1st Ld: China's top legislator stresses CPC leadership, confidence in people' s congresses

China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang on Sunday underscored the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the work of the country's top legislature, while expressing confidence in China's system of people's congresses, the fundamental political system of the country.

The leadership of the CPC is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said when presenting a work report at a plenary meeting of the top legislature's annual session.

"In adhering to and improving the system of people's congresses, we must unwaveringly uphold the Party's leadership and strengthen our confidence in the system," he said.

"We must improve the system on the basis of upholding the Party's leadership and develop it through practice to ensure it advances with the times," the top legislator added.

Looking back on the NPC's Standing Committee work over the past year, Zhang said the top legislature had been upholding the Party's leadership throughout every process and aspect of the work.

"Upholding the Party's leadership over people's congresses is for ensuring that the Party can exercise leadership over the state and society through organs of political power," Zhang said.

He went on to cite a keynote speech made by CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping last year in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the NPC, saying that the people's congress system has provided a fundamental institutional arrangement for integrating leadership by the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country, and the law-based governance of the country.

It is also the fundamental political system underpinning China's governance system and capacity for governance, Zhang added.

The top legislator said experiences garnered over the past six decades showed that the country must uphold the leadership of the CPC and ensure it leads the people in governing the country effectively, uphold the people's principal position in the country and support and ensure their exercise of state power through the people's congresses.

It shall also remain dedicated to the historical mission of rejuvenating the country and focus energy on carrying out socialist modernization, exercise governance of the country on the basis of law and build China into a socialist rule of law country, improve and develop the system of people's congresses in light of China's specific conditions, and adhere to democratic centralism and give full play to the features and strengths of the system of people' s congresses, Zhang said. Endit