Published by ChinaMNC · Bazhong

Sichuan Planning Documents: A Founder's Guide to What the Provincial Government Publishes

A practical overview of the planning documents Sichuan's government publishes, from five-year plans to spatial plans, and what foreign founders should look for when registering or operating a company in the province.

What Sichuan's Planning Library Actually Contains

The Sichuan provincial government maintains a public information disclosure page that indexes its planning documents. For a foreign founder setting up or running a company in Sichuan, this index is a useful map of the policy landscape: it shows which plans exist, which years they cover, and when they were issued. The page is organized into categories rather than presented as a single narrative, so understanding the structure is the first step.

The categories visible on the page include policy and regulations, normative documents, and planning documents. The planning section is the most relevant for founders, because it groups long-range economic and social plans alongside spatial plans, regional plans, and sector-specific plans.

Five-Year Plans: The Economic Backbone

Provincial five-year plans

The index lists Sichuan's five-year plans for national economic and social development as a series, covering the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th five-year periods, with the 15th five-year plan outline dated 2026-04-13. Earlier editions are dated 2021-03-17, 2016-02-15, and 2011-01-28. Together these show how provincial development priorities have been set over time.

Spatial and territorial plans

A separate group covers territorial space planning. Entries include the Sichuan Tianfu New Area territorial space plan for 2021–2035 (dated 2025-12-31), a notice from the provincial Department of Natural Resources on five specialized plans including the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone territorial space plan for 2021–2035 (dated 2024-11-04), the provincial territorial space plan for 2021–2035 (dated 2024-04-11), the Anning River Basin territorial space plan for 2022–2035 (dated 2022-11-22), and the provincial territorial space ecological restoration plan for 2021–2035 (dated 2022-07-08). Older land-use plans for 2006–2020 and 1997–2010 also appear, along with a 2013 notice on the provincial main functional zone plan.

Regional and metropolitan plans

Regional integration plans form another cluster. The index lists a Chengdu metropolitan area integration development plan for the 15th five-year period (dated 2026-09-09) and a Chengdu metropolitan area development plan (dated 2021-11-29). It also includes the national outline for the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council (dated 2021-10-21). Several 14th five-year regional plans are listed — for Chengdu Plain Economic Zone integration, the Northwest Sichuan ecological demonstration zone, the Panxi economic zone, the South Sichuan economic zone, and the Northeast Sichuan economic zone — all dated 2021-06-09.

Sector Plans and Approvals

A further group collects sector-specific plans and government approvals. Examples include approvals for the 15th five-year water security plan, public service plan, traditional Chinese medicine development plan, sports development plan, and market regulation modernization plan, alongside plans for Beautiful Sichuan construction, natural resource protection and utilization, health development, geological disaster prevention, and housing and urban-rural construction. These entries are dated across 2026.

A separate set covers heritage and scenic area protection, including approvals for historic and cultural city protection plans for Luzhou, Mianzhu, Jian'ge, and Tongjiang, historic towns and villages in Bazhong's Enyang district and Zigong's Aiye, and master plans for the Mengding Mountain and Laojun Mountain scenic areas, plus a protection plan for the Banyue Mountain cliff carvings.

How a Foreign Founder Can Use This Index

• Check the date and period. Each entry carries an issue date and a planning horizon. Confirm which plan is current before relying on it.
• Match the plan to your location. Provincial plans sit alongside regional plans for the Chengdu Plain, South Sichuan, Northeast Sichuan, Panxi, and Northwest Sichuan, and metropolitan plans for Chengdu. A company's city or county determines which regional plan is most relevant.
• Separate economic from spatial plans. Five-year plans set development direction; territorial space plans govern land use and spatial layout. Both can matter for site selection and expansion.
• Use sector plans for regulated activities. If your business touches health, water, tourism, heritage areas, or market regulation, the corresponding sector plan or approval is worth reviewing.
• Follow the city links. The page lists Sichuan's cities and prefectures, from Chengdu and Mianyang to Aba, Ganzi, and Liangshan, which is a starting point for locating local disclosures.

Practical Caveats

This page is an index, not a set of operating rules. It lists titles, dates, and categories; it does not summarize obligations, incentives, or procedures for company registration. Founders should treat it as a directory for finding the underlying documents and then confirm requirements with the issuing department or a qualified local adviser. Note also that some listed dates fall in the future relative to the present, so verify publication status directly on the government site.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.