Press center for China's annual "two sessions" opens

A press center for China's annual sessions of its top legislature and political advisory body, known as the "two sessions," opened on Friday at the Media Center Hotel in Beijing.

The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will kick off on March 5 and March 4, respectively.

More than 3,000 journalists, including over 1,000 from China's Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and abroad, have registered to cover this year's "two sessions," according to the press center.

A series of press conferences and events will be held, at which senior government officials are expected to answer journalists' questions and elaborate on major policies and development directions.

Press center for China's annual "two sessions" opens

Chinese stocks closed mixed on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.39 percent to 4,162.88 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.06 percent lower at 14,495.09 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices totaled nearly 2.49 trillion yuan (about 359.68 billion U.S. dollars), down from 2.54 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Stocks related to minor metals, lead and zinc led the gains, while papermaking and electronic chemicals shares were among the top laggards.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.04 percent to close at 3,310.3 points.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 0.36 percent higher at 1,849.77 points on Friday.

Chinese shares close mixed Friday