Officials Provide Insight into “Landmark” CPC Session

CHINESE officials gave insight into a plenary session convened by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee in late October, describing it as a “landmark” event.

The fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, which concluded on October 31, focused on how to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance.

Wang Xiaohui, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said at a press conference in November that it was the first time for the Party to convene a central committee plenary session dedicated to the country’s system and governance.

He said China’s overall goal of deepening reform in all areas, as laid out at the third plenary session of the 18th

CPC Central Committee in 2013, is to uphold and improve the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of China’s system and capacity for governance.

The latest session made new plans and arrangements towards achieving that goal, Wang added.

Session Highlights

One of the highlights of discussion during the session, according to Wang, was upholding and improving the system of institutions for Party leadership.

Another highlight was that the session stressed the strong confidence in the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Wang added.

A communique released after the session highlighted the strengths of

China’s systems in more than a dozen aspects, including ensuring the whole country works together and stimulating the enthusiasm of all aspects to mobilize resources for major undertakings.

“These strengths are the fundamental guarantee that we can create the ‘two miracles’ of fast economic development and sustainable social stability,” said Wang, calling them “the key to China’s successful governance.”

Major Innovation

Han Wenxiu, an official with the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs, shed lights on the session’s importance on the economic sector.

For years, China has been adhering to a basic socialist economic system in which public ownership has a dominant position, with other forms of ownership existing side by side.

Han said as an innovative outcome of the session, the socialist market economy was included in the basic economic system, together with the distribution system whereby distribution according to labor is dominant and a variety of other modes of distribution exist alongside it.

This major innovation marks a more mature and well established economic system, in which the three interconnected parts support and reinforce each other, Han said.

“Opening up is an important defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” said Han, adding that the session made it clear that China will open wider to the world and is committed to building a higher-level opening economy.

Pilot free trade zones, free ports, among others will get a boost, he said, while market access is expected to be further eased and more foreign investment is encouraged.

“One Country, Two Systems”

Upholding and improving the system of “one country, two systems” was stressed at the session.

Shen Chunyao, director of the legislative affairs commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said a series of tasks in this regard were put forward.

The session stressed governing Hong Kong and Macao in accordance with the law, safeguarding the constitutional order, and improving the systems and mechanisms in implementing the Constitution and basic laws in the special administrative regions, Shen said.

He noted that the session emphasized the need to improve the system through which the central government appoints or removes the chief executive and key officials of a special administrative region, as well as the system of the NPC’S interpretation of the basic laws.

Shen said the session also stressed efforts to establish and improve the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the special administrative regions to safeguard national security, as well as to support them in strengthening law enforcement capabilities.

In addition, the session underscored the need to better integrate Hong Kong and Macao into the country’s overall development, promoting coordinated development and advancing the development of the Guangdong-hong Kong-macao Greater Bay Area, Shen said. C