The 4th Session of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee opens Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing.

Members of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, arrive in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2016, for the Fourth Session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee. [Photo: Xinhua]

The CPPCC serves as a sounding-board for lawmakers.

The 33-hundred strong CPPCC delegation also puts forward proposals the National People's Congress will debate.

Political advisors from Ningxia and Inner Mongolia were some of the first to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday.

An Chunren from Ningxia is planning to put forward a proposal about forest and grassland conservation and recovery to the sessions.

"I hope our government can formulate more specific policies according to the local situations of this country's different regions, policies that fit the local reality and the needs of the local people. Reclaiming cultivated land and turning back into forest and grassland will have two benefits. One is to help preserve the environment in Ningxia. The other is to help reduce poverty."

CPPCC delegate Ma Zongbao says he hopes this year's sessions will put a focus on development in China's poorer areas.

"We hope to see more support for infrastructure construction in the western regions in this session."

Advisor Dai Xiuying says she believes one of the keys is to first identify who is in the greatest need.

"General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward six different poverty relief ideas. I think the most important one is to figure out which people need the most help before moving forward with other steps in poverty relief. We can't do the proper work unless we have the proper information."

So far, more than 700 proposals have already been submitted by the CPPCC members ahead of the sessions.

Tian Jie heads a group of more than 60 people already reviewing the proposals.

While they cover wide range of subjects, he says economic development appears to remain a top concern.

"The 700 proposals we've received mainly focus on four aspects. The first and the largest of them focuses on healthy and stable economic development, including the "13th Five-year Plan", supply-side structural reform, innovation-driven development strategy and the "Internet Plus" action plan."

A news conference ahead of the CPPCC session's opening is due to take place this Wednesday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People.

The CPPCC is made up of around 33-hundred elite figures selected from various walks of life in China.

Its annual meetings start ahead of the National People's Congress, which will get underway on Saturday.

The annual meetings of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, along with the National People's Congress - the meeting of the country's lawmakers - are commonly known in China as "lianghui," or the "two sessions."

They will run through until the end of next week.

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