The law will be discussed for the first time during the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC), which opened Monday in Beijing.

The opening session was presided by Li Peng, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.

Governmental purchasing has proved to be an efficient, advanced and market-oriented system on the allocation, usage and management of fiscal fund in many countries, including some developing countries, said Yao Zhenyan, vice-chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee of the NPC Standing Committee.

"In China, a series of pilot projects on governmental purchases have been launched since 1995,'' Yao said. "During 2000, the volume of government purchase was 32.8 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion), accounting for 2.07 per cent of total fiscal expenditure."

He said a drafting committee was set up by the Financial and Economic Committee of the NPC Standing Committee in 1999. With the co-operation between the committee and relative departments, a draft law on governmental purchases has been finished.

Members of the NPC Standing Committee also will conduct the third deliberation of the draft laws on the management of maritime areas and on prevention and treatment of occupational diseases, as well as the draft amendments on the Copyright Law, the Law on Trademarks, and the Trade Union Law.

Lawmakers will first deliberate a draft law on the preservation of cultural and historical relics.

Entrusted by the State Council, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi submitted two proposals on China's participation in the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism.

By December 31, 1999, a total of 58 countries have signed the convention, which is the first legal document on anti-terrorism explosions in the world, Wang said.

After examination and verification, the State Council holds that the convention will be conducive to China's fight against national separatists and the machination of civil and foreign hostile forces, Wang said.

The Shanghai Convention was signed by President Jiang Zemin and presidents from Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrghizstan in June.

(China Daily October 23, 2001)