The annual National People's Congress drew to a close on Thursday, with the legislature's chairman Zhao Leji saying it sets the stage for the "grand opening" of the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan.

President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attended the closing session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, during which lawmakers passed a resolution on the government work report and approved the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

They also endorsed three draft laws on the environment, ethnic unity and national development planning as well as several other documents.

"We will continue to accomplish all the missions and tasks and manage our own affairs and perform our duties to make sure that we have a grand opening of the 15th Five-Year Plan and to achieve our blueprint and translate that into the reality," Zhao said in a speech.

He also hailed the progress made at the annual meeting of the national legislature.

"The result of the session shows the unity of the Party's propositions and the will of the people. This shows that with the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, with Xi Jinping at its core, we have worked together and progressed with the times," Zhao added. (Additional reporting by Xinhua)


Edited by Edmond Fong