The first session of the 13th Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress commenced in Hangzhou on Jan 25. [Photo by Dong Xuming]

The first session of the 13th Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress commenced in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on Jan 25. There are 626 deputies in attendance.

Yuan Jiajun, governor of Zhejiang, delivered the 2017 work report of the provincial government at the plenary, saying the government had fulfilled the goals set at the beginning of last year.

Yuan said that in the past five years, Zhejiang has made several great achievements, including the success of the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016, the permanent settlement of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the continued construction of "characteristic towns", and the promotion of the "At Most One Visit" administrative reform.

According to Yuan, the province's economy has experienced historic growth, with its GDP surpassing 5 trillion yuan ($782.56 billion) for the first time in 2017, and its fiscal revenue reaching 1 trillion yuan.

In the work report, Yuan also established goals for the next five years. The province strives to build an all-around moderately prosperous society by 2020, and is aiming for a total GDP of 7 trillion yuan by 2022.

To achieve these goals, Yuan emphasized the importance of focusing on quality, competitiveness and modernization. He stated ten tasks in his speech, including the development of the digital economy, administrative reform, rural vitalization, and improvement in people's sense of happiness.

The year of 2018 will welcome a new group of government leaders, Yuan said, expressing his high hopes for the further development of Zhejiang.