BEIJING - The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference concluded its annual session Thursday, stressing the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

"Taking a clear political stand is an essential feature of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)," said Wang Yang, newly-elected chairman of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, when addressing the closing of the session.

The CPC leadership is a fundamental political guarantee for the development of the CPPCC and a basic political principle that the CPPCC must observe in the new era, Wang said.

Wang asked CPPCC members to uphold the CPC leadership, take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guiding principle for the work of the CPPCC, perform their duties for the people, improve their consultation competence, and act within the boundaries of the Constitution and laws.

The closing meeting of the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 15, 2018. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/China Daily]

A resolution on an amendment to the CPPCC Charter was passed at the meeting in a move widely believed by observers as representing an important chapter in the development of democracy in China.

Xi's thought was incorporated into the amendment as a guiding theory of the CPPCC.

The definition of the CPPCC's nature and tasks was enriched, and the idea of "socialist consultative democracy" was written into the charter.

This was the fourth amendment to the CPPCC charter since it was adopted in 1982.