BEIJING - China on Monday (March 5) opened its annual legislative session, the first since the important 19th Party Congress last October when a new Communist Party leadership was anointed.

The National People's Congress (NPC) is also first major political event in China after it became clear that President Xi Jinping intends to stay in power beyond his second five-year term which expires in 2023. The party has proposed amending the state Constitution to remove term limits for presidency, a move that will pave the way for Mr Xi to extend his rule indefinitely.