The Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, started its 12th session in Beijing on Monday.
Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session's first plenary meeting.
Lawmakers reviewed a draft preschool education law, a draft revision to the Law on Protection of Cultural Relics, a draft revision to the Mineral Resources Law, a draft energy law, and a draft revision to the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
They deliberated a draft amendment to the Law on Supervision by the Standing Committees of the People's Congresses at All Levels, a draft amendment to the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels, a draft revision to the Arbitration Law, a draft revision to the Maritime Law, and a draft revision to the Law on Popularization of Science and Technology.
Lawmakers also reviewed a State Council bill on raising ceilings on local government debt to replace existing hidden debts, several reports on handling proposals submitted by lawmakers, a deputy qualification report, and personnel-related bills, among others.
Top legislature starts standing committee session
The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) entered a new phase of marine construction on Monday morning, marked by the completion of the east tower's piling work of the Liuwudian Channel Bridge, a pivotal component of the project, in Xiamen of Fujian Province in east China.
The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) spans 17.34 km and is designed to link the Xiamen island with the Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport that is currently under construction. The Liuwudian Channel Bridge is the province's first offshore suspension bridge and largest span bridge with a total length of 1,948 meters and a main span of 928 meters in length.
The pile foundation of the east bridge tower was completed on Monday after four months of work, while that of the west one is expected to finish at the end of this month.
Confronted with complex geological conditions and the challenge of transporting materials to the offshore construction site, the team newly built a large-scale mixing station and employed six rotary drilling rigs which operated around the clock.
With a total investment of 37.27 billion yuan (about 5.12 billion U.S. dollars), the Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) will become the most efficient connection between the Xiamen island and the Xiang'an Airport. Once completed, it will ease traffic congestion and greatly enhance transport efficiency in the region.
The Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge (Xiamen section) started construction in October 2023, and is expected to be completed simultaneously with the Xiang'an Airport Expressway in 2026.
Kinmen is an important hub for interaction across the Taiwan Strait. Growing trade and commercial links between Kinmen and Xiamen have made the building of the bridge a common desire of many people in the region.
Xiamen-Kinmen Bridge enters marine construction stage
