Top-level engagement at two sessions

When China’s top political advisory body and legislature convene this week for their annual sessions, the major item on their agendas will be a draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30). The deeper story, however, lies in how these gatherings have evolved into a mechanism through which the country’s leadership translates strategic vision into operational governance and concrete results.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping has participated in deliberations and exchanges with National People’s Congress deputies and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee more than 60 times, guiding the trajectory of China’s modernization. Xi’s emphasis during these meetings on high-quality development, innovation-driven growth and people-centered governance has provided a consistent policy framework that has helped China navigate a volatile global environment while sustaining growth and stability.

China’s GDP surpassed 140 trillion yuan ($20.4 trillion) last year, amid supply-chain disruptions and rising geopolitical tensions — evidence of a system that has prioritized resilience and structural upgrading over short-term stimulus.

What distinguishes Xi’s engagement at the two sessions is its granular focus. Xi has communicated extensively with NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members on factory productivity, rural incomes, eldercare services, environmental remediation, talent cultivation, etc.

A theme emerging from Xi’s participation in these discussions is the primacy of high-quality development. His assertion that without high-quality development, there can be no socialist modernization reflects an understanding familiar to economists: growth that relies on diminishing returns, environmental degradation or excessive leverage is self-limiting. By urging authorities at various levels to develop new quality productive forces while upgrading traditional industries, the leadership has sought to promote technological diffusion and industrial modernization rather than premature deindustrialization.

The results are visible in multiple sectors. Artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing are reshaping production models, while breakthroughs in materials science and power equipment are reducing dependence on foreign inputs. These developments suggest a pragmatic strategy to move up the value chain while preserving and optimizing the country’s manufacturing base.

Xi’s calls to improve talent-training mechanisms and align education with economic needs reflect a recognition that human capital is the foundation for these endeavors. In economic terms, China is trying to internalize the spillover benefits of innovation by embedding research, production and skills development within a unified policy ecosystem.

Equally notable is the sustained focus on people’s livelihoods. Xi’s exchanges with farmers, migrant workers, grassroots civil servants and researchers on poverty alleviation, rural vitalization, employment and eldercare underscore the people-first principle of the country’s public policies. The transformation of once-impoverished villages through infrastructure, e-commerce and eco-tourism, and the expansion of community-based services for the elderly, illustrate a shift from subsistence security to quality-of-life improvements.

Environmental policy provides another lens through which to assess the modernization agenda. The concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets has been operationalized through nationwide ecological restoration, renewable energy deployment and desertification control. Regions once defined by environmental degradation are now experimenting with solar power, eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture, suggesting that environmental stewardship is being integrated into local growth models rather than treated as an external constraint.

Xi’s engagement with the national lawmakers and political advisers at the two sessions since 2012 highlights the way in which the country aligns good governance with economic transformation and social welfare in pursuit of national modernization.

[Abridged]

Editorial, China Daily