Members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee have been urged to make greater efforts this year to offer suggestions on major tasks to help build the country into a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

CPPCC National Committee started its annual session on Sunday afternoon in Beijing, raising the curtain on a key season of the country's political calendar.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, and other leaders attended the opening meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

Wang Yang, chairman of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, delivered a work report to more than 2,000 CPPCC members at the session.

Wang commended the CPPCC National Committee's work last year, saying new advances have been made under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.

"We gave full play to the CPPCC's role as a body dedicated to consultation and carried out our dual responsibility of offering suggestions and building consensus," he said.

Over the past year, CPPCC members have conducted consultations with a focus on fighting the three crucial battles against potential risk, poverty and pollution, and on promoting high-quality development, he said.

With regard to the CPPCC's major tasks in 2019, Wang said top priority will be given to studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The second task is offering high-quality suggestions on the central tasks of the Party and the country.

"Practicing democracy is an important way to seek advice and gather a wide range of opinions on how to secure a decisive victory in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects," Wang said.

Based on in-depth studies, CPPCC members will also engage in consultations on issues that concern the interests of the public, including creating jobs, boosting the sharing economy, revising the Copyright Law, developing the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, training schoolteachers and developing a system for elderly care services, according to Wang.

Wang Daming, a CPPCC National Committee member and a doctor at Beijing Hospital, said that to better fulfill his duty, he will do more practical work this year to make qualified proposals, instead of focusing on the quantity of proposals.

"To make precise and proper suggestions, thorough studies and survey are fundamental," he said. Wang visited six impoverished counties in two provinces last year to conduct a survey about improving medical conditions to relieve poverty.

While delivering the work report, Wang Yang also said that in the year ahead, the CPPCC National Committee will continue to carry out international exchanges of high-level visits and create new ways to conduct public diplomacy and people-to-people and intercultural exchanges.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

zhangyi1@chinadaily.com.cn