National legislators are expected to focus on regulating the market economy, enhancing management of resources and promoting economic development when drafting or revising economic laws this year.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) - China's top legislature - will enhance legislative efforts to crack down on the production and sale of counterfeit and shabby goods, Wednesday's People's Daily quoted Bian Yaowu, vice-director of the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, as saying.
A nationwide campaign against the production and sale of counterfeit and shabby goods, launched by the central government last year, has achieved encouraging results, Bian said, adding the new legislation will help maintain the momentum of that campaign.
The new legislation will be designed to guard market order, promote economic reform and opening-up, as well as promote the healthy development of national economy, Bian said.
The legislators will also enhance legislation on market management, he added.
The committee will come up with a law on the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to offer them with wide-ranging services from fund raising to information dissemination.
The nation's 9 million SMEs, accounting for 95 percent of all Chinese enterprises, have played an indispensable role in invigorating the national economy and maintaining social stability by promoting market competition, increasing job opportunities and pushing forward technical innovation, said Zeng Xianlin, vice-director of the NPC Financial and Economic Committee.
These enterprises have offered three-fourths of urban job opportunities during the nation's economic transformation process, giving jobs to more than 230 million laborers who came from rural areas during the past decades, according to figures from Zeng's committee.
A draft of this law was submitted to the committee in December for preliminary reading by national legislators.
Legislators vote for a draft law or amendments after three readings under normal conditions, according to the Legislative Procedure Law.
Turning to the protection and utilization of natural resources, Bian said the committee will revise the Law on Water Resources this year to prevent water pollution, and protect its water resources.
The current situation of China's water resources is not encouraging, with serious water shortage and water pollution in some regions, Bian said.
(China Daily March 1, 2002)
