Annual NPC session unveils China's action plan for rejuvenation

Aerial photo taken on Nov. 5, 2017 shows the scenery of Dushan Village at Wanfohu Township in Shucheng County, east China's Anhui Province. China's national legislature convened its annual session Monday, announcing actions that will shape efforts in the years to come to make China a great modern socialist country. [Photo/Xinhua]

Three critical battles

Li stressed increasing support for the "three critical battles" against risk, poverty and pollution.

A moderately prosperous society cannot arise with volatile financial markets, people locked in poverty, or polluted skies, mountains and rivers. The work to address these challenges have been called the "three critical battles" by the Party authority.

Among the targets announced Monday, the government aims to reduce the rural poverty population by over 10 million, reduce air pollutants in key areas, while working to forestall and defuse local government debt risk.

Xu Rui, an NPC deputy from Ruijin, Jiangxi Province, said that his city, a revolutionary base, had entered a crucial period to eliminating extreme poverty.

In villages after villages, people walked out of poverty as they were helped to grow better fruits, vegetables and tea, to reinvent their home-towns into tourist sites, or simply move to much more hospitable regions.

Zuo Xiangyun, another NPC deputy from Jiangxi, said his fellow villagers were among those who benefited.

"Tourists to my village increased from 100,000 in 2016 to nearly 220,000 last year," Zuo said. "As more tourists come, so do our income."