Three plenary meetings that focus on economy, social and cultural development, and political construction will be held during the session, which is scheduled to conclude on March 15.

The CPPCC National Committee members will also be present at the annual session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, slated to kick off on March 5, hearing and discussing the report on the government work by Premier Wen Jiabao, reports on the work of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the drafts of the property right law and the corporate income tax law.

President Hu Jintao, top legislator Wu Bangguo, Premier Wen Jiabao and other top CPC and state leaders including Zeng Qinghong, Wu Guanzheng, Li Changchun and Luo Gan were seated on the central rostrum.

The members also passed the agenda for the upcoming annual session, which includes hearing and deliberating the work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on the handling of proposals from CPPCC members during the past year. CPPCC members will also attend the fifth annual session of the 10th NPC, as non-voting delegates. They will hear and discuss the work report of the central government, which is to be delivered at the NPC session.

The CPPCC The CPPCC is a Chinese people's patriotic united front organization. It is an important institution of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the CPC. It is an important way to promote socialist democracy in China's political life. The CPPCC held its First Plenary Session on September 21-30, 1949, in Beijing. The First Plenary Session exercised the functions and powers of the NPC, represented the will of the people of the whole country and proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China. The CPPCC National Committee is composed of representatives from the CPC and all the democratic parties as well as dignitaries without party affiliations; representatives of people's organizations, all the ethnic minorities and various sectors of society; representatives of compatriots from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan and of returned overseas Chinese; and specially invited dignitaries. The term of office for the CPPCC National Committee is five years. The 10th National Committee is presently in office. The session of this year is the last session of the 10th CPPCC and the 11th CPPCC will be in office next year. Source: www.cppcc.gov.cn

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