Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of second plenary meeting of fourth session of 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in progress

Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Sun Xianzong, civil law expert and NPC deputy (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"On social and economic development, there may be some new legislations in the future, e.g, those on how to implement the Civil Code and protect the private sector of the economy. The work report of the NPC Standing Committee especially emphasized the focus on people's livelihood. Therefore, there will be significant progress in legislations related to workers' rights and social security, such as those concerning the elderly, the disabled and minors."

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Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of second plenary meeting of fourth session of 14th NPC in progress
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Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Huang Guisong, NPC deputy from Guangdong Province (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"We should accelerate the legislation on artificial intelligence to keep up with technological developments and prevent future risks. It is necessary for us to curb risks in advance and use legal protection to promote high-quality development of AI."
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5. NPC deputies at hall
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6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Huaiping, vice president of China Association of Environmental Protection Industry and NPC deputy (partially overlaid with shots 7-8):
"In ecological conservation and pollution control, China has aligned with international standards since quite a long time ago. We've provided a comprehensive legal framework for China’s future environmental governance and green transition, ensuring more systematic law enforcement. And in many areas, we've already set requirements that are more stringent than the relevant international standards. This means China now holds a significant leadership position in this field and will have greater initiative in the future."

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FILE: China - Exact Date and Location Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. Various of birds flying, trees
8. Various of sea; boats sailing
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Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of second plenary meeting of fourth session of 14th NPC in progress

Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chan Yuan, NPC deputy from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region:
"We have seen moves to enact a series of laws, which are substantial and imperative. Only by doing so, can we enable the rest of the world to witness China's rapid progress in the rule of law, just like its economic development. When many regions around the world are involved in conflict, global human resources and capital are more willing to come to a business environment that is more stable, rule-abiding and predictable."
11. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chan Fan, NPC deputy from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (partially overlaid with shot 12):
"The work reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate delivered just now also reflect our country's spirit of the rule of law. They truly mirror the philosophy behind governing the country by law and achieving Chinese modernization according to law. I believe that the level of trust from other countries and the public toward our nation is obvious."

Beijing, China - March 9, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
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12. Various of second plenary meeting of fourth session of 14th NPC in progress
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13. Great Hall of the People exterior

Deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) -- China's top legislature -- have said they expect the enactment of more legislations in 2026 spanning from civil affairs, artificial intelligence, environmental governance to the rights of workers, the elderly, the disabled and minors, as they gather in Beijing for the fourth session of the 14th NPC.

In separate interviews on the sidelines of the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 14th NPC on Monday, they shared their insights on the country's legislative priorities in 2026 for high-quality development.

Sun Xianzong, a civil law expert and NPC deputy, said China's future legal agenda would focus on supporting social and economic development.

"On social and economic development, there may be some new legislations in the future, e.g, those on how to implement the Civil Code and protect the private sector of the economy. The work report of the NPC Standing Committee especially emphasized the focus on people's livelihood. Therefore, there will be significant progress in legislations related to workers' rights and social security, such as those concerning the elderly, the disabled and minors," Sun said.

Huang Guisong, a NPC deputy from south China's Guangdong Province, said he expects faster legislation on artificial intelligence to match rapid technological advances.

"We should accelerate the legislation on artificial intelligence to keep up with technological developments and prevent future risks. It is necessary for us to curb risks in advance and use legal protection to promote high-quality development of AI," Huang said.

Environmental protection would be another priority, according to Liu Huaiping, vice president of the China Association of Environmental Protection Industry. He said that China has already aligned with the relevant international standards and in some areas surpassed them since quite a long time ago.

"In ecological conservation and pollution control, China has aligned with international standards since quite a long time ago. We've provided a comprehensive legal framework for China’s future environmental governance and green transition, ensuring more systematic law enforcement. And in many areas, we've already set requirements that are more stringent than the relevant international standards. This means China now holds a significant leadership position in this field and will have greater initiative in the future," Liu said.

Deputies from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) stressed the improvement in legal reforms, saying that the laws and regulations introduced at this year's "two sessions" would strengthen the business environment.

"We have seen moves to enact a series of laws, which are substantial and imperative. Only by doing so, can we enable the rest of the world to witness China's rapid progress in the rule of law, just like its economic development. When many regions around the world are involved in conflict, global human resources and capital are more willing to come to a business environment that is more stable, rule-abiding and predictable," said Chan Yuan, a NPC deputy from the HKSAR.

"The work reports of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate delivered just now also reflect our country's spirit of the rule of law. They truly mirror the philosophy behind governing the country by law and achieving Chinese modernization according to law. I believe that the level of trust from other countries and the public toward our nation is obvious," said Chan Fan, another NPC deputy from the HKSAR.

The "two sessions" are the annual meetings of NPC, and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC.

The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on March 5 and March 4, respectively.