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BEIJING, March 2-- Thousands of national lawmakers and political advisors are heading to Beijing for the "two sessions," important annual events in China's political calendar. The first sessions of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will convene on March 5 and March 3, respectively. Deputies from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were the first to arrive Friday. Lawmaker Zhai Qingbin from Heilongjiang said poverty alleviation was among the topics he was concerned about most. "More targeted measures should be taken to identify the poor people and lift them out of poverty," said Zhai, an entrepreneur in the agricultural sector. Deputy Zhou Chaohong, from Tianjin Municipality, said he would propose integrated control over water pollution in the region of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. NPC deputies are elected by people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The armed forces elect their own. Deputies from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan follow separate election rules decided by the NPC. Being the first annual sessions following the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), they are crucial to securing a victory in building a moderately prosperous society (Xiaokang) in all aspects and implementing the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). | 
