hina's 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the country's highest legislative body, passed the Ecological and Environmental Code of China on March 12, which will strengthen environmental regulation and protection and aid the country's green transition.
The nation's second Code following the Civil Code (2021), it consolidates about 30 existing laws and regulations into one framework, including the Environmental Protection Law and the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment. It comprises five chapters covering general rules, pollution control, ecology and environmental protection, low carbon and green development, and legal liabilities.
According to the NPC, the code is rooted in Chinese President Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization and the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. With "safeguarding public health and ecological and environmental rights" as the fundamental purpose, the code is designed to establish an integrated and systematic protection and pollution control system that covers all natural resources.
The code has been welcomed for being systematic, innovative and stringent. It details a full spectrum of pollution controls covering air, water, soil, solid waste, noise and emerging areas such as electromagnetic radiation and light pollution. It also tightens the redlines for ecological conservation and nature reserves and improves the mechanism for biodiversity and ecological restoration.
The code has taken the lead globally to make low-carbon green development an independent chapter which formalizes carbon emissions caps and intensity control systems, bolsters climate change action, and promotes green production, distribution and lifestyles.
The code also unifies and toughens legal liabilities to raise the cost of environmental violations, drawing on wide public and expert input.
The new code provides solid legal support for China's green transition and its carbon peaking and neutrality targets. Set to take effect on August 15, it marks a historic shift from fragmented rules to a unified, systematic legal framework for ecological and environmental protection.
Experts believe the code is a new milestone on China's long road for a "Beautiful China." According to the 2025 China Land Greening Status Bulletin published by the National Afforestation Committee under the State Council on March 12, China completed 3.56 million hectares of afforestation and restored 4.93 million hectares of degraded grasslands in 2025. The national forest coverage rate reached 25.09 percent, with forest stock hitting 20.99 billion cubic meters the same year. The country's forest and grass coverage now exceeds 56 percent.
China also dealt with 3.29 million hectares of desertified land in 2025, reducing it by 1.53 million hectares compared to the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). Newly added soil erosion control areas have surpassed 62,000 square kilometers, bringing the national soil and water conservation rate to 73.09 percent.
There have been great achievements in major ecological projects. The Three North (Northwest, North and Northeast China) Shelterbelt Program in 2025 launched 337 key projects covering 8.77 million hectares. Meanwhile, China has advanced 27 integrated conservation and restoration projects for mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, plus 68 demonstration projects of ecological restoration for abandoned mines.
Experts believe that with the new code in place, China's ecological and environmental governance will become more coordinated, innovative and rigorous which is of great significance as the country is entering the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for high-quality development.
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