China's parliament - the National People's Congress,(NPC) - kicked off its annual sessions on Saturday with a long list of billionaire-delegates attending what observers said is the largest political delegation in the country.

China's legislative body has been likened to a billionaires' club with the ultra-rich rubbing elbows with delegates from the country's ethnic minorities (like Tibetans and Mongolians) as well as members of the country's vast bureaucracy.

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Reports indicate that more than 100 billionaires are part of China's NPC. However, the exact number of billionaires is not known as delegates are not required to submit a statement of their assets.

                                                              Rubber-stamp Parliament

The NPC has about 3,000 delegates currently. China's rubber-stamp parliament - as it is described by foreign media - does not usually question or disagree with the party head as the topics presented on the floor have already been discussed and decided on by the high-ranking officials behind closed doors.

Analysts claim the top 10 richest delegates in the NPC are worth $184 billion - that the figure is 100 times the wealth of the top ten richest legislators in the United States.

                                                             Nouveau riche

Members of the legislature were originally taken from various sectors such as government officials, workers, and peasants. However, the NPC opened up its membership to the nouveau riche more than a decade ago under President Jiang Zemin.

Since then, the NPC has been labeled as the world's wealthiest parliament, drawing comparisons to the annual Davos gathering.

NPC delegates are chosen through an indirect voting system that ensures that the nominees selected by the party head get voted.

Many of the delegates are reportedly newly rich individuals whose wealth was made during the post-Mao reform era.

TagsNational People's Congress, Chinese Billionaires, Nouveau riche, lawmakers, china