BEIJING- The closing meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China’s national legislature, was held on Monday afternoon.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, presided over the closing meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC, which gathered some 3,000 delegates from the political, business and cultural elite in Beijing.

“Under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we must adhere to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide and unswervingly push forward the Chinese-style modernization,” Zhao Leji said at the closing ceremony of the week-long meeting.

The opening meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC was held at the Great Hall of the People on March 5.

President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders attended the opening meeting.

Premier Li Qiang delivered a government work report at the meeting.

Lawmakers reviewed a report from the State Council on the implementation of the 2023 plan for national economic and social development and on the 2024 draft plan, as well as the draft plan for national economic and social development in 2024.

They also reviewed a report from the State Council on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2023 and on the draft central and local budgets for 2024, as well as the draft central and local budgets for 2024.

The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power in the People's Republic of China. The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the State Council to the Supreme People's Court (SPC) are subservient to it.

With 2,977 members in 2023, it is the largest legislative body in the world. The NPC is elected for a term of five years. It holds annual sessions every spring, usually lasting from 10 to 14 days, in the Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

It is worth mentioning that China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC) arranged a program for journalists from around the world and took them to the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday morning so that they could see the place and watch the opening meeting of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

CIPCC, under the China Public Diplomacy Association (CPDA), has initiated a program to build a platform for the media from countries around the world, especially developing countries, to observe China and study development in this country.

The program aimed at media exchange was halted in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

In each edition of the program, journalists from all around the world gather together to get familiar with modern China and exchange their experiences in the field of journalism.

In 2024 edition of the program, scheduled to be held from late February until late June, over 100 journalists from more than 90 countries are participating.