By Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-02-29 07:11

"Translations at the press conference will be simultaneous, instead of consecutive, to save more time for the press," Zhang says. "Consecutive translations will be provided only if questions are asked in English."

"The 'two sessions' are important gatherings for discussing and implementing sound and rapid economic development policies, and development is the key to dealing with thorny issues such as the recent weather disaster," says Zhang Mingpei, director of agricultural department of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The Scientific Outlook on Development, initiated by CPC General Secretary Hu Jintao in 2003, takes development as its essence, puts people first, and considers comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development as its basic requirement.

Guangxi was one of worst hit regions during the devastation caused by sleet and snow recently. "Our victory over the extreme weather should be mainly attributed to the rapid economic growth in the past 30 years," Zhang says.

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Despite the difficulties, it is widely assumed that opportunities offered by development still outweigh the challenges. A report of 17th CPC National Congress says the country would have basically accomplished industrialization, with its overall strength significantly increased and its domestic market ranking as one of the largest in the world by 2020. Also, it would have attained its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by then.

"China would then be much more capable of dealing with emergencies. Hence, economic development will still be the core issue at the 'two sessions'," Zhang says.

Another important issue to be discussed at the "two session" is the impact of a global economic downturn on China. Though China's GDP grew 11.4 percent last year, some analysts say the growth would be slower this year. But they say a slightly slower growth is not a bad thing, for it will help prevent the economy from overheating. There are others who say the interrelation between the global and the Chinese economies is too complicated to hazard a guess.

But they agree on one point that the "two sessions" should focus on more concrete and detailed measures on the growth mode transformation.

The signs at the recently concluded local people's congresses were encouraging. The Shanghai government submitted a report to the city's people's congress, saying the city will develop its services sector vigorously in the next five years because it lacked resources, even though it had a lot of professionals.

Environmental protection is another big challenge facing the country. The "two sessions" are likely to come up with more feasible measures to realize economic growth and environmental protection, says NPC deputy Peng Zhenqiu.

On Monday, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) issued a regulation, making it mandatory for highly polluting companies to pass environmental inspections while applying for initial public offerings (IPOs) or re-financing. This is seen as a major step toward a "green securities policy".

"But people expect more such policies to be suggested or discussed at the 'two sessions'," Peng says.

Xinhua contributed to the story

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