Media highlights

"A major focus (at the two sessions) will be the chronic and dangerous smog problem. The State Council issued the Air Pollution Action Plan in September last year, which aims to control PM2.5 in the polluted regions and reduce the consumption of coal to below 65 percent in terms of total energy consumption by 2017."

International Business Times

"Dealing with air pollution is a concerted effort that entails all members of society playing a part in the process. At present, an important task for the reduction of smog rests on each of us - not only on the governments and enterprises, but also on every member of our society."

Legal Daily

"In a mountainous, woody part of southern China, people are talking about the same problem facing the Chinese capital thousands of kilometers away - smog. Unlike pollution-dogged Beijing, smog is new to the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. After several bouts of hazy weather gripped the region last year, alarmed locals brought the issue to this year's two sessions."

Xinhua News Agency

"Air pollution in China, the world's biggest carbon emitter, has reached intolerable levels and the country should aggressively cut its reliance on coal, according to a government's climate-change adviser. China's pollution is at an unbearable stage, Li Junfeng, director general of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, said at a conference in Beijing over the weekend. 'It's like a smoker who needs to quit smoking at once otherwise he will risk getting lung cancer.'"

Bloomberg News