Full coverage: 2017 NPC & CPPCC Sessions

Deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from northeast China's Jilin Province arrive in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2017. The fifth annual session of the 12th NPC will open on March 5. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) are heading to Beijing for the top legislature's annual session, which will open on Sunday.

Deputies from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were the first to arrive on Thursday morning.

The fifth session of the 12th NPC is the first since President Xi Jinping was endorsed as the core of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Cental Committee at a key CPC meeting last October.

NPC deputies are elected by people's congresses of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The armed forces elect their own. Deputies from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan follow separate election rules decided by the NPC.

The NPC session this year will debate on the government work report, the budget of the central government and the draft General Provisions of Civil Law, among other matters.

Deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province arrive at Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2017. The fifth annual session of the 12th NPC will open on March 5. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Wang Jinghai, a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, receives an interview after arriving at Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, capital of China, March 2, 2017. The fifth annual session of the 12th NPC will open on March 5. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)