Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday presided over a State Council executive meeting that approved the State Council's key work division plan for 2026.

The meeting emphasized the need to implement the arrangements outlined in the government work report to ensure a sound start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

It urged government departments to act with greater initiative and introduce practical and effective policy measures to expedite the implementation of relevant tasks.

Efforts should be made to strengthen differentiated guidance for localities, with greater focus on studying new situations and addressing new problems, while encouraging regions to leverage their comparative advantages.

The meeting also studied the establishment of a negative list management mechanism for local fiscal subsidies, highlighting the need to further clarify the specific circumstances under which local governments are prohibited from granting such subsidies.

It also reviewed and adopted a revised draft of the regulation on the national agricultural census.

(Cover: Chinese Premier Li Qiang. /Xinhua)