Pool wisdom to better explore Chinese path to modernization

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the 70th anniversary of the National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, and the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s political advisory body. The lawmakers and political advisers have every reason to carry on their good traditions and work style that have seen the country develop to its current stage in a bid to help it better explore the Chinese path to modernization.

As an important institutional embodiment of the practice of whole-process people’s democracy, the annual gatherings of the NPC and CPPCC National Committee, or two sessions as they are commonly known, are a significant event in the political life of the country. They build platforms and channels to transform people’s wishes and the country’s needs into laws, regulations and workable policies. Given the tremendous resistance the country faces in sustaining its innovation-driven growth, the two sessions convened in Beijing this week are being closely watched for indications of how China will chart its course to navigate the difficulties and forge ahead against the headwinds.

In the face of the strong demands of the people and the pressing requirements to make breakthroughs in some core issues concerning national development this year, the nearly 3,000 lawmakers and more than 2,000 political advisers from all walks of life should take advantage of the opportunity of their face-to-face exchanges to better contribute their knowledge, experience, wisdom and expertise to enable the nation to make the most of what it has to better advance its modernization with Chinese characteristics.

It should be seen that, with the Chinese economy surging at 5.2 percent, hitting over 126 trillion yuan ($17.5 trillion) last year, the country has withstood multiple pressures to achieve reasonable quantitative growth.

This year is a critical year for realizing the tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). From a global perspective, the country is facing a more complex external environment, and multiple risks and challenges. That requires it to persist in seeking progress while maintaining stability and balancing different needs. From the domestic perspective, the lawmakers and political advisers should ensure that the legal and policy environments are conducive to law-based governance, so as to create a stable, transparent and predictable institutional environment. And more initiatives are needed to deepen reforms, expand opening-up and domestic demand, and effectively prevent and resolve risks in key areas.

The extent to which these objectives can be realized will have a direct bearing on how effectively people’s livelihoods can be improved, how efficiently the country can balance security and development, how successful it is in stimulating innovation, and how well the country can respond to external challenges. All lawmakers and political advisers need to do their best to fulfill their duties during and beyond the two sessions to these ends. The focus of the two sessions should be on unremittingly promoting high-quality development, continuously enhancing the country’s national strength, and fostering endogenous innovation. By doing so, the lawmakers and political advisers can better boost public confidence that the nation has the capability and wherewithal to realize the rejuvenation of the nation and stand the test of the times.

Editorial, China Daily