China's top political advisory body, CPPCC, opens Thursday

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• published: 02 Mar 2016
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China's annual political season is getting underway in Beijing. The top political advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference or CPPCC, opens its session on Thursday. Issues on the agenda include the economy and social welfare. CCTV's Wu Guoxiu reports from the Great Hall of People in Beijing. The CPPCC meeting will last until March 14, one day longer than last year. The conference will focus on economic issues and hold a workshop on the macro-economic situation, CPPCC spokesperson Wang Guoqing said. The workshop will be held every quarter, two times more than last year. The advisers will contribute ideas to the country's five-year development plan from 2016 to 2020. Wang said China will "definitely" achieve medium to high speed economic growth in 2016. He said China's 6.9 percent growth last year was outstanding, compared to the performance of other international economies, adding that the Chinese economy has been expanding with high quality. During this session, political advisors will also join National People's Congress deputies to discuss a government work report, as well as a draft law on charity. They will specifically talk about the equitable distribution of development benefits, such as medical services. He added that the CPPCC will also focus on targeted domestic poverty relief and, as the world's economy struggles to find traction, extend the country's excellent production capacity outwards via the One Belt-One Road Strategy. During the upcoming annual session, political advisors are urged to contribute constructive and practical ideas to the country's lift confidence during China's economic slowdown.