The 11th National People's Congress (NPC) met for a 5-year term, from 2008 to 2013. It held five annual two week plenary sessions during this period. It succeeded the 10th National People's Congress. There were 2,987 deputies elected to the 11th Congress in 2008,[1]
The first session of the 11th Congress sat from March 5 to March 18, 2008.[2] It re-elected Hu Jintao as president and Wen Jiabao as Premier. Xi Jinping was elected vice-president. The State Council, China's cabinet, went through major restructuring.
The second session of the 11th Congress sat from March 5 to March 13, 2009.[2] This congress tackled issues such as the worsening global financial crisis, attempted to introduce a new social welfare system, as well as checks and balances on public officials.