The State Council executive meeting held on November 27 reviewed and passed the draft "Regulations on Promoting Nationwide Reading." The meeting emphasized the need to legally safeguard nationwide reading, enabling the public to continuously acquire knowledge and wisdom through reading.

According to sources, the regulations institutionalize existing practices, experiences, and models of nationwide reading through legislation, clarifying its principles, objectives, tasks, and measures. This provides a solid legal foundation for building a book-loving society.

Reading is fundamental to cultural development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, nationwide reading initiatives have made steady progress, with the national comprehensive reading rate rising from 76.3% in 2012 to 82.1% in 2024.

The meeting called for expanding the supply of high-quality content, improving reading facilities, and enhancing reading services for different groups, such as youth and the elderly. It also encouraged the development and application of new technologies, platforms, and facilities to promote reading.

To implement these requirements, the National Press and Publication Administration will collaborate with relevant State Council departments to formulate plans for nationwide reading, children's reading, and rural reading programs. Efforts will focus on refining planning, resource allocation, event organization, and service promotion, while guiding social forces in reading promotion activities and conducting public reading surveys.

The meeting proposed innovative and diverse reading promotion activities to enhance the nation's ideological, moral, and scientific-cultural literacy, elevate social civility, and inject strong spiritual momentum into advancing Chinese modernization.

In October, the State Council approved the establishment of a "Nationwide Reading Week," to be held annually in the fourth week of April starting from 2026. The National Press and Publication Administration will organize the event meticulously, host nationwide reading conferences, and support local governments in cultivating region-specific reading activities to strengthen the "Book-Loving China" brand and inspire public enthusiasm for reading.