国内英语新闻:China's top legislature reviews multiple reports

BEIJING, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature on Monday convened a plenary meeting to review reports submitted by the State Council on areas including the mid-stage evaluation of the implementation of the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020).

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, attended the plenary meeting held during the ongoing bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee.

Briefing members of the NPC Standing Committee about the implementation of the plan, He Lifeng, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said it had been carried smoothly so far, but there was still lots of work to do.

The report said efforts will be made to advance supply-side structural reform, market-based reforms and high-level opening-up, forestall and defuse major risks, carry out targeted poverty alleviation, and prevent and control pollution.

Lawmakers also heard an evaluation report from the NPC Financial and Economic Committee.

Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office, briefed the lawmakers on fiscal matters and the results of the 2017 central budget spending audit.

China has punished 3,299 people involved in fiscal violations by the end of October, and the funds related to the fiscal violations stood at around 295.6 billion yuan (42.9 billion U.S. dollars), according to Hu.

During the session, Finance Minister Liu Kun delivered a report on medical service spending. The Chinese government spent 5.95 trillion yuan on medical services from 2013 to 2017, with an average annual increase of 11.7 percent.

"The Ministry of Finance will cooperate with the National Health Commission and other departments to improve China's policies on health care and the efficiency of medical funds," Liu said.

Liu also gave a report regarding detailed measures on special additional deductions from taxable personal incomes.

The lawmakers also deliberated a report on China's marine economy.