BEIJING -- China's top legislature on Thursday began deliberating on a draft law that sets the rules for creating and carrying out the country's five-year plans.

The draft law on national development planning was submitted to the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress for consideration.

The review coincided with lawmakers' examination of a draft outline of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, the blueprint that will guide the world's second-largest economy from 2026 to 2030.

The draft law draws on China's long-standing experience in national development planning, codifies proven practices into a legal framework, and aims to reinforce the strategic guiding role of national development plans, according to an explanatory document presented to lawmakers.

Divided into six chapters, the draft law sets out provisions on the formulation, review and approval, and implementation of national development plans, as well as oversight of their implementation.

Since 1953, China has formulated and implemented 14 five-year plans, helping to drive economic and social development, improve living standards, and strengthen its overall national strength.

The draft law formalizes the process by which the Communist Party of China Central Committee formulates recommendations, the State Council drafts plans, and the NPC reviews and approves them before their release.

According to the draft, national development plans should outline China's strategic intentions and the government's priorities, and guide social entities in their activities.

It specifies that national development plans should include an analysis of the development environment; guidelines; key goals and indicators; major strategic tasks, policy measures and projects; and measures to ensure the plans' implementation.

The draft law also emphasizes the importance of public consultation in the planning process. Illustrating this practice, authorities launched a one-month online public consultation on the 15th Five-Year Plan last year, garnering over 3.11 million responses. Officials noted that this feedback provided valuable input for the plan's formulation.

The enactment of the law represents an important measure to practice whole-process people's democracy in national development planning, according to the explanatory document on the draft.

The draft law also sets out requirements for implementing national development plans. It further codifies a system for the monitoring and evaluation of the plan implementation, including mid-term and final evaluation.

The draft law was first submitted to lawmakers in April 2025 and underwent three rounds of review by December, before being brought before this year's annual session.