Li Peng, executive chairman of the session and the presidium, presided over today's meeting, which was attended by a total of 2, 789 NPC deputies, including Chinese Party and state leaders Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Wei Jianxing and Li Lanqing.

The meeting first adopted a resolution endorsing the Outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2001-2005) and Premier Zhu's report on the outline.

The resolution says that the outline and the report have put forward the objectives and tasks for the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, that they reflect requirements for the country's modernization, and that the objectives and tasks can be fulfilled after hard work.

The outline envisages an annual growth rate of about seven percent for the country's national economy in the next five years.

The meeting also adopted resolutions, endorsing, respectively: the State Council-proposed Plan for National Economic and Social Development in 2001, reports on the Implementation of 2000 Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the draft Plan for National Economic and Social Development in 2001, the State Council-proposed Central and Local Budgets for 2001, and reports on the Implementation of 2000 Central and Local Budgets and draft Central and Local Budgets for 2001.

The report on the work of the NPC Standing Committee delivered by Li Peng was also approved according to a separate resolution adopted at today's meeting.

The meeting passed a decision on the revision of Law on Chinese- Foreign Equity Joint Ventures. The decision takes effect as of the date of promulgation.

Restrictive stipulations of the law requiring join ventures to buy raw materials within China whenever possible shall be removed according to the decision.

The work reports of the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate were, too, endorsed. But the resolutions on the two reports call on the two judicial bodies to improve the political consciousness, professionalism and professional ethics of judges and prosecutors, stamp out judicial corruption, and promote judicial reforms so as to create a good legal environment for the successful implementation of the Tenth Five-Year Plan.

Addressing the closing meeting of the current session, NPC Standing Committee Chairman Li Peng described the outline of the five-year plan as a program of action in the first five years of the new century.

"Now that goals have been set, and guiding principles and policies laid down, the most important thing to do is to implement them," Li said.

He called on state organs at all levels to play a better role in providing guidance and solving existing problems for an all- round implementation of the outline of the Tenth Five-Year Plan.

He called on all the NPC deputies to rally more closely around the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Jiang Zemin at the core, and work hard with all people around the country to realize various task set for this year and the 2001-2005 period, promote democracy, further improve the legal system, and bring about a new situation for China's reform, opening up and modernization drive.

(Xinhua 03/15/2001)