MEETING THE PRESS: Zhao Qizheng, spokesman for the Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) answers questions at a press conference in Beijing on March 2 (WEI YAO)

The Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top advisory body, kicked off at 3 p.m. at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing on March 3.

One day before its opening, Zhao Qizheng, spokesman for the CPPCC, said at a press conference that ensuring and improving minsheng, or people's well-being, remains a top concern for CPPCC members.

According to Zhao, the major task of this year's CPPCC session is to offer suggestions and proposals that will aid in the drafting and implementation of the government's 12th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2011-2015).

So far, members have submitted 711 proposals concerning economic and social development, governance and the improvement of people's well-being.

According to the session's agenda, more than 2,000 CPPCC members will hear and discuss Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee Jia Qinglin's report on the work undertaken during the past year by the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee. They will also attend the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislative body, as non-voting delegates.

The CPPCC is an important instrument of socialist democracy in China. The first plenary session of the CPPCC was held in Beijing in September 1949.