Published by ChinaMNC · Maerkang

Sichuan's Published Planning Record: What Foreign Founders Should Read Before Committing to a Site

A practical guide for foreign founders to Sichuan's official planning disclosure page — the provincial five-year plans, territorial spatial plans, Chengdu metropolitan area plans and sector plans that shape where and how a foreign-invested company can operate in Sichuan.

Why an Index Page Matters to a Foreign Founder

The Sichuan provincial government publishes its planning documents through a single official disclosure page. For a foreign founder evaluating a Chinese entity in Sichuan, this page is not light reading — it is the paper trail behind decisions that affect land use, industrial positioning, infrastructure, public services and sector priorities. Knowing which documents exist, and when each was issued, tells you which version of provincial policy is current and which has been superseded.

The page is organised into categories rather than a single narrative: policies and regulations, territorial spatial planning, regional and metropolitan plans, sector plans, and heritage and scenic-area protection plans. Below is a founder-oriented reading of what sits in each category, using only what the page itself discloses.

Five-Year Plans: The Top Layer

Provincial economic and social development outlines

The page lists the Sichuan provincial outline for the 15th Five-Year Plan, dated 2026-04-13. It also lists the 14th Five-Year Plan outline together with the long-range objectives through 2035, dated 2021-03-17, and earlier outlines for the 13th (2016-02-15) and 12th (2011-01-28) plan periods. For a founder, the sequence is the point: the provincial five-year outline sets the direction that lower-level plans must follow, and the presence of multiple generations on one page lets you see how long a given policy direction has been in place.

Territorial spatial planning

A separate block covers land and space. It includes the Sichuan Tianfu New Area territorial spatial plan (2021–2035), dated 2025-12-31; a 2024-11-04 notice from the provincial Department of Natural Resources issuing five specialised plans, including the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone territorial spatial plan (2021–2035); the provincial territorial spatial plan (2021–2035), dated 2024-04-11; the Anning River Basin territorial spatial plan (2022–2035), dated 2022-11-22; and the provincial territorial spatial ecological restoration plan (2021–2035), dated 2022-07-08. Older entries include the provincial main functional zone plan (2013-04-16) and two generations of provincial land-use master plans (2006–2020 and 1997–2010).

These are the documents that govern what can be built where. If your project depends on industrial land, a warehouse site or a plant, the territorial spatial plan for the relevant area is the place to check before signing anything.

Regional and Metropolitan Plans

The page lists a Chengdu metropolitan area integrated development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, dated 2026-09-09, alongside the earlier Chengdu metropolitan area development plan (2021-11-29). It also includes the national-level Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle construction plan outline, issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and dated 2021-10-21.

Sub-regional plans appear as a group: the Chengdu Plain Economic Zone integration plan, the Northwest Sichuan ecological demonstration zone plan, the Panxi economic zone transformation and upgrading plan, the South Sichuan economic zone integration plan and the Northeast Sichuan economic zone revitalisation plan, all dated 2021-06-09 under the 14th Five-Year Plan. Earlier 13th Five-Year Plan versions are also listed, including a 2019-01-25 notice covering five plans and a 2016-09-02 plan for the Northwest Sichuan ecological economic zone.

For founders, this block signals that provincial policy distinguishes sharply between regions. A site in the Chengdu Plain sits under a different planning framework than one in Northeast Sichuan or the Panxi area, and the applicable document differs accordingly.

Sector Plans and Approvals

A large block lists sector plans and provincial government approvals, mostly dated across 2026. Entries include approvals for the water security plan, the public services plan, the traditional Chinese medicine development plan, the sports development plan and the market regulation modernisation plan; and full plans for Beautiful Sichuan construction, disability protection and development, natural resources protection and utilisation, health development, and geological disaster prevention and control. A plan for high-quality development of housing and urban-rural construction is dated 2026-08-31.

Note the distinction the page makes between a plan and an approval of a plan (批复). Both appear as separate entries. For a founder assessing regulatory direction in areas such as public services, health or market regulation, the approval notice and the plan itself are separate documents worth reading together.

Heritage and Scenic Area Protection

A further block lists provincial approvals of protection plans for historic cities, towns and villages, and for scenic areas and cultural relics. Examples include approvals covering Luzhou, Mianzhu, Jian'ge and Tongjiang historic cities; a group of historic towns and villages including Enyang in Bazhong; the Mengding Mountain and Laojun Mountain scenic area master plans (2025–2035); and a protection plan for the Banyueshan cliff carvings. Dates run from 2026-04-24 to 2026-08-05.

If your intended site or route touches a designated historic area or scenic zone, these approvals indicate that protection planning is active and specific, which can constrain construction and renovation.

Local Coverage and Site Verification

The page closes with a list of cities and prefectures: Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Bazhong, Ya'an, Meishan, Ziyang, plus the Aba, Garzê and Liangshan prefectures. This matters practically: provincial plans set the frame, but municipal and prefectural plans govern many site-level questions. A founder should treat the provincial page as the index and then verify at the local level.

Practical Steps for Founders

• Check the date and generation. Where two versions of a plan appear, confirm which one is current before relying on it.
• Match your activity to the right block. Land and construction questions belong with the territorial spatial plans; sector questions with the relevant sector plan.
• Read approvals alongside plans. An approval notice and the underlying plan are separate documents.
• Confirm the local layer. Use the city and prefecture list to identify which local government publishes the operative plan for your site.
• Do not assume incentives. The page discloses plans and approvals; it does not state investment incentives, tax treatment or guarantees, so those must be verified separately with the competent authorities.

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