Published by ChinaMNC · Jiuzhaigou

Sichuan's Official Planning Library: What Foreign Founders Should Read Before Setting Up

A practical guide for foreign founders to the planning documents published on the Sichuan provincial government's information disclosure page, including five-year plans, territorial spatial plans, and city-level development strategies.

Why Sichuan's Planning Library Matters to Foreign Founders

Sichuan's provincial government maintains a public disclosure page listing the policy documents, regulations, and plans that shape how the province governs land, industry, and public services. For a foreign founder considering a company in China, this page is more than an archive. It is a map of where the province says development will happen, which sectors it is organizing around, and which regional strategies carry official weight.

The page is organized by category rather than by investor use case, so it takes some navigation. The notes below explain what each section contains and how a founder can read it efficiently, using only the documents listed on the source page.

What the Page Actually Contains

Five-Year Plans for the Province as a Whole

The economic and social development five-year outlines form the backbone. The list includes the 15th Five-Year Plan outline (dated 2026-04-13), the 14th Five-Year Plan outline together with the 2035 long-range objectives (2021-03-17), and earlier outlines for the 13th (2016-02-15) and 12th (2011-01-28) plan periods. Reading the most recent outline alongside its predecessor shows how priorities have shifted over time.

Territorial Spatial Plans

A separate block covers land and space planning. Entries include the Sichuan Tianfu New Area territorial spatial plan for 2021–2035 (2025-12-31), a notice from the provincial Department of Natural Resources issuing five specialized plans including the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone territorial spatial plan for 2021–2035 (2024-11-04), the provincial territorial spatial plan for 2021–2035 (2024-04-11), the Anning River Basin plan for 2022–2035 (2022-11-22), and the provincial ecological restoration plan for 2021–2035 (2022-07-08). Older items include the main functional zone plan notice (2013-04-16) and land use master plans for 2006–2020 (2010-02-23) and 1997–2010 (1999-11-15).

Regional and Metropolitan Development Plans

This section addresses how Sichuan organizes its sub-regions. It lists the Chengdu metropolitan area integration development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-09-09), the Chengdu metropolitan area development plan (2021-11-29), and the Central Committee and State Council-issued outline for the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle (2021-10-21). A cluster of 14th Five-Year Plan documents follows, covering integrated development of the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone, the northwest Sichuan ecological demonstration zone, transformation and upgrading of the Panxi economic zone, integrated development of the southern Sichuan economic zone, and revitalization of the northeast Sichuan economic zone, all dated 2021-06-09. A 13th Five-Year Plan notice covering the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone development plan (2018 revision) and four others dates to 2019-01-25, with a northwest Sichuan ecological economic zone plan from 2016-09-02.

Sector Plans and Government Approvals

A long list of 15th Five-Year Plan documents and approval replies covers water security, public services, Beautiful Sichuan construction, traditional Chinese medicine development, disability protection and development, sports development, natural resource protection and utilization, health development, geological disaster prevention, and modernization of market regulation. Dates run from 2026-09-11 to 2026-10-09.

Housing, Construction, and Heritage Protection

This block includes the high-quality development plan for housing and urban-rural construction for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-08-31), followed by provincial government approvals for heritage and scenic area plans. These cover historic and cultural cities including Luzhou (2025–2035), Mianzhu (2023–2035), Jian'ge (2025–2035), and Tongjiang (2024–2035); historic towns and villages in Enyang District of Bazhong and in Zigong; and scenic area master plans for Mengding Mountain and Laojun Mountain, both for 2025–2035, plus a protection plan for the Banyue Mountain cliff carvings.

City-Level Access

The page closes with links to 21 municipal and prefecture portals: Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Bazhong, Ya'an, Meishan, Ziyang, Aba Prefecture, Garze Prefecture, and Liangshan Prefecture.

How a Foreign Founder Can Use This

• Start with the current provincial outline. The 15th Five-Year Plan outline is the most recent statement of provincial direction in this list. Compare it with the 14th outline and 2035 objectives to see continuity.
• Check land plans before committing to a site. Territorial spatial plans define how land is designated. The Tianfu New Area and Chengdu Plain Economic Zone plans are directly relevant to industrial and office location decisions.
• Read the regional plans for your supply chain. The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle outline and the Chengdu metropolitan area plans describe cross-jurisdictional coordination that may affect logistics, hiring, and market access.
• Use sector plans to identify regulated areas. Water, health, market regulation, and natural resources plans indicate where licensing and compliance attention will be concentrated.
• Check heritage approvals if you plan physical development. Approvals for historic cities, towns, and scenic areas signal where construction and renovation face additional review.
• Go to city portals for local rules. Provincial plans set direction; municipal portals carry the local implementation details a registered company will actually encounter.

Practical Caveats

The page is a disclosure index, not an investor guide. Several listed items are approval replies rather than full plan texts, and the earliest documents date back to 1999 and are largely of historical interest. The page itself carries a website identification code and registration numbers, confirming it as an official provincial channel, but it does not summarize content or offer English versions. Founders should treat each document as a starting point and confirm current requirements with the issuing department or qualified local counsel before making commitments.

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