The preparatory meeting of the Third Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) was held in Beijing Saturday morning.

The participants elected a 165-member presidium and the secretary-general of the session, and passed the agenda of the session due to open tomorrow.

Li Peng, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the meeting.

He said that the guiding ideology of the session is:

-- Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core, hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory, take the basic line of the CPC as the guidance, and further implement the essence of the 15th CPC National Congress and the third and fourth plenary sessions of the 15th CPC Central Committee;

-- Continue to carry out a series of policies and measures to spur reforms, opening up and economic development;

-- Actively promote the process of building China into a socialist country ruled by law;

-- Further handle well the relations between reform, development and stability to ensure and develop a social and political situation featured with unity and stability and maintain a sustainable, fast and healthy development of the national economy and an all-round social progress;

-- Recognize the situation, make clear the tasks, grasp opportunities, and be exploiting, enterprising, determined, united and hard-working, so as to greet the arrival of the New Century with outstanding achievements.

The Presidium is composed of Party and state leaders including Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao and Wei Jianxing.

According to conventional practice, beginning from the second session of each term of the NPC, members of the State Council and president of the Supreme People's Court and procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate will not be included in the presidium. Hence, Premier Zhu Rongji and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing are not members of the presidium of this session.

According to a written explanation released by the organizers, Cheng Kejie, member of the last session's presidium and vice- chairman of the NPC Standing Committee is "suspected of being involved in activities violating the law and discipline, is now reflecting on his own problems while being investigated, and has applied for leave to the session and the NPC Standing Committee. The NPC Standing Committee studied the case and has consented that Cheng Kejie will not attend this NPC session and neither will he be admitted into the presidium of the session."

Three members of the presidium of the last session, Xie Fei, Wang Yuefeng and Chen Minzhang, have passed away.

Tian Jiyun, Vice-Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, was elected Secretary-General of the 11-day session.

A total of 2,708 NPC deputies participated in today's preparatory meeting.

The agenda of the session, adopted through an electronic voting system, includes:

-- Hearing and examining a government work report by Premier Zhu Rongji;

-- Hearing and deliberating a report on the implementation of the 1999 national economic and social development plan and a draft plan for 2000 national economic and social development;

-- Hearing, examining and approving a report on the implementation of the 1999 central and local budgets and the draft budgets for 2000;

-- Hearing and examining a report on the work of the NPC Standing Committee by its Chairman Li Peng.

-- Examining a draft Law on Legislation of the People's Republic of China;

-- Hearing and examining work reports by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.