Slovenian Ambassador to China Marija Adanja. Photo: Courtesy of the Slovenian Embassy

I'm glad there's a more open discussion about pollution than before, and I believe concrete measures to tackle this difficult challenge will follow.

This is my sixth time to follow the NPC and the CPPCC, and that it's an excellent opportunity for me to get an overview of what was done during the last year and what the Chinese leadership plans to do for the next year.

I believe the decision of the Chinese government to fight pollution is a very important one. Not only will it help Chinese people but it can also help other developing countries realize that one should not sacrifice the environment for development.

China is an important economic partner of Slovenia but there is still a lot that could be done to further develop cooperation, especially in investments, infrastructure, high technology, agriculture, tourism and others. Slovenia views the "One Belt, One Road" initiatives and the cooperation between the EU and China including the "16+1" initiative, as a very good framework for further developing cooperation with China.

China is the most important trade partner of Slovenia in Asia, so we are most interested in the economic prospects of the country.  The 7 percent economic growth target for the year 2015 confirms the determination of the Chinese leadership to maintain sustainable development and undertake the necessary reforms and further opening up. I believe this is good for China as well as the world.

As a woman, I appreciate seeing more women among the NPC and CPPCC delegates than in the previous years, although the percentage is still relatively small. But China is not the only country facing the issue.

The author is the Slovenian ambassador to China