China's top leaders, including President Hu Jintao, joined lawmakers and political advisors in their panel discussions Sunday and aired their views on major issues concerning the development of the country.

After listening to advisors representing the China Zhi Gong Dang party and All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Hu called on governments at various levels to better carry out all policies toward overseas Chinese and protect their legitimate rights and interests.

There are tens of millions of overseas Chinese across the world and more than 30 million overseas Chinese and their relatives have returned. They are a major force to promote China's modernization drive, the reunification of the motherland and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, said the president.

He urged concrete measures and incentives to attract more overseas people and professional personnel studying abroad, especially high-level professional personnel that are urgently needed, to come back to launch businesses at home.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature in China, expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong during discussion with NPC deputies from the special administrative region (SAR).

With the energetic support of the central government and the mainland and thanks to the concerted efforts of the SAR government and Hong Kong compatriots, Hong Kong's position as centers of international trade, banking and shipping was further enhanced, and the local economy is recovering, Wu said, adding that "these are hard-won achievements we must cherish very much."

Wu stressed the central government attaches great importance to the development of Hong Kong's political system because it bears on the implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law, the relations between the central government and the SAR, the interests of all strata and all walks of life in Hong Kong, and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

"No matter what happens, the central government will continue to unswervingly carry out the 'one country, two systems' principle and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR, give full support to the SAR government headed by Tung Chee Hwa, and overcome interference of all descriptions to promote and maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," he said.

The central government will also continue supporting the Macao SAR government headed by Edmund Ho Hau Wah to promote the coordinated social and economic development in Macao, said Wu during discussions with NPC deputies from the region.

Vice President Zeng Qinghong, in his discussion with NPC deputies from Hunan Province, encouraged the people of the central province not to miss any opportunity to work hard in a bid to narrow the gap between the province and the developed regions of the country.

Vice Premier Huang Ju exchanged views with NPC deputies from Jilin Province on the strategy to rejuvenate the old industrial base in northeast China, which also embraces Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces.

He urged the people in northeast China to make a good beginning and lay a sound foundation this year for further development, with emphasis placed on innovating various systems, opening wider to the other parts of the country and the outside world, accelerating economic restructuring and technological progress, transforming key industries and enterprises, developing modern agriculture according to local conditions, vigorously beefing up the development of the service industry, and actively promoting resource-backed cities to change the mode of economic development.

Huang also called for hard work to help local state-owned enterprises in their reform and take a good care of the surplus work force and laid-off workers.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2004)