China's National People's Congress - the top legislature - approved Thursday the draft of the first Civil code.

According to Xinhua, the Civil Code will take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

China has already tried to adopt Civil Code four times - in 1954, 1962, 1979, and 2001, however, all these attempts were unsuccessful due to differences in the wording and understanding of certain terms.

The annual session of China's National People's Congress opens every year in Beijing on March 5, but this year the event was postponed until May 22 and lasted only 7 days instead of the usual 10.