Spokesman's words:
Economic growth: "The fundamentals of China's economy remain sound. It is resilient, full of potential and has ample wiggle room."
Air pollution: "These companies (which deactivated their pollution control facilities to cut costs and eluded supervision) are irresponsible. Such barbaric acts must be stopped."
Private business: "A sound environment should be created to protect entrepreneurs' property rights and returns on innovation."
Foreign investment: "I believe China will continue to be a popular global destination for investment and that profits can be made here."
Employment: "I think job losses among some employees ... are a temporary phenomenon."
Veteran reporter's new role
Wang Guoqing is no stranger when it comes to asking questions.
But on Wednesday, the veteran journalist found himself on the receiving end of them in his new role as spokesman for the annual session of China's top advisory body.
The 63-year-old made his debut at a news conference as the 14th spokesman, since 1983, for the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's annual session.
Wang, who worked for China Radio International from 1978 to 2000, covered the two sessions of the top legislature and advisory body many times in the 1980s.
He once worked as CRI's chief Washington correspondent.
Experienced in international publicity, Wang said he is not afraid of answering sensitive questions in his new role.
"The more sensitive the questions are, the more effort we should put into answering them. So long as it doesn't undermine national security and stability, there is nothing that cannot be discussed," he told Xinhua News Agency.
Wang graduated from Shanghai International Studies University in the 1970s, majoring in English, and studied at McGill University in Canada from 1976 to 1978.
In 2000, he started working for the State Council Information Office and the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
In 2013, he became vice-chairman of the CPPCC's Foreign Affairs Committee.
He said his new role as spokesman is quite challenging. For the past month, he has worked more than 10 hours a day for many days, consulting officials from more than 60 government departments and collecting more than 1,400 questions.
