China's advisory body begins annual session

China's top political advisory body began its annual session here today attended by President Xi Jinping and other leaders to deliberate on new initiatives to halt the slowdown of the world's second largest economy and the implementation of the new five year plan.

The 2,230 nominated members of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) began its fortnight-long session ahead of the main legislature, the National People's Conference, (NPC) to be held from March 5.

NPC will be opened with a work report on the government functioning by Premier Li Keqiang. It will also deliberate on the 13th Five-Year Plan being implemented from this year to address the slowdown of the economy which slipped below seven per cent for the first time in 26 years.

The plan will comprehensively deepen reforms and advance law-based governance, improve people's well-being, promote ethnic unity and religious harmony, and develop a favourable external environment for China's development, official media reported.

The CPPCC meeting revolved around issues, such as reform of the government's review and approval system and judicial structural reform.

Suggestions on a number of draft legislation and regulations, including the environmental protection tax law and the marine environmental protection law, were offered, Yu said.

The main functions of the CPPCC are to conduct political consultation, exercise democratic supervision and participate in the discussion and the handling of state affairs, Yu said.

China's economy, long a reliable source of growth, expanded 6.9 per cent year on year in 2015, the slowest rate in 25 years, weighed down by a property market downturn, falling trade and weak factory activities.

In his report, Yu pointed to the "supply-side reform" -- a popular notion that includes reducing ineffective and low-end supply.

The CPPCC members come from China's various walks of life and ethnic groups. They often serve as the think-tank for the government, legislative and judicial organs, and put forward proposals on major political and social issues in the world's most populous nation and second largest economy.

The proposals are sometimes considered a rough barometer of public opinion, signalling issues of concern from industrial policy to domestic violence, and telegraph the general national agenda for the whole year and beyond, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.