The Chinese open government information (OGI) system was created in 2008 with the aim of generating a constant and updated flow of information between the People’s Republic of China public institutions and the citizens. The diachronic perspective of this contribution is based on the analysis of all the administrative and legal texts published on OGI policy in China from 2008 to 2014. In order to highlight the country political context influence on the policy, the content of the documents has then be compared to relevant sections of two Human Rights Action Plans issued by China in 2009 and 2012. The paper finally focuses on the explicit and implicit objectives of the Chinese OGI policy discussing them in terms of government work accountability, vertical control within the state organs and power legitimacy consolidation.