Highlights of the NPC and CPPCC annual sessions

The Great Hall of the People where the annual two sessions take place. (Photo/Xinhua)

Deepening reform and advancing the rule of law will be key for the upcoming annual two sessions - the third session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) and that of the National Committee of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

As two of China's most important political meetings, the two sessions, which open on March 3 and 5, will collect suggestions and proposals from NPC deputies and CPPCC members. The proposals, if decided to be practicable, are likely to become real policies. In April 2014, Yao Ming, former basketball star and also a CPPCC member, proposed to abolish commercial sports event approval procedures, which subsequently became a policy released by the State Council in September.

During the upcoming two sessions, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will deliver a report on the government's work, typically considered one of the highlights of the sessions. Central government departments and judicial organs will also release their work reports, which will be voted on by NPC deputies, with approval rates made public.

A meeting briefer published Wednesday by the ruling Communist Party of China's flagship newspaper, People's Daily, said the two sessions be conducted in accordance with the concept of the "four all-round ways" that Chinese President Xi Jinping has mentioned on various occasions, which include "building a well-off society in an all-round way, deepening reform in an all-round way, advancing rule of law in an all-round way and ruling the Party strictly in an all-round way."

The briefer listed 10 aspects in which further reform is expected.

Key year of reform

A top Party congress in late 2013 mapped out the current reforms, with 2014 the starting year and 2015 the key year for deepening reform.

During the annual two sessions, more concrete reform policies will be released.

In 2014, some decisions passed during that Party congress, like the relaxation of the one-child policy, began to be implemented.

Will GDP growth rate be lowered?

In fact, since May 2014 "new normal," referring to a shift from high-speed to medium-to-high-speed growth, has become the most quoted phrase when talking about Chinese economy. The phrase means not only an adjustment in the speed of Chinese economic growth but also an improvement in the quality of GDP growth.

How will the "new normal" be reflected in economic policies, and will the GDP growth rate be cut after cutting interest rates? Answers are to be expected during the two sessions.

Agricultural reforms

The central government's N0.1 policy document released in early February pledged to deepen rural reform and speed up the construction of a modern agricultural sector.

The measures listed, such as accelerating reforms in the rural collective property rights system, steadily pushing forward pilot reforms in the rural land system and carrying out rural financial system reforms, are all attempts to unleash rural resources using market methods.

Meanwhile, the rule of law will also be advanced in rural areas. These agricultural topics will be a focus of this year's two sessions, according to the People's Daily.