The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, started its fifth session Monday in Beijing.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session's first plenary meeting.

Lawmakers reviewed a draft revision to the Law on Administrative Reconsideration, a draft foreign state immunities law, and a draft amendment to the Civil Procedure Law, all submitted by the NPC Constitution and Law Committee to the session.

In its reports to the session, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee said the three drafts are already relatively mature, and suggested the session adopt them.

Lawmakers also deliberated a draft revision to the Company Law, a draft value-added tax law, a draft preschool education law, a draft academic degrees law, and a draft revision to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security. The session reviewed a draft decision on extending a trial program allowing lawyers from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to obtain licenses and practice in nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Lawmakers also deliberated an extradition treaty with Ecuador.

They also heard a report on the implementation of the plan for national economic and social development from this year, a report on the execution of budget for this year, a report on the financial transfer payment, a report on the work for ensuring national food security, and a report on the work against domestic violence.

Lawmakers also deliberated a report on deputy qualifications and personnel-related bills.

With the aim of improving the maintenance of law and order in the country, the session is reviewing a draft revision to the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security.

The proposed draft prohibits actions such as cheating in exams, orchestrating pyramid schemes, impeding the safe operation of public transport vehicles and dropping objects from buildings.

To strengthen the protection of minors, the draft specifies that actions damaging the rights and interests of minors will result in harsher punishments.

During the interrogation of a juvenile suspect under the age of 16, if the suspect's parents or other guardians are unable to be present, the suspect should be accompanied by other eligible adults, according to the draft.

The NPC deputies are also considering a draft law that takes a tougher stance against academic misconduct, forms of which include plagiarism and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate theses.

Individuals found to have obtained their academic degrees through plagiarism, data fabrication, or the submission of AI-generated theses will have their degrees revoked, according to the draft academic degree law. The draft was submitted on Monday to the country's top legislature for its first reading.

Those discovered to have utilized another person's identity to enroll in university and acquire a degree will also face the revocation of their qualifications. If their actions constitute a crime, they will be subject to investigation and potentially held criminally responsible, according to the draft law.

A draft law to ensure that preschool education is accessible to all children and of high quality is also tabled for deliberation at the ongoing session.

While explaining the draft law at the session, Huai Jinpeng, minister of education, said despite the rapid growth of preschool education, the sector has witnessed unbalanced and inadequate development in recent years.

He noted significant problems, such as the difficulty of getting enrolled in kindergartens and the fact that some kindergartens collect exorbitant fees.

To secure the sound development of the sector, the draft law stresses the principal role of the government in popularizing preschool education and building a preschool public-service system that covers urban and rural areas and features public interest.

A draft revision to the Company Law was submitted for the top legislature for the third reading on Monday, focusing on strengthening the equal protection of property rights and regulating the responsibilities of controlling shareholders and actual controllers of companies.

On protecting equal property rights, the draft revision stipulates that smaller shareholders have the right to require the company to purchase the shares of the controlling shareholders at a reasonable price when controlling shareholders abuse their rights or severely harm the interests of the company or other shareholders.

The revision also adds punishment for fraudulence concerning registered capital and information of companies.

China's current Company Law was enacted in 1993 and has undergone multiple revisions, including a major revision in 2005.

A draft value-added tax law that includes more details regarding the system for small-scale value-added tax payers, as part of the efforts to further optimize the country's business environment was also submitted to the session for a second reading. The first reading took place in December 2022.

The draft defines entities with annual taxable sales revenue under 5 million yuan (about $695,836) as small-scale value-added tax payers. The draft added that the State Council can adjust the definition of such taxpayers based on the needs of social and economic development.

Details of simplified tax calculation scenarios and value-added tax credit refund are also written into the draft.

Value-added tax accounts for around 30 percent, the largest share, of China's tax revenue.

The draft could help ease the burden on business entities and bolster market expectations, said Li Xuhong, professor at the Beijing National Accounting Institute.

(With input from Xinhua)