(Yicai) March 4 -- China will continue to ensure high-quality economic development through legal frameworks during this important year before the 14th Five-Year Plan ends next year, a spokesman of a key annual political meeting said.

The National People's Congress and its standing committee will support development with high-quality legislation this year which is key in the 14th Five-Year Plan, Lou Qinjian, spokesperson for the second session of the 14th NPC, said at a press conference today before the meeting starts tomorrow. The blueprint highlights innovation-driven growth, low-carbon development, and integration of urban and rural areas. 

The NPC will implement financial reforms and push for private firms' development through legislation, Lou said. It will formulate laws on tariffs, amend health and quarantine rules, and refine existing foreign-related clauses to optimize business environments.

It will organize environmental laws to drive low-carbon developments. The NPC will also formulate laws on academic degrees and preschool education while revising laws of infectious diseases to ensure and improve people's livelihood, he added.

The NPC and its standing committee will advance scientific and technological progress for self-reliance, promote the conversion of scientific and technological achievements, and popularize new technologies. 

Last year, the NPC's standing committee inspected how the existing legal frameworks enable scientific and technological progress. Next, it will study how to accelerate innovation, especially regarding ethics and safety in timely fields such as artificial intelligence and biotech.

China advocates openness and cooperation in scientific fields and technological development, Lou said. This arena should conform to laws and abide by the rules of a market-oriented economy. Decoupling and disconnections of industrial chains will only slow down global progress, harm industrial development, and enlarge development gaps, he added. 

Overall, there are more conditions that are favorable to China's development than those that are not, Lou said, adding that the basic trends of economic recovery and long-term prosperity remain unchanged.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine