A total of eight press conferences will be held during this year's annual sessions of China's top legislature and advisory body in about two weeks, sources said Thursday.

In addition to a press conference slated for Friday after the preliminary meeting of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC), Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will meet the press on March 14, the day when the NPC session closes.

Another four conferences with the theme on major problems arising from the country's social and economic development will also be held during the NPC session, according to sources with the NPC Standing Committee.

In another major press conference, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will answer journalists' questions concerning the current international situation and China's foreign policy.

The State Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Land and Resources, People's Bank of China, and China Banking Regulatory Commission will set the pitch of this year's macroeconomic adjustment and control at a press conference.

The Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation will jointly hold a press conference on reforms of the value added tax, income tax of foreign-invested companies, agriculture tax and export tax rebate.

A press conference on agriculture, the countryside and farmers will be staged by the Ministry of Agriculture, State Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Finance.

Besides, two press conferences will be held separately to cover topics of maintaining food security and building a conservation-minded society during the Third Session of the Tenth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), according to a spokesman of the session.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2005)