IV. We fulfilled our oversight duties in accordance with the law to better promote economic and social development and aid the advancement of reform tasks.

We exercised oversight in strict accordance with legally prescribed duties, statutory limits of authority, and procedures defined in law. While effectively exercising regular statutory oversight, we focused on deepening supply-side structural reform, aiding the three critical battles against potential risk, poverty, and pollution, resolving hotspot judicial issues pertaining to public wellbeing, and overseeing government budgets and state-owned assets. Over the past year, we heard and deliberated 24 work reports from the State Council, the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Court, and the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Procuratorate, inspected the enforcement of 6 laws, and conducted 3 special inquiries and 5 research projects on specific topics. Through these activities, we strived to guarantee effective enforcement of the Constitution and the law while helping the State Council, the National Commission of Supervision, the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Court, and the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Procuratorate improve their work in tangible ways.

The Standing Committee heard and deliberated work reports on national plans, budgets, final accounts, audits, and environmental protection measures, as well as on special topics such as science and technology, agriculture, education, medical and health care, the marine economy, and the rights and interests of overseas Chinese. The Party Central Committee issued the Opinions on Establishing the System for State Council Reporting to the NPC Standing Committee on the Management of State-owned Assets and the Guidelines on PeopleЎЇs Congresses Expanding the Focus of Their Budget Review and Oversight to Cover Expenditure Budgets and Policy, entrusting new oversight duties to peopleЎЇs congresses. The Standing Committee implemented the guiding principles of these documents, carried out research projects on specific topics, and for the first time deliberated the State CouncilЎЇs annual general report on the management of state-owned assets and its special report on the state-owned assets of financial enterprises, thereby adding another level of guarantee to ensure that state-owned assets are used and managed properly. At present, the standing committees of all 31 provincial-level peopleЎЇs congresses have established systems for reporting on the management of state-owned assets. We designated 153 NPC deputies with relevant expertise to participate in budget review, exerted the role of the online budget oversight system in monitoring the entire budgeting process, and worked to expand the focus of budget review and oversight to cover expenditure budgets and policy.

The Standing Committee inspected enforcement of six laws, including the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the Marine Environment Protection Law, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the Law on Protecting against and Mitigating Earthquake Disasters, the Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, and the Statistics Law. In the process, we identified not only work-related problems, but also defects and shortcomings within laws and regulations, thereby ensuring proper enforcement of the law. The Standing Committee held an additional meeting to hear and deliberate the enforcement inspection report for the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, put forward a resolution on strengthening environmental protection across the board and advancing the fight to prevent and control pollution in accordance with the law, and released the names of 22 enterprises in which 38 problems were discovered through enforcement inspections, thus helping to drive the critical battle against air pollution deeper. The standing committees of all 31 provincial-level peopleЎЇs congresses have completed the formulation and revision of regulations on air pollution prevention and control, all localities and departments have carried out comprehensive review of their normative documents concerning environmental protection, and standing committees of local-level peopleЎЇs congresses have revised 514 and abolished 83 relevant local regulations. In our inspections of enforcement of the Marine Environment Protection Law, we focused on prominent issues in 11 coastal provinces, such as the placement and management of points where pollutants are discharged into the sea, as well as the prevention and control of pollution from land-based sources. We controlled pollution through legal measures, and defended the blue of our seas and skies through the force of the law, thus winning the approval and support of the public.

The Standing Committee also carried out research projects on specific topics, such as the seventh five-year plan for increasing public knowledge of the law, ethnic minority education, poverty alleviation, rural vitalization, and local government debt in order to promote the resolution of major challenges in economic and social development.

The Standing Committee organized and conducted three special inquiries for deliberation on reports regarding enforcement inspection of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the work of peopleЎЇs courts to ensure enforcement of rulings, the work of peopleЎЇs procuratorates to strengthen legal oversight on civil litigation and the execution of judgments, and the allocation and use of government funds for medical and health care. Relevant leading officials from the State Council, the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Court, and the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Procuratorate responded in person to inquiries from members of the Standing Committee and NPC deputies regarding issues in related fields that are the subject of widespread public concern. This was the first time that the Standing Committee conducted a special inquiry on the work of the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Court and the Supreme PeopleЎЇs Procuratorate.