Leaders Underline Scientific Development, Stability

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged scientific development of the Binhai New Area, an economic powerhouse in north China, when joining a panel discussion with lawmakers from Tianjin Municipality.

It is urgent to accelerate the transformation of the economic development pattern and promote growth led by innovation and driven by internal impetus, Hu told the deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's supreme legislature.

Lying between Beijing and the Bohai Gulf, the Binhai New Area, with a population of 1.4 million, is an economic engine that drives the development of the country's north.

The new area should play a leading role in the country to implement the scientific outlook on development and focus on improving people's livelihood and solving problems that the public care the most, Hu said.

The city should seek coordinated social and economic development, and continuously strengthen its capabilities in urban planning, construction and management to build Tianjin into an international and modern city where people enjoy living.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC, joined a panel deliberation on the draft amendment to the Electoral Law with lawmakers from the southwestern Yunnan Province.

He said the electoral system is an important basis of the people's congress system and an important content of the socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics.

"We must bring into better play the advantages of the electoral system with Chinese characteristics," Wu told the deputies.

While joining a panel deliberation with NPC deputies from the eastern Shandong Province, Premier Wen Jiabao called for balanced development between urban and rural areas.