The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislative body, has been instrumental in enhancing the socialist market economy, improving public welfare, and advancing whole-process people's democracy through its legislative efforts, Lou Qinjian, the spokesman for the fourth session of the 14th NPC, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

He revealed that over the past year, the NPC Standing Committee reviewed 40 drafts, including laws, legal interpretations, and decisions, with 24 being enacted. This included the creation of six new laws, amendments to 14 existing ones, the adoption of one legal interpretation, and the issuance of three decisions on significant legal and policy issues, he noted.

According to him, to foster a fair and competitive market environment, the Standing Committee revised the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, accelerating the establishment of a unified national market. Amendments were also made to the Foreign Trade Law, the Arbitration Law, and the Maritime Law to better integrate domestic and international markets and to promote a higher degree of openness.

In terms of public health and safety, the spokesman said that the Standing Committee formulated the Public Health Emergency Response Law and revised the Infectious Disease Prevention Law and the Food Safety Law. Additionally, the introduction of the Hazardous Chemicals Safety Law and amendments to the Public Security Administration Punishment Law and the Cybersecurity Law underscored their commitment to building a secure China.

The National Park Law was established, and the Environmental Protection Tax Law was also revised to enhance the conservation of natural resources, Lou said. Furthermore, he added that amendments to the Urban Residents Committee Organization Law and the Villagers Committee Organization Law were made to modernize grassroots governance systems and capabilities, thereby advancing whole-process people's democracy.

Lou also mentioned that last year, the NPC Standing Committee undertook a comprehensive review of existing laws, and the upcoming session will consider the related work report.