The annual session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference opens in Beijing on March 3. The gathering of China's top political advisers was held two days before the opening of the annual session of the National People's Congress, which will bring together China's top lawmakers. A wide range of topics such as employment will be discussed at the meetings. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) will also be released at the meetings. The blueprint will outline the economic and social development for the next five years and is expected to help transform China's export-led economy to a consumption-led, environmentally friendly one. Wang Ye / Xinhua

Population rises to 1.34 billion

China's population at the end of 2010 rose to 1.341 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Feb 28.

The preliminary figure, based on a sample survey, shows China added 6.3 million people last year, up from 1.3347 billion at the end of 2009.

The slower growth rate, compared with 2009, has prompted some experts to suggest adjusting the decades-old family planning policy.

The current policy limits most urban couples to just one child.

A more accurate figure is expected to come out in April, after the government tallies the results of the census in 2010. A census is carried out once a decade.

Environment

Energy consumption falls

The amount of energy consumed for every unit of economic output fell 4 percent last year from its 2009 level, according to calculations by the National Bureau of Statistics released on Feb 28.

Between 2006 and 2010, the country achieved

a 19.1 percent drop in energy intensity, roughly

meeting its five-year target to improve energy

efficiency by 20 percent, Premier Wen Jiabao said

on Feb 27 during an online conversation with netizens.

Wen also unveiled new goals to bring down both energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 16 to 17 percent from 2011 to the end of 2015.

Healthcare

Boost for vaccines

The State Food and Drug Administration has been complying with international standards for the regulation of vaccines, something that will help open doors for export of domestically made vaccines, said a news release issued by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Beijing office on March 1.

China's national regulatory authorities were recognized as being "functional", said Lahouari Belgharbi, a scientist from the WHO's department of immunization, vaccines and biologicals.

The WHO experts visited institutes involved in vaccine regulation in Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei and Jiangsu. China became the 36th vaccine-producing country to have its regulatory system approved by the WHO, Belgharbi said.

Pregnant women to get screening

Starting this year, pregnant women across China will receive free screening for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B.

And if they test positive, they will be treated at hospitals to prevent them from transmitting the diseases to their children, according to a document issued by the Ministry of Health on Feb 28.

"This is the first nationwide health policy to prevent such infections being transmitted from mothers to children, and the central government will spend at least 700 million yuan (77.4 million euros) a year on it," said Wang Ning, deputy director of the National Center for AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Disease Control and Prevention.

Science

'Smart' Mars probe in the works

China will update and modify its lunar probes to develop a Mars probe, said Ye Peijian, chief scientist of deep space exploration at the China Academy of Space Technology.

Modifications, to enable the Mars probe to reach deep space and become "smarter", will be carried out, said Ye, who is in charge of drafting a technical plan for exploration of the "Red Planet", which has yet to get government approval.

The China Academy of Space Technology, designers of the Shenzhou spacecraft and lunar probes, is trying to draft a technical plan for Mars exploration.

Employment

Greater safety for workers urged

The State asset regulator on Feb 25 urged central State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to increase protection of the country's workers, especially those working abroad, amid rising chaos in some Middle Eastern and North African countries.

In recent years, the number of Chinese workers employed abroad has been rising rapidly. The number of workers employed by China's central SOEs is currently 6.8 million, and most of them are working abroad, according to State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

China Daily