Photo:VCG

As the curtain of China's annual two sessions, a key event in the country's political calendar, is about to unveil, China is also ushering in a "new and more vibrant" development period for years to come. This year's two sessions, convened after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and China's optimization of COVID response after three years of fight against the pandemic, offer a glimpse of the country's road forward, the policies the central government will unveil to guarantee rapid and healthy social and economic development, how the gist of report of the 20th CPC National Congress will be implemented, and how the country will strengthen itself in order to weather the impact of an international atmosphere that is "more complicated than ever."

After China shook off the shadow of COVID-19 and achieved a major and decisive victory in its COVID response, huge potential will be unleashed in the year ahead. Experts predict that the Chinese economy will roar back with a GDP growth target likely set at above 5 percent and that the country will contribute more than 30 percent to global economic growth, further consolidating China's role as a world economic stabilizer.

During a press conference on Friday, Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the first session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, said that the first session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, China's top political advisory body, is scheduled to open at 3 pm Saturday and close on March 11, lasting seven and a half days.

During the session, political advisors will hear and deliberate a report about the work of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on the work of proposals from political advisors, according to Guo. The political advisors will be present at the first session of the 14th National People's Congress as non-voting participants, and will hear and discuss reports including a government work report, Guo added.

The election of a new leadership for the top advisory body is also on the agenda, Guo noted.

The upcoming two sessions mark the first time newly elected delegates of the National People's Congress will assemble as part of their five-year terms. The NPC will confirm the new line-up of China's State Council and new leaders of several organizations.

The first session of the 14th NPC is scheduled to open on March 5.

The first session of the 14th NPC will hold another press conference on March 7, during which Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will answer questions from reporters. This marks Qin's first appearance as China's Foreign Minister at the two sessions since he took office in December last year.

As China enters a new development stage, and is tasked with solving more difficult domestic and international problems than ever, the plan to deepen reform of Party and state institutions is set to provide institutional guarantees for China to stride into a new development stage, Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, told the Global Times.

A communiqué released after the second plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which was held in Beijing from February 26 to 28, said the meeting agreed to submit part of the draft plan for deliberation to the first session of the 14th NPC, Xinhua reported.

Moreover, this year's two sessions are set to brief the world on China's propositions on major international issues, and will be able to let the outside world have a glimpse of the new trends in China's diplomacy, as the development plan of the world's second biggest economy is set to inject much needed stability and hope into a global economy battered by COVID-19 and other factors, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

China is facing an increasingly complicated international atmosphere, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has dragged on for a year with no end in sight, while the US doubles down in cracking down on China. "The international conflict and the problems China has to face are more complicated than ever," said Li.

Thus, for China to thrive in such a complicated international environment and continue playing stabilizer for the world's economy, it is crucial for Chinese people to have strong willpower, stick to the CPC's leadership and focus on steady development, he said.

Guo Weimin (2nd R), spokesperson for the first session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attends a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 3, 2023. The CPPCC National Committee held a press conference on Friday, one day ahead of the top political advisory body's annual session. Photo:Xinhua

Economic goals under the spotlight

"As a grand political gathering after the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the two sessions play a crucial, instructive and irreplaceable role in steering China's economy," Yu Miaojie, a deputy to the NPC and president of Liaoning University, told the Global Times on Friday.

The meeting will set goals for China's economic and social development in 2023 and formulate specific policies as demanded by the Central Economic Work Conference held in mid-December, Yu said.

He said macroeconomic policies for effectively driving the stable recovery of the Chinese economy and stabilizing the employment market, especially proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy as well as industry policies in boosting science and technological breakthroughs and industrial upgrade, will be included in the Government Work Report.

The country's GDP growth target for 2023 may be set at above 5 percent, with overall proactive fiscal and prudent monetary policies, according to experts.

"Given the confluence of factors for the ongoing stable economic rebound and a lower base last year, China's GDP growth rate is expected to surge to around 6. But the central government may set a reasonable goal of about 5 percent amid external challenges," Chen Fengying, an economist and former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Friday.

Chen projected that the total volume of China's GDP may exceed 130 trillion yuan ($18.84 trillion) in 2023, an increase of about 10 trillion yuan from the previous year.

As the Chinese economy has shown stronger vitality, there is no doubt that the growth potential that China didn't realize last year will be fully realized this year, Yu said, noting that around 6 percent GDP growth is very probable in 2023.

Faced with a volatile international situation, the central government has repeatedly reiterated the importance of boosting high-quality development, accelerating the establishment of a new development pattern and advancing Chinese modernization at a series of key meetings from the 20th CPC National Congress to the Central Economic Work Conference held in mid-December 2022.

"In order to promote high-quality economic development, more efforts should be made to improve the added-value of our products, while industrial upgrading should also be promoted to create new consumption patterns and spark new demand," Yu said, noting that China is also advancing a broader agenda of opening up across more areas and in greater depth to further stimulate the country's advantage of having a massive market and benefit the global economy as a whole.

"This year, China will stand out again amid sluggish global economic recovery, and its contribution to global economic growth is expected to reach 30 percent, making it the largest growth engine for the world economy," Chen said.

Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the first session of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, introduces session schedule and takes questions at a press conference on March 3, 2023 in Beijing, ahead of the two sessions. The first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee is scheduled to open on March 4. Photo: VCG

Embodiment of whole-process people's democracy

The two sessions is often described as a "rubber stamp" parliament by Western media, a term that Chinese observers said was either a reflection of their lack of understanding of China's political system or a deliberate smearing of the country.

This year, 2,977 deputies to the 14th NPC, China's national legislature, are scheduled to attend the two sessions. They make up a broad cross-section of people, with every region, ethnic group and sector of society having an appropriate number of representatives.

A total of 2,172 members of the new CPPCC National Committee will be present. They serve as advisors for the government and legislative and judicial organs, and put forward proposals on major political and social issues.

The Global Times learned that this year's motions and proposals from NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members cover a wide range of topics that concern the general public, including those on improving the education and healthcare systems, boosting the birth rate, granting workers more holidays and how to make the environment greener.

Yi Tong, a deputy to the 14th NPC who works at the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, has served as an NPC deputy for five years. She told the Global Times that every time she submitted a motion, she carried out several field trips and talked to the general public about their concerns. "The motions are not an epiphany. They are like social research work that came about after thorough investigations."

For example, in 2018, Yi spent months talking to young mothers and drafted a motion encouraging communities to establish nursery houses for children aged under 3 years old.

China's annual two sessions are a vivid display of China's whole-process people's democracy, said Zhang Yiwu. The representatives, who come from all walks of life, reflect the problems and put forward suggestions in their area to the central government, giving it a channel to learn about what issues are of concern to the public, said Zhang.

He pointed out that people's participation in the country's decision-making process is a very important component of our system, and the two sessions are a crucial platform for public participation.

The central government takes seriously those motions and proposals that reflect people's opinions. The State Council said in February that in 2022, offices and departments under the State Council handled 8,721 motions from NPC deputies and 5,865 proposals submitted by CPPCC members, accounting for 94.8 percent and 95 percent of the total number of motions and proposals, respectively.