The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, concluded its 12th session in Beijing on Friday, approving a bill on raising the ceilings of local government debts, among other decisions.
Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the closing meeting.
At the closing meeting, lawmakers voted to adopt a preschool education law, a revised Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, a revised Mineral Resources Law, an energy law, and a revised Anti-Money Laundering Law.
They also adopted a decision on amending the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People's Congresses at All Levels, and a decision on removing Li Xiaopeng from the post of minister of transport and appointing Liu Wei to the position.
President Xi Jinping signed seven presidential orders to promulgate the laws and the decisions.
The meeting also adopted a decision on extending the authorization to temporarily adjust the application of relevant provisions of the Metrology Law in cities implementing a pilot program of improving business environment.
Lawmakers voted to approve a State Council bill on raising ceilings on local government debt to replace existing hidden debts.
They ratified an amendment to the 1996 London Protocol on the prevention of marine pollution by the dumping of wastes.
They also adopted several reports on the deliberations of proposals submitted by lawmakers, as well as a deputy qualification report and personnel-related bills.
Zhao chaired a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee before the closing meeting and presided over a lecture for lawmakers after the closing meeting.
Song Rui, deputy secretary-general of the 14th NPC Standing Committee, gave a lecture on the development course of the system of people's congresses.
The Standing Committee also held a swearing-in ceremony for its new members to pledge allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People on Friday afternoon.
China's top legislature concludes standing committee session
China hopes to see positive outcomes on the global climate finance goal at the upcoming 29th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP29), Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Azerbaijan, the host of COP29, will host the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in Baku, the capital city of the central Asian country. The conference is scheduled to take place at the Baku Olympic Stadium from Nov. 11 to 22, and is expected to be the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date.
"The main task of COP29 is to set a global climate finance goal after 2025 and make preparations for the submission of a new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is of great importance to advancing global climate governance. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will attend the summit as the special representative of President Xi Jinping," Mao said.
"China stands ready to work with other parties to uphold the goal, principles and system of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, advance practical actions and achieve sustainable development. China hopes to see positive outcomes on the global climate finance goal at the meeting. Developed countries should earnestly fulfill their responsibilities and provide strong financial support to developing countries for their climate response. China will continue to offer assistance to fellow developing countries to the best of its capacity within the framework of South-South cooperation," she said.
The spokeswoman also highlighted the strong friendship and mutually beneficial partnership between China and Azerbaijan.
"China and Azerbaijan are good friends with sincerity and mutual trust, and good partners based on equality and mutual benefit. In July this year, President Xi Jinping met with President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Astana summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the two sides jointly announced the decision to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership, which opens a new chapter for the growth of the relations between China and Azerbaijan. During Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang's visit, he will hold talks with Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Abdulla oglu Mustafayev and the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and cooperation across the board. We believe that this visit will further move forward the China-Azerbaijan relationship and bring more benefits to the two peoples," Mao said.
China hopes to see positive results on global climate finance goal at COP29: spokeswoman
