Legislators are to discuss a plan which will give them the authority to scrutinise the government budget.
The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee will begin a week-long session next week. Sources said one of the items on the agenda was to discuss a resolution on 'central budget scrutinisation and supervision'.
If adopted, the resolution will give a recently set-up working committee under the NPC's Finance and Economic Committee the power to supervise the Government's income and expenses.
Sources said the Standing Committee initially intended to put forward a regulation instead of a resolution. Members eventually agreed to compromise after the Ministry of Finance voiced opposition and blocked the proposal when the committee met in August.
'The fact that it was toned down from a regulation to a resolution indicates that it may weaken the power of the NPC to supervise the Government over its budget even if it is adopted,' a senior official of the NPC said.
The official said regulations and resolutions adopted by the NPC carried legal power, although a resolution usually implied a shorter implementation period.