China's national legislature concludes annual session

The closing meeting of the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 15, 2017. (Xinhua/Yang Zongyou)

The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, concluded its annual session Wednesday morning.[Special Coverage]

Among 2,838 NPC deputies present at the closing meeting, 2,812 voted in favor of the government work report; 2,793 for the work report of the NPC Standing Committee; 2,606 for the work report of the Supreme People's Court; and 2,606 for the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Lawmakers also approved the General Provisions of the Civil Law, the decision on the quota and election of deputies to the 13th NPC, and the methods for electing deputies to the 13th NPC from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

Other documents approved by the lawmakers included the 2017 national economic and social development plan, and the 2017 central and local budgets.

The lawmakers also approved the resignation of NPC Standing Committee member Xu Xianming.

Leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the closing meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

In his closing remarks, Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, hailed the achievements made under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

President Xi, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has attained great prestige among the Party, the military and people of all ethnic groups, and become the core of the CPC Central Committee and the entire Party, according to Zhang.

Zhang called for maintaining a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee with Xi as the core in thoughts, politics and actions, upholding the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership, as well as faithfully implementing the Party's policies and the CPC Central Committee's decisions.

The General Provisions of the Civil Law, which take effect on Oct. 1, is the opening chapter of a long-awaited civil code.

The civil code will include individual books that deal with property, contracts, tort liability, marriage and inheritance, according to the legislative plan.

Zhang called for stepping up work on the books to ensure a civil code that has Chinese characteristics and reflects the spirit of the time and the will of the people be enacted in 2020.

Zhang also called on NPC deputies to always bear the people's wishes in mind, perform their duties effectively, and make new contributions in upholding, implementing and developing the people's congress system.

The people's congress system, a fundamental institutional arrangement that integrates the principles of upholding the Party's leadership, the people being the master of the country and the rule of law, demonstrates the characteristics and advantages of China's socialist democracy, said an editorial published by Xinhua Tuesday.

The editorial stressed better use of the system to ensure that the country is effectively governed under the Party's leadership, decisions by the CPC Central Committee are implemented and all sorts of work is pursued according to the law.