Top leaders including Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao attended the closing meeting. Jia Qinglin, newly-elected chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a speech at the closing ceremony.

During his speech, Jia called on the members to build up a strong sense of mission and responsibility and work hard to contribute to building a well-off society in an all-round way in China.

"At present and for a period to come, the political task of top priority for the entire the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese nation, as well as for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is to carry out the guidelines of the 16th CPC National Congress," said Jia.

The 16th CPC National Congress, held in Beijing last November, set forth the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way in China.

"While there are quite a few favorable conditions for us to attain this goal, we must keep a sober mind that this is still an arduous and complicated task," said the CPPCC chairman.

"We must firmly count on the wisdom and strength of the broad masses of the people, and count on the joint efforts of all political parties and organizations, all ethnic groups and people from all walks of life."

He stressed that the united front has always been an important major part of the CPC's general line and policy, and a major "magic weapon" of the CPC as a ruling party in governing the country.

With profound changes in China's economic and social structures, new economic sectors and distribution modes, new interest groups and social organizations have emerged, leading to greater diversity in the formation of the united front, said the CPPCC chairman.

Under such circumstances, the CPPCC should strive to mobilize the enthusiasm of all workers, farmers, intellectuals and other social forces, and pool the wisdom and strength of all Chinese throughout the world, he said.

"This requires us to lay more emphasis on the united front and work harder to consolidate the patriotic united front to the utmost."

Stressing that the multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the CPC is a basic political system of China, Jia said "to develop the socialist democracy, we must follow a road of political development that suits China's national conditions. We must never copy the political system from the West."

The CPPCC organizations should hold high the banner of patriotism and socialism, concentrate on the two major themes of unity and democracy, unite with people from all walks of life, and help create a sound social, political environment for the building of a well-off society in an all-round way, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2003)