PhototakenonMay22,2020showsflagsontheTian'anmenSquareandatoptheGreatHallofthePeopleinBeijing,capitalofChina.(Xinhua/XingGuangli)BEIJING,March3(Xinhua)--China'stoplegislatureandpoliticaladvisorybodywillstartannualsessionsthisweek,returningtotheirtraditionalMarchscheduleafterlastyear'seventswerepostponedtoMayduetotheCOVID-19epidemic.Astheyear2021marksthestartofthe14thFive-YearPlanperiod(2021-2025),theworldwillwatchhowChina,withtheeliminationofabsolutepovertyjustdeclared,chartsitscoursetowardfullybuildingamodernsocialistcountry.Thefourthsessionofthe13thNationalPeople'sCongress(NPC)isscheduledtoopenonFriday,adayaftertheopeningofthefourthsessionofthe13thNationalCommitteeoftheChinesePeople'sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC).Inadditiontohearingtheannualworkreportsofthegovernment,toplegislature,topcourtandtopprocuratorate,lawmakerswillalsoreviewablueprintforChina'sdevelopmentinthenextfiveto15years--thedraftoutlineofthe14thFive-YearPlanandthelong-rangeobjectivesthroughtheyear2035.Thefollowingaresomeoftheissuesexpectedtobehighontheagendaofthetwosessions.PeopleworkataworkshopofHarbinDonganAutomotiveEngineManufacturingCo.,Ltd.innortheastChina'sHeilongjiangProvince,Feb.25,2021.ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTGOALSAmidtheCOVID-19pandemic,Chinawastheonlymajoreconomyintheworldtoregisterpositivegrowthin2020,withitsGDPexpanding2.3percenttohit101.6trillionyuan(about15.7trillionU.S.dollars)intheyear.OnFridaywhenthegovernmentworkreportisdeliveredtotheNPCfordeliberation,thisyear'sdevelopmentgoalswillbecloselywatched.Lastyear,nospecificGDPgrowthfigurewassetinthegovernmentworkreportduetotheuncertaintybroughtbyCOVID-19andtheworldeconomicandtradeenvironment.ZhangLiqun,aresearchfellowwiththeDevelopmentResearchCenteroftheStateCouncil,saidChina'seconomyisresilient,haspotentialandwillmaintainsustainedgrowthin2021.Buthesaidtheprimarygoalofeconomicdevelopmentisnottoseekanice-lookingGDPfigurebuttoraisethequalityofthegrowthandensurepeople'swell-being.Majordevelopmenttargetslistedinthe14thFive-YearPlan,includingeconomicgrowth,newlycreatedjobsinurbanareas,majorprojects,aswellaspollutioncontrolwillalsodrawattention.AerialphototakenonFeb.19,2021showscontainersattheautomaticdockoftheQingdaoportinQingdao,eastChina'sShandongProvince.(PhotobyZhangJingang/Xinhua)DUALCIRCULATIONChina's"dualcirculation"developmentparadigm,inwhichdomesticandoverseasmarketsreinforceeachother,withthedomesticmarketasthemainstay,isexpectedtobeanotherhottopicduringthetwosessions.The14thFive-YearPlanwillfurtherclarifyhowChinawillimplementthedualcirculationstrategyandachievehigh-qualitydevelopment.UnleashingdomesticdemandiscrucialtodrivingChina'sgrowth,butthisnewdevelopmentparadigmdoesnotmeanChinawillbackpedalonitsopening-up,officialsandexpertshavesaid.Dualcirculationisseenasastrategicandwin-winchoiceforChinatoreshapeitsinternationalcooperationandnewcompetitiveedge,saidJustinYifuLin,formerWorldBankchiefeconomistandhonorarydeanoftheNationalSchoolofDevelopmentatPekingUniversity.SCI-TECHINNOVATIONChineseauthoritieshavesaidthecountrywillupholdthecentralroleofinnovationinitsmodernizationdriveandimplementaninnovation-drivenstrategyforthenextfiveto15years.Itwillstrategicallyunderpinitsnationaldevelopmentwithself-relianceinscienceandtechnology."Westillfacechallengesincludingacomplexinternationalenvironment,andthereisstillasupplygapintheoverallinnovationcapacity,"saidXueLan,aprofessorfromTsinghuaUniversity.Xuesaidthecountry'shigh-qualitydevelopmentmustrelyonsci-techinnovation.Nationallegislatorsandpoliticaladvisors,manyofwhomarescientistsandBigTechexecutives,areexpectedtodiscussthewaystobuildChina'ssci-techstrengthandcreateanenablingenvironmentforinnovation.AerialphototakenonAug.17,2020showsaphotovoltaicpowerstationatagreenindustrialdevelopmentparkintheTibetanAutonomousPrefectureofHainan,northwestChina'sQinghaiProvince.(Xinhua/ZhangLong)GREENDEVELOPMENTAcompleteeconomicandsocietalshifttocleanerenergyandfewerpollutingemissionsconformstothepeople'sexpectationsforhigh-qualitydevelopment.Lastyear,Chinaannouncedthatitwouldstrivetopeakcarbondioxideemissionsby2030andachievecarbonneutralityby2060.Tothatend,carbonemissioncontrolhasbeenincludedinChina'stoppolicyprioritiesfor2021.InJanuary,MinisterofEcologyandEnvironmentHuangRunqiusaidthecountryhasbegunformulatinganactionplantopeakcarbondioxideemissionsbefore2030andwillacceleratethetransformationtowardgreenandlow-carbondevelopmentacrossChina'ssocietyoverthenext10years.WuGang,amemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandchairmanofXinjiangGoldwindSciTechCo.,Ltd.,saidhehadsubmittedproposalsonachievingcarbonneutralityandwoulddiscusswithfellowpoliticaladvisorsaboutbuildingacleananddiversifiedenergysupplysystem.LEGISLATIONAsthehighestorganofstatepower,theNPCexercisesvariousfunctionsandpowersincludingenactingandamendingbasiclaws.In2019,theNPCsessionadoptedtheForeignInvestmentLaw.Lastyear,themilestoneCivilCodewasadopted.TheupcomingsessionwillseelawmakersdeliberatedraftamendmentstotheorganiclawandproceduralrulesoftheNPC,whichdealwiththeoperationsofthecountry'stoplegislature.Accordingtosourcesfromthetoplegislature,thedraftamendmentsassimilateeffectivepracticesinlegislativeprocesses,suchasmakingNPCsessionsmoreopenandefficient.