NPC hears reports on ethic affairs, health care reform, service industry
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Chinese lawmakers have heard a series of the State Council's reports on the development of ethnic minorities, and regarding the country's health care reform and service industry, at a meeting Wednesday during the bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.
The meeting was presided over by Ismail Tiliwaldi, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.
A total of 150 NPC Standing Committee members, including Wu Bangguo, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, as well as other vice chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee attended the meeting.
Commissioned by the State Council, Yang Jing, minister in charge of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, said in a report to the NPC Standing Committee that the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the central government's supports in policy, planning and funding for the ethnic minority groups and regions had yielded remarkable achievements in the country's economic and social development.
In the report, Yang also pledged that the government would continue to step up infrastructure development in ethnic minority regions and spend more on education, medical services and poverty relief.
Zhang Ping, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, delivered a report on deepening health care reform at the meeting.
The reform had achieved various levels of progress in promotion of medical insurance, grassroots medical services and equal access of health care services for the public, Zhang said.
Zhang noted that the government would further expand the coverage of the medical insurance system, intensify supervision over medical service providers and make more progress in the reform of the country's publicly-owned hospitals.
Zhang also delivered a report on accelerating the development of the country's secondary industries. China's service industry has been experiencing rapid growth from 2006 to 2010 with an increase in its competitiveness, Zhang said.
The service industry has been making increasing contributions to the country's job market, as well, Zhang said.
However, Zhang commented that it still lags behind the country's overall development, and could not meet the demand of the country's economic and social development.
In his report, Zhang urged creating a favorable policy and system environment for the development of the country's service industry.
The meeting also reviewed a written report about Wu Bangguo's visit to Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand.
Also on Wednesday, a meeting of the chairman and vice-chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over by Wu Bangguo, has decided to put the draft agenda of the fourth plenary meeting of the 11th NPC to the vote at the ongoing NPC Standing Committee session.
The 18th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th NPC runs from Dec.20 to 25.
