China's top legislator Li Zhanshu has called for giving full play to the important role of the people's congresses in advancing law-based governance in all fields, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.
Li, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, stressed the significance of people's congresses in providing rule of law measures for high-quality development, reform and opening-up, and socialist modernization.
Li, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the comments during a tour in east China's Fujian Province from Wednesday to Saturday.
Visiting cities of Quanzhou, Fuzhou and Nanping, Li looked into the development of reform and opening-up and the work of people's congresses in these cities.
The first stop of Li's tour is Jinjiang, a city administered by Quanzhou. He visited the Jinjiang City Exhibition Hall and a number of private enterprises, holding talks with officials, the people and entrepreneurs to gain an in-depth understanding of the "experience of Jinjiang" summarized by comrade Xi Jinping.
When Xi worked in Fujian between 1985 and 2002, he inspected Jinjiang seven times. Summarizing Jinjiang's success story in 2002, he said the city's achievements were due to a localized market-oriented economy, hard-working locals, honest market players and effective local government.
"The 'experience of Jinjiang' summarized by Xi serves as a guide to the reform and development of Jinjiang and Fujian as a whole, and is still playing a guiding role at present," Li said, calling for more efforts in learning Xi's theories and practices during his work in Fujian.
Li also visited new material and new energy enterprises, the Internet-of-Things industrial base and the big data industrial park, trying smart products and learning the development of digital economy.
He encouraged the enterprises to accelerate industrial transition and upgrading, and raise the ability of making innovations.
During his tour, Li visited staff of the provincial people's congress and heard advice of officials and deputies to people's congresses at provincial, city, county and township levels.
"As the organs of state power, people's congresses and their standing committees are at the forefront in developing democracy and the rule of law, playing a major role in advancing law-based governance in all fields," Li said.
"We must ensure the Party's leadership over lawmaking and the leading role of people's congresses in lawmaking, adapt to the needs for reform, development and stability, and make constant efforts to improve the system of laws," Li said.
Li told lawmakers at local levels to make laws according to actual conditions and feature local characteristics while taking the overall interests into account.
Encouraging lawmakers to exercise the right of oversight endowed by the Constitution to crack hard nuts, Li urged them to ensure that the Constitution and laws be implemented effectively, and that all work be carried out in accordance with law.
Li called for efforts to vigorously promote education of rule of law, carry forward the spirit of the Constitution and increase the public's awareness of rule of law.
