Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the first plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 24, 2023. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

BEIJING -- The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, started its second session in Beijing on Monday.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session's first plenary meeting.

The session deliberated a draft revision to the Counter-Espionage Law, and a draft law on ecological conservation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

In its reports to the session, the NPC Constitution and Law Committee said the two drafts are already relatively mature, and suggested the session adopt them.

Lawmakers also reviewed a draft law on the construction of a barrier-free environment.

Lawmakers heard a report on a draft revision to the codes of conduct for the chairperson, vice-chairpersons, the secretary-general and members of the NPC Standing Committee, as well as reports from the State Council on the state of the environment and the fulfillment of environmental protection targets for 2022, and on work related to overseas Chinese in the new era.

The meeting also deliberated a draft list for the chairperson, vice-chairpersons and members of the credentials committee of the NPC Standing Committee, and a decision on the appointment and removal of officials. 

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, presides over the first plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 24, 2023. [Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]