Annual Review of Chinese Environmental Law Developments: 2025

• Pages: 10197-10200
• Date: 01 May 2026
• Published date: 01 May 2026
• Author: Haijing Wang,Mingqing You
• Subject Matter: Derecho del Medio Ambiente

COMMENTS

MAY/JUNE 2026 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER 56 ELR 10197

ANNUAL REVIEW OF CHINESE

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

DEVELOPMENTS: 2025

by Haijing Wang and Mingqing You

Haijing Wang is an Associate Professor at Wenzhou University Law School

and a researcher with the Wenzhounese Economy Research Institute. Mingqing

You is a Professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.

In 2025, China made further progress in environmen-

tal protection and in developing legislation and rule-

making. is includes adopting the National Park

Law, revising the Environmental Protection Tax Law, and

promulgating a series of administrative regulations. is

Comment summarizes these developments.

I. National Park Law

In September, the Standing Committee of the National

People’s Congress (NPC Standing Com mittee) adopted

the National Park Law of the People’s Republic of China,

which went into eect on January 1, 2026.1 China began

policy experiments on national parks about 10 years ago

and established the rst group of ve pilot national parks

in 2021, but the National Park Law is China’s rst spe-

cialized legislation on national parks. e new law, which

consists of seven chapters and 63 articles, forma lly intro-

duces a new management model for natural reserves that

emphasizes the central role of national parks. Following

enactment of the National Park Law, the State Council, the

executive organ of the National People’s Congress, promul-

gated revised regulations on natural reserves on Februar y

3, 2026, which went into eect on March 15, 2026.2

1. National Park Law of the People’s Republic of China (promulgated by the

NPC Standing Committee, Sept. 12, 2025, eective Jan. 1, 2026), 2025(5)

S C. N’ P’ C. G. 568-74 [hereinafter Na-

tional Park Law].

2. Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Nature Reserves (promul-

gated by the State Council, Oct. 9, 1994, rst revised Jan. 8, 2011, second

revised Oct. 7, 2017, third revised Feb. 3, 2026, eective Mar. 15, 2026),

2026(5) S C G. 14-20.

A. Definition of National Parks

Under the National Park Law, “national parks” are spe-

cic terrestrial and ma rine areas designated by the State

Council with the primar y objective of protecting natural

ecosystems of national representativeness for conserva-

tion and rational utilization of natural resources.3 Simply,

national parks must be established with the approval of

the State Council, contain natural ecosystems of national

representativeness, and conserve nature while providing

natural resources.

National parks emphasize the “authenticity and integ-

rity of ecosystems,” which refers to the original state of the

ecosystem and therefore requires mini mal human interfer-

ence. In addition to natural protection, national parks a lso

support scientic research, education, and tourism.

After enactment of the National Park Law, protected

areas in China include national pa rks, national- and pro-

vincial-level nature reserves, natural heritage sites, and

other specially protected areas. A s a new type of protected

area in China, key natural reserves will gradually be trans-

formed into national parks. Over time, national pa rks

will encompass rare and benecia l ecosystems, unique

landscapes, and areas essential to natural heritage and

bio d iv er sit y,4 and they will have a key role in the Chinese

system of protected area s.

B. Administrative Management System

e National Park Law requires establishment of a uni-

ed, standardized, and ecient management system for

national parks.5 Per the new law, the administrative man-

agement system for national parks prima rily involves: (1)a

newly created National Park Administration within the

National Forestry and Grassland Administration, which

falls under the authority of the State Council; (2) the

3. National Park Law, supra note 1, art. 2.

4. Id. art. 3.

5. Id. art. 6(1).

Authors’ Note: This Comment is an output of the authors’

research project sponsored by the Fundamental Research

Funds for the Central Universities of Zhongnan University

of Economics and Law (Grant No. 2722025DK001). It

is the result of independent academic research and does

not necessarily reflect the views of the authors’ funders

or affiliations.

Copyright © 2026 Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, DC. Reprinted with permission from ELR®, https://www.eli.org