The Seventh Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing on Thursday morning.

The session will discuss a draft report to be submitted to the upcoming 18th Party congress by the 17th CPC Central Committee, a draft amendment to the CPC Constitution and a draft work report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to be submitted to the congress, according to an earlier meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided at a meeting on Sept. 28 to hold the Seventh Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee in Beijing on Nov. 1 and to make a proposal to the Central Committee plenum that the 18th CPC National Congress will convene in Beijing as of Nov. 8.

The September meeting also examined and discussed the draft work report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to the Party's 18th national congress, and agreed to submit it to the Seventh Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee for discussion.

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee discussed at a meeting on Oct. 22 the draft report to be submitted by the 17th CPC Central Committee to the 18th national congress and the draft amendment to the CPC Constitution, and decided to table the two improved drafts to the Seventh Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee for further discussion.

Opinions have been solicited on the draft report to the 18th CPC National Congress and on the draft amendment to the CPC Constitution within certain groups of people. Various regions and departments, as well as delegates to the 17th CPC National Congress and the newly-elected delegates to the 18th CPC National Congress, have put forward opinions and suggestions.

The 18th CPC National Congress is a very important meeting to be held at a key time when China is working to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and at a crucial time when the country is deepening reform and opening up and accelerating the transformation of its economic development pattern.

The congress will systematically review the work in the past five years since the 17th CPC National Congress and the practice since the 16th CPC National Congress, and 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 new grand project of the Party building.

A new CPC Central Committee and a new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection will be elected at the national congress.