Shanghai Daily news

The Communist Party of China's Central Committee met in Beijing yesterday to complete final preparations for a major congress next week.

Committee members will review a draft report by the current CPC Central Committee to be submitted to the 17th Party Congress, which is scheduled to open on Monday.

The 17th Party Congress is "a very important meeting to be held at a time when China has entered a key stage of reform and development," the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee said in an earlier statement.

According to its agenda, the congress will review the Party's work over the past five years since the 16th National Congress and discuss and vote on an amendment to the Party Constitution.

The draft report to the 17th Party Congress and the draft amendment to the Party Constitution have taken into consideration opinions solicited from people across a wide range of social sectors, Xinhua news agency said yesterday.

Delegates to the current Party congress from various departments and regions and newly elected delegates to the 17th congress have also made contributions to the two draft documents.

The upcoming congress is expected to make strategic arrangements for the overall advancement of China's reform and opening up and socialist modernization drive, as well as for the overall advancement of the "grand project of Party building," Xinhua said.

The congress will also elect a new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Also yesterday, Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang called on security forces from across the country to "spare no effort" to support the Beijing police to safeguard the capital for the Party congress.

"All levels of police departments should try to resolve disputes and uncertainties at grassroots levels when they appear and try to minimize their influence," Zhou said.

He urged police to reduce the effects of "inharmonious factors" and create a "joyous and peaceful" social environment for the Party congress.

The police must ensure a sound social order and strengthen their crackdown on criminal gangs, illegal firearms, street crime and economic crime, Zhou said.

They also need to improve their analysis of intelligence data, he said.

Zhou said the security ministry will "reward individuals and departments that make significant contributions to maintaining security at the Party congress and seriously punish those causing accidents due to dereliction of duty."

The total number of Party members reached 73.36 million at the end of June, 6.42 million more than the figure five years ago, according to the CPC Central Committee.

Among the membership, 10.8 percent are workers, and 31 percent are farmers, herdsmen or fishermen.