Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attend the opening meeting of the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING -- The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference started its annual session Thursday afternoon in Beijing, raising the curtain of a key season in the country's political calendar which also includes an annual gathering of the national legislature to open on May 22.

The session will pool the wisdom and strength of the CPPCC members to help secure a victory in poverty eradication and complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Party and state leaders Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji, Han Zheng and Wang Qishan attended the opening meeting of the third session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, held at the Great Hall of the People. The session was attended by 2,057 CPPCC National Committee members.

Attendees at Thursday's meeting paid a one-minute silent tribute to martyrs who died fighting COVID-19 and compatriots who lost their lives in the epidemic.

The agenda for the session was reviewed and approved at the meeting.

Wang Yang, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee to the session.

Highlighting the Central Conference on CPPCC Work held by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in 2019, Wang Yang said that the speech by Xi, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, at the conference has charted the way forward for the cause of the CPPCC in the new era.

He commended the contributions made by the CPPCC National Committee and its standing committee to the causes of the Party and the country under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core over the past year.

In the report, he also noted the role of the CPPCC members in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, saying that they have submitted more than 1,300 reports and suggestions on preventing and controlling the epidemic, resuming work and production, stabilizing public expectations and strengthening law-based governance.

Giving full play to the role of the CPPCC as a specialist consultative body, 71 consultation meetings, 97 research trips as well as online consultations were organized in the past year, according to the report.

Wang Yang said the year 2020 marks the concluding phase for China's endeavor to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and deliver on the 13th Five-Year Plan.

He called on the CPPCC members to fulfill their duties focusing on coordinating epidemic control and economic and social development to make contributions to winning the battle against poverty and completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

Attendees were also briefed on the handling of proposals submitted by the CPPCC members.

A total of 5,488 proposals have been submitted since the previous annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, said Zheng Jianbang, vice chairperson of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, when delivering a report on the proposals.