BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- China's State Council (Cabinet) called Wednesday for thorough implementation of this year's government work report in face of the worsening global downturn.

    Since the 2nd Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, endorsed the report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao on March 5, it was now the task of the State Council and its subordinate bodies to implement the report, said the meeting chaired by Wen.

    Government work this year should follow the main themes of coping with the financial crisis, promoting steady, relatively fast economic development, and fully implementing the stimulus plan to shore up the economy, it said.

    Ministries should perform their duties, draw up and execute their implementation plans and coordinate with each other, it said.

    The meeting said the global downturn was still worsening, and although some regions and trades in China had shown signs of recovery, difficulties still lay ahead.

    It called for the establishment of surveillance and early warning system and immediate actions if problems were detected.

    The meeting also approved in principle a medium- and long-term plan for forest fire prevention and a draft law on the armed police.

    After further revision, the draft law goes to the NPC Standing Committee for deliberation