2008 National People's Congress

The 1st Session of the 11th National People's Congress held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18, 2008 in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2008 CPPCC.

President Premier Congress Chairman
Hu Jintao Wen Jiabao Wu Bangguo
since
15 March 2003		 since
16 March 2003		 since
15 March 2003
President-elect Premier-elect Congress Chairman-elect
Hu Jintao Wen Jiabao Wu Bangguo
Website
2008 NPC official website
China
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The 10-day plenum elected China's new government leaders. Up for confirmation for a second term were President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. The State Council went through important personnel and structural changes following the 17th Party Congress. Zeng Qinghong's Vice-Presidency came to an end and the position was taken by Xi Jinping. Three new Vice-Premiers were confirmed and took office, with rising star Li Keqiang ranking first in this group.

Government Report

Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the government report on March 5, 2008, reviewing the work from the past five years. The main points that come out of the report were

  • Rebuilding of snowstorm hit areas in Southern China. Rebuild power, communications and water infrastructure in Hunan, Anhui, Guangdong, Sichuan and Hebei.[1]
  • Control of inflation and maintain price stability for basic necessities, food and essential commodities.[1]
  • Regulation of excessive investments in fixed assets.[1]
  • Education reforms which include free nine years of education and education initiatives to assist with the rural regions.[2]
  • Increase resources towards energy conservation, more efficient technologies and reduction of emissions.[1]

State Council Reform

A massive reform took place in China's cabinet, the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Several ministries were consolidated to form super ministries. The several "superministries"[3]

New Ministry Legacy depts Areas of Responsibility New sub agencies reporting
Ministry of Industry and Information National Development and Research Commission (NDRC)
the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense
Ministry of Information Industry
State Council Information Office
State Tobacco Monopoly Bureau		 Internet
Mobile Telecom
Landline Telecom
Postal Services
Internet Security
State Postal Bureau
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security Ministry of Personnel
Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Employment
Social Services		 State Bureau of Civil Servants
Ministry of Environmental Protection State Environmental Protection Administration Environmental Protection
Enforcement		 n/a
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction Ministry of Construction Housing
Rural
Urban		 n/a
Ministry of Transport Ministry of Communications
Civil Aviation Administration of China		 Road Transport
Air Transport
Water safety and Shipping		 State Civil Aviation Bureau

The state council will also create the National Energy Commission which will oversee national energy strategy, security and development. While the National Development and Reform Commission will continue to control the administration and regulation of the energy sector.[3]

The State Food and Drug Administration will be incorporated and come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, the Health ministry will take over the responsibility for food and drug safety.[3][4]

The People's Bank of China will increase its coordination role between all the financial executive agencies, namely the National Development and Reform Commission and the Finance ministry.[3]

Election results
NPCSC Chairman Election NPCSC Secretary-general Election
CandidatesForAgainstAbstainCandidatesForAgainstAbstain
Wu Bangguo 2,94899Li Jianguo 2,932258
Presidential Election Vice-Presidential Election
CandidatesForAgainstAbstainCandidatesForAgainstAbstain
Hu Jintao 2,95635Xi Jinping 2,9192817
CMC Chairmanship Election Premiership Nomination
CandidatesForAgainstAbstainCandidatesForAgainstAbstain
Hu Jintao 2,95944Wen Jiabao 2,9262112
Supreme Court President Election Procurator-general Election
CandidatesForAgainstAbstainCandidatesForAgainstAbstain
Wang Shengjun 2,8853644Cao Jianming 2,9331617
  • No other candidates formally stood for these positions, although votes were cast for other write-in candidates.[5]

Premier's Press Conference

Premier Wen Jiabao held a press conference on March 18, 2008. He introduced the new Vice-Premiers, Li Keqiang, Hui Liangyu, Zhang Dejiang and Wang Qishan. Wen addressed the direction of the government in the next five years. He also addressed the ongoing Tibetan protests. Wen asserted that the Dalai Lama was "masterminding" the protests in Tibet. Wen said that 2008 could be a very difficult year for the Chinese economy because of both international and domestic reasons.

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See also

Notes
  1. China's Cabinet sets tasks for new term_English_Xinhua
  2. Beijing Unveils Plans for Telecom Super-Ministry
  3. "Beijing opens green super-ministry | The Australian". Archived from the original on 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  4. https://news.yahoo.com.au/080311/15/1641k.html
  5. "Hu Jintao Re-Elected As China President", Associated Press, March 15, 2008. Archived March 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
Preceded by
2007 NPC		 Annual National People's Congress Sessions of the
People's Republic of China
March 5—18, 2008		 Succeeded by
2009 NPC
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