BEIJING: The Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, started its seventh session Monday to review multiple draft laws and law revisions.
The session’s agenda includes reviewing a draft revision to the Organic Law of the State Council, a draft revision to the Company Law, a draft amendment to the Charity Law, a draft food security law, a draft amendment to the Criminal Law, a draft emergency response management law, and a draft law on rural collective economic organizations.
Lawmakers will also review a draft amendment to the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People’s Congresses at All Levels, a draft revision to the Frontier Health and Quarantine Law, and a draft revision to the Mineral Resources Law, among other bills.
Xi presents order to promote military officers to rank of general
The promoted officers are Political Commissar of the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Wang Wenquan and Commander of the PLA Navy Hu Zhongming.
Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the CMC, announced the order of promotion, which was signed by Xi. He Weidong, another CMC vice chairman, presided over the ceremony.
Xi extended his congratulations to the officers. Later, Xi and other leaders took group photos with them.
General is the highest rank for officers in active service in China.
China sets overall grain production targets for 2024
China has established overall targets for its 2024 grain production, aiming to stabilize food grain, maize and soybean production, expand rapeseed planting area, and increase yield per unit area, as announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The country is committed to maintaining its area of arable land while seeking potential to further expand it, and increasing output while optimizing grain quality. The goal is to secure a total grain output of over 1.3 trillion jin (650 billion kilograms) in 2024.
China’s grain output has consistently exceeded the 1.3 trillion jin mark for nine consecutive years, reaching a record high of 1.39 trillion jin in 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Facing frequent natural disasters, achieving the 2023 grain harvest was challenging, Qian Qian, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua.
“The foundation of food security must be consolidated, as the consumption upgrade momentum of China’s large population has driven up the food demand, and the global trade in agricultural products still faces uncertainties,” said Qian.
Measures to improve yields
In the upcoming year, China plans to enhance efforts to increase per-unit yields for major crops. This includes designating 302 counties – 100 for maize, 100 for wheat, and 102 for rapeseed – to join the initiative.
The country will further promote high-density planting, an effective method to improve crop yield.
To improve the quality of sowing, it will facilitate the application of high-performance seed planters by increasing subsidies for the purchase and use of agricultural machinery as well as promoting financial leasing.
The application of integrated water and fertilizer irrigation equipment will be expanded to support high-density planting by enabling precision control of water and fertilizer.
A project to increase per-unit yield for soybeans will be launched as well next year.
