BEIJING: China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, a powerful body that enacts and amends laws when parliament is not in session, will review appointments and dismissals of officials at a meeting on Tuesday (Jul 25), state media reported.
The announcement comes one month since Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang was last seen, with China’s government saying he was off for unspecified health reasons.
The NPC committee, which meets roughly every two months to deliberate legislation and pass laws, was next expected to meet in August after concluding a scheduled meeting in June.
China’s cabinet positions such as ministers are nominated by its premier and are then approved by NPC, or parliament. But NPC meets once a year only in March, and the NPC standing committee is thus tasked to make decisions in the interim.
The 3,000-member NPC is China’s national legislature, and in principle the most powerful state body under the Chinese constitution, although in practice the ruling Communist Party wields more power.
Besides meeting annually to deliberate legislation and appoint government personnel, it oversees the State Council, China’s cabinet.
The NPC meetings overlap with those of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a political advisory body. Together, the annual meetings are known as the lianghui, or “Two Sessions”, and usually last between one and two weeks.