New city to have congress

China has stepped up its efforts to display its sovereignty over the South China Sea, as the provincial legislature of Hainan on Tuesday ratified a motion to prepare for the first people's congress in the newly established Sansha city.

Experts said the move indicates that the building of the city's political power has been initiated.

The motion, approved by the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial People's Congress on Tuesday, suggested establishing an organizing committee for the legislative body of Sansha. Sansha became a prefecture-level city in June. It administers the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.