Top Political Advisory Body Holds Plenary Meeting

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top advisory body, held a plenary meeting on Tuesday during its ongoing annual session.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, and senior government officials including Vice Premier Wang Qishan were present at the meeting.

A number of political advisors called for coordinated development between urban and rural areas, improved modern service industry, and expansion of China's strategic emerging industries.

Ou Chengzhong suggested that state-owned enterprises raise their competitiveness in the key sectors that bear on the lifeline of the national economy.

Li Yining, a leading economist, said that China needs to diversify its massive holding of foreign exchange reserves to prevent consistent devaluation amid volatile global economic conditions.

Ma Weihua, president of China Merchants Bank, stressed the importance for China to expand the use of its currency, the yuan, in cross-border trade and investment.

Li Deshui said the abundant supply of farm produce was key to curb inflation in China and called for efforts to increase agriculture production.

CPPCC National Committee members submitted more than 5,760 proposals as of 2:00 PM Tuesday, the deadline for proposal submission, a slight increase over last year's 5,430, said Liu Xiaobing, a CPPCC official in charge of handling proposals.

According to Liu, most of the proposals focus on issues related to the country's 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, transformation of economic development pattern and improvement of people's well-being.

Of the proposals, 46 percent touch on economic issues, 28 percent on education, science, culture and sports, while the rest on social insurance, politics and laws, according to Liu.