The 1st Session of the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

National People's Congress held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18, 2008 in the

Great Hall of the People The Great Hall of the People is a state building located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Co ...

in Beijing,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, in conjunction with the 2008 CPPCC. The 10-day plenum elected China's new government leaders. Up for confirmation for a second term were President

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese politician who served as the 16–17th general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the 6th president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 2003 to 2013, an ...

and Premier

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy ...

. 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 Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...

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.China's Cabinet sets tasks for new term_English_Xinhua
/ref> * Control of inflation and maintain price stability for basic necessities, food and essential commodities. * Regulation of excessive investments in fixed assets. * Education reforms which include free nine years of education and education initiatives to assist with the rural regions. * Increase resources towards energy conservation, more efficient technologies and reduction of emissions.

State Council Reform

A massive reform took place in China's cabinet, the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

. Several ministries were consolidated to form super ministries. The several "superministries" 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. 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. 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.

Election results

* No other candidates formally stood for these positions, although votes were cast for other write-in candidates."Hu Jintao Re-Elected As China President"
Associated Press, March 15, 2008.

Premier's Press Conference

Premier

held a press conference on March 18, 2008. He introduced the new Vice-Premiers,

Hui Liangyu Hui Liangyu (, Xiao'erjing: ; born October 1944) was a Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China in charge of agriculture. Biography Hui was born in Yushu, Jilin Province. He is a member of the Hui ethnic minority. Starting in 1969, h ...

Zhang Dejiang Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...

and

Wang Qishan Wang Qishan (; ; born 19 July 1948) is a Chinese politician, and the current Vice President of the People's Republic of China. Wang is one of the leading figures behind China's foreign affairs, along with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Ke ...

. 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.

Notes

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