Chinese President Xi Jinping (C), also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, joins a panel discussion of deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from east China's Shanghai, in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
Xi urges Shanghai to spearhead reforms, opening-up
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged the financial hub of Shanghai to continue its leading role in spearheading the country's ongoing reform and opening-up drive.
Xi made the remarks while taking part in a panel discussion with a delegation from Shanghai during the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).
He encouraged officials to make bold moves in the Shanghai free trade zone (FTZ), launched last year as a test bed for deepening market-oriented reforms, to explore applicable systems for nationwide replication.
China aims to liberalize interest rates, facilitate cross-border use of the Chinese yuan and allow individuals in the zone to sidestep China's restrictions on investing in securities abroad.
The FTZ has also been billed as an outpost to test greater liberalization of China's service sector.
Stressing that the FTZ is a national strategy, Xi called for greater efforts in facilitating trade and investment, as well as effective supervision and legal regulation, to achieve concrete results.
"Stress tests should also be carried out to prevent systematic risks, especially from the financial sector," he added.
The president also called for innovations in Shanghai's social management and governance.
The 12th NPC, China's parliamentary body, opened its second annual session on Wednesday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang and other leaders on Wednesday joined the country's lawmakers in panel discussions at the ongoing annual parliamentary session.
Zhang called on lawmakers to turn the country's reform blueprints into reality with confidence and pragmatic spirit.
"We should strengthen our confidence in reform and realize that it is the only way out," said Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), while joining discussion with deputies from east China's Zhejiang Province.
Calling 2014 "a year of reform," Zhang urged the legislators to work with a down-to-earth spirit and put great importance on the implementation of reform measures.
He also stressed that the fundamental direction for the deepening of reform should be upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng attended the panel discussion with lawmakers from the central province of Hubei.
Yu urged NPC deputies to comprehensively deepen reform while also considering the situations in different areas.
Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that unreasonable industry monopolies should be broken up in a bid to let the market play a decisive role in allocating resources.
He also urged environmentally friendly economic development.
"We should enhance mechanism building to better protect the environment," he said.
Liu Yunshan, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attended the panel discussion with lawmakers from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
He stressed social stability and ethnic unity in the discussion.
"We should promote the tradition of all ethnic groups 'breathing the same air and sharing the same fate,'" he said. "We should cherish ethnic unity in the way we cherish our own eyes."
Wang Qishan, head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, underlined anti-corruption when he joined discussion with deputies from Beijing.
"The battle against corruption is a major political task of the Party," Wang said, adding that it is necessary to deepen the reform of the discipline inspection system.
The NPC annual session opened Wednesday in Beijing.