Deputies to the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, the municipal legislative body, submitted a total of 69 motions and 1,246 suggestions over the past year, representing a nearly 50 percent increase in suggestions compared with the previous year.

Economic development emerged as a prominent theme, with nearly 32 percent of the motions focusing on this critical area, local news portal Shanghai Observer reported on Jan 14, a day ahead of the opening of this year's annual session of the congress.

The motions addressed topics such as advancing high-quality development, optimizing the business environment, boosting domestic demand and transitioning towards new growth drivers.

A key priority for the deputies was ensuring that the benefits of economic development translated into improved living standards for the residents.

Motions related to social development motions, covering issues such as healthcare security and employment, accounting for more than 20 percent of the total.

Other key areas included urban construction and environmental protection, legal frameworks, education and healthcare, agriculture and rural affairs, in descending order of focus.

Of the 1,246 suggestions, 1,229 had received responses by Dec 15, while the remainder were still within the statutory processing period.

Among those processed, over 80 percent, or some 1,016 suggestions, were resolved and accepted. An additional 25 suggestions are currently under review.

The top 10 keywords featured in the suggestions were: Service, industry, innovation, enterprise, high-quality, problems, international, culture, environment and healthcare.

The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Transport, the Shanghai Housing Management Bureau and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education were the top three government departments that handled the largest number of suggestions over the past year.

Deputies prioritized facilitating residents' travel, improving neighborhood governance and advancing urban renewal. They also focused on enhancing higher education and university research capabilities, while optimizing basic education at the primary and junior middle school levels.

Facts and figures:

69 motions and 1,246 suggestions: the number of motions and suggestions put forward by deputies to the Shanghai People's Congress in the past year.

Among the 69 motions:

• 31.88 percent were around economic development
• 20.29 percent were around social development
• 17.39 percent were around urban construction and environmental protection
• 14.49 percent were around legal frameworks
• 13.04 percent were around science, education, culture and healthcare
• 2.9 percent were around agriculture and rural affairs