1st LD-Writethru: China's top legislature to open annual session Sunday

The fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, is scheduled to open Sunday morning, top legislator Zhang Dejiang said Saturday.

Preparations for the session are complete, said Zhang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, at a preparatory meeting for the session Saturday morning.

A 169-member presidium for the session was elected at the meeting, and Li Jianguo was elected secretary-general of the session, said a statement released after the meeting.

As of Friday, 2,875 of 2,924 NPC deputies had registered with the session's secretariat.

The meeting also adopted the session's agenda.

National lawmakers will review six reports, including the reports on government work, the national economic and social development plan, central and local budgets, as well as those from the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

They will also deliberate draft general provisions of civil law and three bills regarding the election of deputies to the 13th NPC, according to the statement.

The top legislature will conscientiously perform its duties conferred by the Constitution and laws, give full play to the positive role of deputies, and complete all agenda items, Zhang said while addressing the meeting.

The session aims to mobilize people of all ethnic groups to unite more closely around the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, and forge ahead to realize the country's "two centenary goals" and the Chinese dream of great national rejuvenation, Zhang said.

Prior to the preparatory meeting, a meeting of chairman and vice chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee was held.

The presidium held its first meeting after the preparatory meeting and elected its executive chairpersons. Endi