The Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s national legislature, concluded its ninth session on the morning of Apr. 26 in Beijing. At the session, Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt an academic degree law, a tariff law, and a decision to amend the Law on the Promotion of Agricultural Technology, the Law on the Protection of Minors, and the Biosecurity Law. Chinese President Xi Jinping signed Presidential Orders Nos. 22, 23, and 24 to promulgate these laws and this decision, respectively.

The session passed the NPC Standing Committee’s decisions on the approval of the Treaty Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Mauritius on Mutual Judicial Assistance in Criminal Affairs, the Treaty Between the People’s Republic of China and Nepal on Mutual Judicial Assistance in Criminal Affairs, the Extradition Treaty Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Senegal, and the Extradition Treaty Between the People’s Republic of China and the Hellenic Republic. The session also adopted a deputy qualification report and personnel-related bills.

Zhao Leji, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the closing session. A total of 166 members of the Standing Committee attended the session, meeting the statutory requirement for attendance. The participants included Vice Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee, the leadership of the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and the National Supervisory Commission, heads and members of the NPC Standing Committees at the provincial, municipal, and local levels, as well as relevant departmental officials.

Following the session, Zhao chaired a lecture for lawmakers, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and the Development of Intelligent Computing,” which was delivered by Sun Ninghui, member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.