the pilot program, which will ensure the safety of more laborers, such as food delivery workers and online car-hailing drivers," he said.
China to improve people's wellbeing in education, healthcare, social security: official
