6. We deepened and expanded work related to deputies to the NPC.

The Standing Committee has continued to respect the principal position of deputies, believing that exerting their role is vital to strengthening our contact with the public and raising the quality of our work. We have improved our work mechanisms related to deputies in a constant effort to raise the standard of our deputy-related work.

1) We strengthened our ties with NPC deputies.

We implemented the system whereby members of the Chairperson's Council and members of the Standing Committee maintain direct contact with NPC deputies, and heard deputies' comments and suggestions on the work of the Standing Committee in a variety of ways. We invited more deputies to observe meetings of the Standing Committee and increased their participation in the Standing Committee's legislation, oversight, and research activities. Last year, more than 370 deputies observed meetings of the Standing Committee, over 300 participated in the Standing Committee's inspections of compliance with laws, and more than 600 took part in fact-finding investigations organized by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

2) We carefully examined deputies' proposals and handled their suggestions.

The relevant special committees completed their examination of all 521 proposals referred to them by the Presidium of the Third Session of the 12th NPC last year. Pursuant to this, the Standing Committee has, after deliberations, adopted 17 legislative items and launched five law compliance inspection tasks cited in 91 of the proposals; is currently deliberating eight legislative items cited in 22 proposals; and has included 49 legislative items discussed in 159 proposals into the legislative plan. During the examination process, the special committees made earnest efforts to study and adopt the opinions of deputies and promptly prepared reports on the outcome of their examination.

All 8,239 suggestions, criticisms, and comments submitted by deputies during last year's session of the NPC have been handled, and feedback has been given to deputies by the departments handling them. The State Council, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as relevant government departments attached great significance to the handling of deputies' suggestions. The State Council convened an executive meeting exclusively to hear its departments' reports on the handling of deputies' suggestions, and set out clear requirements. The departments charged with the handling of suggestions strengthened their direct communication with deputies concerned and made dedicated efforts to improve the relevant aspects of their work and address the problems in question. According to statistics, 80.1% of the problems raised by deputies last year have been resolved or slated for gradual resolution. We grouped and condensed 185 suggestions jointly proposed by 2,638 deputies belonging to 13 delegations, ending up with 20 key suggestions to be addressed under our supervision. These suggestions were referred to 43 departments for implementation under the oversight of seven special committees of the NPC. Thanks to the efforts of all sides, notable progress has been made in the handling of these suggestions. In response to suggestions on, among other things, promoting the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt and turning China into a manufacturer of quality, the relevant departments formulated and introduced a number of plans, policies, and measures which have proven highly effective in advancing the relevant initiatives.

3) We supported and ensured deputies' law-based performance of their duties.

We organized for more than 1,700 deputies to participate in dedicated research activities. This not only prepared them for attending this session of the NPC and performing their duties, but also helped them to enter communities, interact with the general public, and gain a better understanding of social conditions and popular feelings. We successfully organized four study sessions and seminars on special topics for deputies, as well as one study session for ethnic minority deputies. At the sessions, the principal leaders of the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Supervision, and the Ministry of Finance delivered specialized reports, following which more than 1,100 attending deputies discussed and exchanged views on the relevant topics.

7. We actively carried out foreign relations work.

In accordance with the overall arrangements of the Party and state on diplomatic work, we have actively engaged in exchanges and cooperation with foreign parliaments and multilateral parliamentary organizations, making full use of the NPC's unique strengths in developing foreign relations.

1) We consolidated and expanded the NPC's mechanism-based exchanges with foreign parliaments.

The NPC, the Russian Federation Council, and the State Duma of Russia jointly established the new China-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. The committee held its first meeting, which was co-chaired by the leaders of the legislative bodies of the two countries. This initiative has helped to maintain a high level of parliamentary cooperation between China and Russia. We arranged for a high-level delegation of the United States House of Representatives to visit China, which included the first ever visit to Tibet. We held two meetings with the European Parliament under the mechanism of regular exchanges and resumed our parliamentary exchanges with Japan, which had been suspended for years. We officially implemented the mechanism of regular exchanges with the State Great Hural of Mongolia and established mechanisms for political dialogue with Peruvian and Argentine congresses. We strengthened diplomacy with the parliaments of other major countries of the world in a bid to enhance mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation.

2) We steadily promoted multilateral diplomatic activities among parliaments.

The year 2015 marked the 70th anniversary of the end of the Global War against Fascism and the founding of the United Nations. As Chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, I led a delegation to the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. At the conference, I proposed that peace and development be made a theme of the meeting and that eradicating poverty and promoting economic and social development be made core objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I also attended the first BRICS Parliamentary Forum in Russia, which further enriched cooperation among BRICS countries and enhanced their confidence and cohesion.

We actively participated in the activities of multilateral organizations such as the Inter Parliamentary Union, the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly. During these activities, we projected China's voice and worked to expand the international influence of developing countries and safeguard their common interests.