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The 2021 Two Sessions and the 14th Five-Year Plan



What are the Two Sessions?

The Two Sessions are the National Peoples Conference (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). They take place almost simultaneously, but they are separate events. This year, they started on March 4th and concluded on March 11th.

The NPC is de jure a unicameral legislature, composed of a majority of Chinese Communist Party members and a smaller minority of other parties. De facto, it is largely described outside of China as a 'rubber-stamp' legislature, which signs whatever it receives. While it has never vetoed a piece of legislation presented to it, the percentage of 'yes' and 'no' votes is often viewed as indicative of the party bureaucracy's opinions towards a piece of legislation. More contentious pieces of legislation may never reach the full NPC for a vote.

The CPPCC is de jure a political advisory body, consisting of delegates from the Chinese Communist Party, front organizations, the eight other legally recognized political parties, and delegates from civil society, academia, and the private sector. It is not a body of state power nor does it formally have the power to create laws. In practice, it is largely a means of communicating party goals to figures within civil society and in recent decades, major business leaders, although its actual influence is marginal.


Produced by the Harvard Fairbank Center, this image reflects an understanding of the party structure at around the close of 13th NPC and CPPCC in 2018. This is slightly out of date, and may not reflect current events.

In practice, however, most power is held by the seven-member Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. Xi Jinping, who is General Secretary of the Party, Chief of the Central Military Commission, and President of the PRC, is easily the most powerful member of the standing committee, although the other members of the standing committee, including Wang Huning, have substantial responsibilities reflecting their formal assignments and roles. The South China Morning Post describes Xi as not being "first among equals", the other six are also important. The other members of the politburo, in addition to their formal areas of responsibility, can be organized into "leading small groups" which focus on specific issues across multiple bureaucratic areas.

These seven members are part of a twenty-five-member politburo, which represents the top leadership positions of the Chinese Communist Party - with all governmental institutions and the military reporting to party leadership.

So why even pay attention to these?

The two sessions are where the CCP unveils its long-term initiatives and goals for the next year. This usually includes targets for GDP growth, but also other policy issues such as pension and social welfare reform, environmental policy, poverty alleviation, industrial development, and scientific research funding priorities.

This year's two sessions have an additional importance because of the announcement of the 14th Five Year Plan, which covers the years 2021 to 2025. Students of Soviet policy might recognize the term 'Five Year Plan', but the similarities end there. The current 14th Five Year Plan includes targets for GDP per capita, a renewed focus on sustainable energy, and promotion of domestic consumption as a market for domestically produced products. This year's NPC also includes a "2035 China Standards" program, which lists targets for domestic investment and growth in addition to the manufacturing boom promoted by the "Made in China 2025" plan.