"Chinese dream" highlighted as parliamentary session concludes (2)

TOP LEGISLATOR VOWS RULE OF LAW

The closing meeting, held at the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing, was presided over by Zhang Dejiang, the newly-elected chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

In a speech delivered at the meeting, Zhang pledged to push forward the rule of law and improve supervision over administrative and judicial power.

"It is a primary task for people's congresses at all levels, as well as their standing committees, to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the authorities of the Constitution and the law," Zhang said.

"We need to make sure that the system and law will not change due to the leadership switch, nor due to variations of the personal opinions and focuses of the leadership," he said.

The 66-year-old member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee replaces Wu Bangguo, who served as the country's top legislator for the past decade.

A new leadership lineup that includes 13 vice chairpersons and a Standing Committee consisting of 161 members was also elected.

At Sunday's meeting, the NPC adopted a number of important documents, including a government work report, central and local budgets and a national economic and social development plan for 2013.

It also adopted the work reports of the 11th NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.