A total of 2,674 NPC deputies attending the meeting elected a 165-member presidium and the secretary-general of the session, and adopted a agenda for the session due to open tomorrow.

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

Li listed guidelines for the session as follows:

-- Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, taking Deng Xiaoping Theory as guidance and further implementing policy guidelines set at the 15th CPC National Congress and the fifth plenary session of the 15th CPC Central Committee;

-- Earnestly exercising the constitutional rights of the NPC and rights enshrined in other laws to formulate China's 10th five-year plan for economic and social development, and fulfilling other tasks of the plenary session; and

-- Mobilizing people of all ethnic groups to unit around the CPC Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core, grasping all opportunities, accelerating development, and making new contributions to the establishment of a socialist democratic legalsystem and all-round advancement of the society.

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

Tian Jiyun, vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, was elected secretary-general of the 11-day session.

Items on the agenda include:

-- Hearing and examining a work report on the outline of the 10th five-year plan for China's economic and social development by Premier Zhu Rongji; examining and ratifying the outline;

-- Hearing and deliberating a report on the implementation of the 2000 national economic and social development plan and a draft plan for 2001 national economic and social development;

-- Hearing, examining and approving a report on the implementation of the 2000 central and local budgets and the central and local budgets for 2001;

-- Hearing and examining a report on the work of the NPC Standing Committee;

-- Examining an amendment to Sino-Foreign Joint Venture Law;

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

-- Electing new members to the NPC Standing Committee.

(Eastday.com 03/04/2001)