Tuo Zhen (second from left), spokesman for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, holds a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Oct 17, 2017. [Photo by Edmond Tang/China Daily]

BEIJING - Tuo Zhen, spokesman for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, briefing the media on the upcoming congress. Here are highlights of Tuo's remarks at the press conference.

2,280 delegates will attend Congress

A total of 2,280 delegates from all walks of life will attend the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which starts on Wednesday.

The Party elected 2,287 delegates before the Congress, but seven of them did not pass the final review by the delegate credential committee. "The qualification of the 2,280 delegates is effective," Tuo said.

The qualified delegates are from various sectors, including the economy, education, health and justice, and are from all levels of society. For example, 33.8 percent of the delegates come from grassroots departments, 3.3-percentage points higher than the figure of the last Congress, according to Tuo. (Read more)

China will stick to opening up

China will stick to the opening-up policy and further expand market access to foreign investors, Tuo said.

Tuo said opening up is a basic State policy.

He cited President Xi Jinping, saying that China will not make changes to the basic policy, and will not make changes to the commitments to provide better services to foreign investors.

The State Council, the cabinet, released documents in January and August, and local governments have introduced measures to attract more foreign capital, according to Tuo.

He said there will be renewed efforts to attract foreign investors in the future as the opening up and reform continues.

"The goal is to see a win-win result and common development," he said. (Read more)