Chen Xiaodong
China’s Two Sessions 2023, which consists of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress and the first session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, have recently successfully concluded in Beijing.
The first session of the 14th National People's Congress deliberated and approved the government work report and other important reports, clarifying the overall requirements, major goals, and work priorities for China's economic and social development this year.
A new generation of national leaders was elected, with General Secretary Xi Jinping being unanimously re-elected as the President of the People's Republic of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC. This fully reflects the common aspirations of the entire party, army, and people of all ethnic groups in the country and fully embodies the high degree of unity of the will of the party, the will of the people, and the will of the country.
From the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to the Two Sessions, General Secretary Xi Jinping has charted the course and outlined a grand blueprint for advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation. The party's proposals have been transformed into the will of the country, becoming a common action plan for hundreds of millions of people.
At the closing meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress, President Xi Jinping emphasised the "Five To Dos" - to unswervingly promote high-quality development, to always put the people first, to better coordinate development and security, to solidly advance the practice of "One Country, Two Systems" and the great cause of national reunification, and to strive to build a community with a shared future for mankind. He sounded a clarion call to the entire party, army, and people of all ethnic groups to build China into a strong country and achieve national rejuvenation.
Sharing development opportunities
President Xi Jinping pointed out that China’s development benefits the world, and China cannot develop itself in isolation from the world. We must solidly promote high-level opening up, not only making good use of the global market and resources to develop ourselves but also promoting common development of the world.
We must hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, and promote the development of an open world economy, so as to add more stability and positive energy to world peace and development. President Xi Jinping emphasised that high-quality development is the primary task for building China into a modern socialist country in all respects.
We must fully, faithfully, and thoroughly implement the new development philosophy, solidly promote high-level opening-up, better coordinate the improvement of quality and the reasonable growth of quantity, deepen reform and opening up as well as the transformation of the development model, and accelerate the formation of a sustainable, high-quality development system.
President Xi's important speech conveyed a powerful message that China will, as always, promote world peace and development, deepen opening up and cooperation, and present to the world the opportunities that could be brought by China's high-quality development.
Boosting market confidence
President Xi Jinping emphasised that the private sector is an important force for the Communist Party of China to maintain long-term governance and lead the Chinese people in achieving the "Two Centenary Goals" as well as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The private sector also shoulders the social responsibility of promoting common prosperity.
It is important to optimise the development environment for private enterprises, remove institutional barriers that impede fair competition for private enterprises in the market, and protect the property rights of private enterprises and rights of entrepreneurs in accordance with law. The requirement of treating state-owned and private enterprises equally should be embodied in laws and regulations.
More effective measures should be taken to support the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and self-employed individuals and to support platform enterprises in creating employment, expanding consumption, and engaging in international competition. Private enterprises with the ability and conditions should strengthen independent innovation and play a greater role in promoting technological self-reliance and the industrial application of scientific and technological advances.
It is also important to stimulate the vitality of private capital investment, encourage more private capital to participate in national major projects, key industrial and supply chain projects, and make greater contributions to fostering a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development.
Promoting people's well-being
"Putting the people at the centre" has always been the guiding principle and value yardstick for China's decision-makers in governance. President Xi Jinping pointed out that the people are the decisive force for building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects. We must pro-actively develop a whole-process people’s democracy, protect people’s rights and interests and fully inspire their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity.
President Xi outlined a "people's livelihood checklist", pointing out the urgent concerns of the Chinese people, with an aim to ensure that the gains of modernisation benefit all our people fairly, and that we make more notable and substantive progress in promoting common prosperity for all.
The Two Sessions, as an important institutional carrier for implementing the whole-process people's democracy, is a process of building consensus and gathering people's wisdom, and it reflects the relationship between "national affairs" and "people's livelihood." During the Two Sessions, President Xi sat with grassroots representatives to discuss the country's affairs, listen to people's voices, solicit people's wisdom, and respond to people's expectations, writing the most vivid annotations for the whole-process people's democracy.
Staying committed to peace
A country can only guarantee its national security and maintain peace with a strong military. Building the People's Army into a world-class military in all respects will undoubtedly add a more important weight to the creation of an international security environment of peace, stability, equality, mutual trust, and win-win cooperation.
President Xi Jinping emphasised that the Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation, and the Chinese people are peace-loving people. As long as we adhere to the path of peaceful development, as long as we develop our country by upholding world peace and maintain world peace through our own development and as long as we work hand in hand with all the progressive forces in the world, relying on no one, plundering no one, and never seeking hegemony, we will be able to continuously contribute wisdom and strength to the progress of human civilisation.
The trumpet of the times urges us forward; the magnificent journey requires a core leader. A down-to-earth and courageous China will bring more stability and positive energy to a world rife with uncertainties.
A confident, open, and proactive China will provide new opportunities and new impetus for the world with its own new development. A China with a global vision and a sense of responsibility will bring new enlightenment and new hope to the cause of promoting peace, development, prosperity and progress for humanity.
This year, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of China-South Africa diplomatic relations, and South Africa will host the 15th BRICS Summit. This presents a new development opportunity for China-South Africa and China-Africa relations. China will fully support South Africa in its effort to make the BRICS Summit a great success.
Under the theme of "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism", we will deepen strategic partnership among BRICS countries, and help BRICS and Africa to achieve interlinked development, so that the "BRICS strength" will benefit more developing countries in Africa, and promote the building of a closer China-South Africa-Africa community with a shared future.
Chen Xiaodong is Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to South Africa.