Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting

BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday heard a report on the handling of suggestions from deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) and proposals from members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) over the past years.

While chairing a State Council executive meeting, Li also made arrangements for works on hearing suggestions and proposals from NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members during this year's "two sessions," according to a statement released after the meeting.

Last year, offices and departments under the State Council handled 8,721 suggestions from NPC deputies and 5,865 proposals submitted by CPPCC National Committee members, accounting for 94.8 percent and 95 percent of the total number of suggestions and proposals, respectively, according to the statement.

The meeting pointed out that over the past five years, relevant departments adopted more than 18,000 suggestions and proposals and subsequently introduced over 7,800 policy measures.

Li was also briefed on the implementation of preferential policies on business-related charges and the rectification of arbitrary charges.

Relevant departments should regard handling the suggestions and proposals as the major task of the year and form complete standards and systems, the statement said.

The statement also called for efforts on enhancing communication with NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members, and the effectiveness of handling suggestions and proposals to better turn them into practical measures.

The General Office of the State Council should continue to arrange staff members to listen to the opinions on-site, and transfer those that need to be handled to relevant departments in a timely manner, it said.