BEIJING -- All 271 proposals submitted by lawmakers during the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in March 2023, have been deliberated by nine special committees of the NPC.

In addition, a total of 8,314 suggestions made by national lawmakers during the same period were referred to and handled by 204 organizations, with deputies receiving feedback. Out of these suggestions, 19 were selected as key recommendations and processed under the supervision of NPC special committees.

Around 46.5 percent of all suggestions focused on accelerating the creation of a new development pattern and pursuing high-quality development, approximately 15.9 percent were about improving people's well-being and 11.9 percent were related to invigorating China through science and education and developing a strong workforce for the modernization drive.

In his suggestion, Pan Jiaofeng, an NPC deputy and President of the Institutes of Science and Development under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, had proposed initiating work on autonomous driving standards ahead of schedule.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) together with the National Development and Reform Commission later processed the suggestion. Joint efforts were made by the two departments to study the suggestion, actively communicate with the deputy and brief him about its progress, seek opinions on the resolution, and provide very detailed written responses.

"During the process of handling the suggestion, we fully incorporated and drew insights from the proposed suggestions put forward by the deputy," said Guo Shougang, an official with the MIIT.

Guo noted that China has released a standard system for intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs), as well as regulations on production access for such vehicles and piloting on-road driving, which will accelerate the industrialization process of ICVs.