Ministers are taking questions from the media about the most pressing public issues. This is the fifth ministers' "passage interviews" of this year's two sessions.

Passage interviews got their name because they usually take place on walkways leading to the main hall of the Great Hall of the People before or after plenary meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Here are the highlights:

Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics,receives an interview at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's overall economic situation improved in Jan-Feb, said Ning Jizhe, head of the National Bureau of Statistics.