Top legislature pledges legal guarantees for Chinese modernization

China's top legislature on Friday pledged to pursue the high-quality work of people's congresses to provide legal guarantees for building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.

Delivering a work report of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee to the annual legislative session, Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, vowed to strengthen the implementation of the Constitution and the oversight of constitutional compliance in the year ahead.

The NPC Standing Committee will compile a draft environmental code to submit for deliberation, Zhao said.

In order to accelerate the creation of a new development pattern and deepen reform across the board, the NPC Standing Committee will formulate a financial stability law and a private sector promotion law, among others, he said.

With a focus on improving public well-being and ensuring social stability and harmony, the legislature will formulate a civil compulsory enforcement law and a social assistance law, among others, Zhao said.

The legislature will formulate a tariff law and revise the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law and the Anti-Money Laundering Law, in an effort to strengthen legislation in areas involving foreign affairs and develop a system of laws for extraterritorial application, he added.

The NPC Standing Committee has prepared 35 oversight programs for this year. It will conduct inspections into the implementation of five laws, including the Yellow River Protection Law, Zhao said.

He added the legislature will also formulate guidelines on how to improve the competence of NPC deputies and strengthen the exchanges and cooperation with parliaments of other countries.

(Cover: The second session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, starts its second plenary meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 8, 2024. /CFP)