Chinese lawmakers gathered Thursday morning to elect a presidium and set the agenda for the legislative session slated to start Friday.

A 170-member presidium including a secretary-general were elected to take charge of the procedures of the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), which is scheduled to last 10 days.

The presidium is composed of senior officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC), non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, personages without party affiliation, deputies from government agencies and people's organizations, and leading members of all the 35 delegations to the NPC session, including those from Hong Kong and Macao and the People's Liberation Army.

Wang Zhaoguo was elected secretary-general of the session.

The name list was proposed by the NPC Standing Committee after consulting with relevant departments.

According to the agenda adopted at the preparatory meeting, the NPC deputies will hear and deliberate the government work report and reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and vote on the plan of national economic and social development and the central budget for 2010.

The lawmakers will also deliberate a draft amendment to the Electoral Law.

Nearly 3,000 NPC deputies are expected to attend the annual full session of the national legislature at the Great Hall of the People.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2010)