This is the first report released by the China Power Sector Roundtable Project. This report presents analyses of the achievements and challenges of constructing China’s power system, and proposes a top-level design for its domestic electricity market. The report suggests that the ideal wholesale electricity market should be based on interprovincial, regional markets with bilateral contracts, whereas the ideal retail market should give consumers full freedom of choice. Given China’s institutional structure, construction of the country’s wholesale electricity market should be “easy first, then difficult, and problem-oriented,” and employ a centralized, mandatory power pool with simple design operations. The report also analyzes and provides detailed recommendations for topics such as the integration of renewable energy support policies and national energy strategies (ex. the West-East Electricity Transfer Project) with power system competition, the integration of the province-bound mandatory power pool with interprovincial trade, the dissolution of market dominance, and the organization of market management institutions.