Editor's Choice: notable quotes from China's NPC

As National People's Congress kicked off its first day of meetings in Beijing on March 5, prominent central and local government officials as well as ministerial heads offered their opinions ranging from political reform to oil pricesat the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC).

The following are somenotable quotes from the meeting:

"We must have the courage like gnawing at a hard bone and wading through a dangerous shoal," said Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

"In those years, if I did something good for the people, it would be the result of their trust, understanding and support. All credit should go to the people. If I did not do enough, it would mean that I was not competent enough. I beg forgiveness from the people," China's soon-to-retire Premier Wen Jiabao said when bidding farewell at the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC).

"If we want to keep the prices in line, we have to grant more license plates," Shanghai Party chief Han Zheng said at the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), admitting that the 80,000 yuan fee for vehicle license plates applied in Shanghaiis too expensive.

"The conflict between rapid population growth and limited resources is our city's growing pain," Beijing mayor Wang Anshun said at a panel discussion held during the annual parliamentary session in Beijing. "We will make efforts to control Beijing's scale through economic, legal and administrativemeans,"

"Although the Pearl River Delta region is quite developed, the per capita GDP of residents of east, west and north Guangdong Province lags behind the national average", said Hu Chunhua, secretary of the Guangdong Party chief.

"The yuan's value has come very close to a balanced level and it will become more balanced, more flexible and remain basically stable this year", said Yi Gang, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), on the sidelines of the annual session of China's top political advisory body.

"We will not delay a single day to accelerate the city's construction in South China Sea." said Xiao Jie, mayor of China's southernmost city Sansha. "When conditions permit, we will open for tourism. I believe it won't take too long."

"China may borrow overseas experiences to finance its massive urbanization over the next decades through asset securitization and municipal bonds in addition to bank loans", central banker Zhou Xiaochuan said on the sideline of the nation's political advisory body annual session.

"The current mechanism fails to timely reflect the volatility in global oil prices," Zhang Ping, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). "We will raise or cut fuel prices more swiftly accordingly and make our fuel pricing mechanism more flexible and more adaptive to fluctuations in global oil prices,"