First press conference of 19th CPC National Congress held in Beijing

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The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) will map out overall reform measures concerning the country's political system and other areas, Tuo Zhen, the spokesperson for the 19th CPC National Congress said Tuesday, while introducing the agenda of the upcoming Party Congress, as well as the preparatory work conducted beforehand.

China will not copy and replicate the models of other countries in political system reform, the spokesman said, when introducing the important Party Congress which will set a blueprint for the development of the country and the Party.

"Our unique cultural traditions, unique historical experience and unique national conditions determine that we must pursue a path of development suited to our own features," he said.

2,280 delegates chosen from a group of nearly 89 million Party members across the nation will attend the 19th CPC National Congress, which is set to convene on October 18 in Beijing.

Women make up 24.2 percent of the delegates, while people belonging to ethnic minorities account for 11.5 percent, representing a moderate increase compared to the 18th Party Congress.

The agenda

The preparatory meeting of the 19th CPC National Congress, chaired by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese President, was held on Tuesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Tuo Zhen explained that the meeting set the main agenda for the upcoming Party Congress, which will include:

-- Hearing and reviewing a report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee;

-- Reviewing a work report of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection;

-- Deliberating and adopting an amendment to the Party Constitution;

-- Electing the Party's 19th Central Committee and its 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

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During the preparatory meeting, Liu Yunshan was appointed secretary general of the 19th CPC National Congress, and delegates decided on a 22-member credentials committee and a 243-member presidium of the upcoming Congress.

Political Report by the 18th CPC Central Committee

According to Tuo, one of the most important items on the Congress’ agenda will be the hearing and reviewing of the report submitted by the 18th CPC Central Committee.

The opinions of more than 4,700 people, including delegates to the Party's 18th National Congress and newly-elected delegates to its 19th National Congress, have been solicited on the draft report, which will be submitted to the upcoming Congress.

CGTN Photo

Xi Jinping has also held six symposiums to hear the opinions and suggestions of people from various sectors on the draft report.

The report, along with a CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection work report and an amendment to the Party Constitution, will be submitted for deliberation at the week-long Congress.

Amending the Party Constitution

Another major event on the agenda for the upcoming Party Congress will be an amendment to the Party Constitution to better represent new governance concepts, thoughts and strategies proposed by the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core, according to Tuo.

CGTN Photo

The amendment will include key theories and strategic thoughts, and will be presented in a report that will be delivered at the congress, Tuo said.

Previous CPC national congresses had regularly amended the Party's Constitution. Since the current Constitution was endorsed in 1982, six revisions have been made, according to Tuo.

Electing a new central leadership

Following the conclusion of the 19th CPC National Congress, a new central leadership will be elected at the first plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC.

After the plenary session, members of the new Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee will meet Chinese and foreign journalists, confirmed Tuo Zhen.

When answering questions on China's effort in the fight against corruption, Tuo pointed out that China is preparing to roll out a piloted supervisory program nationwide, aiming to extend corruption supervision to cover all officials. The municipality of Beijing, as well as Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces were the first to set up the program this year.

Tuo also took questions from domestic and foreign reporters on some of the major issues up for discussion at the upcoming congress, including China’s economy, progress in poverty alleviation, the anti-corruption campaign, the country's goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 and China's role in global economic governance.

3,068 Chinese and foreign journalists will report on the 19th CPC National Congress, including 1,818 journalists from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and abroad. The number of registered journalists from overseas far exceeds that of the congress five years ago.

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