Putting People First
The annual Two Sessions, the Second Session of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee and the Second Session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) this year, were held from March 4 to 11, and attended by approximately 2,100 members and 2,900 elected deputies, respectively.
The people’s congress system is the fundamental political system in China, serving as an important institutional vehicle for realizing whole-process people’s democracy in China.
“A sovereign who aligns with the interests of the people will have their support; a sovereign who denies the interests of the people will provoke their opposition.”
On May 22, 2020, Chinese President Xi Jinping quoted this ancient proverb in his speech at a deliberation session of the Inner Mongolia delegation to the Third Session of the 13th NPC, the country’s top legislature.
It has its origins in the ancient Chinese political and philosophical text Guan Zi written by renowned statesman Guan Zhong some 2,600 years ago. Citing this sentence, Xi pointed out that the Communist Party of China (CPC) always puts the people first, has no self-interest bias and shall, at all times, prioritize the people’s interests.
The CPC has always committed itself to this fundamental principle of wholeheartedly serving the people. As Xi has also said, “The country is its people, and the people are the country.”
Meeting the people’s expectations for a better life is the Party’s primary goal. In the run-up to every year’s Spring Festival, the most important Chinese holiday and a time for family reunion, Xi takes time to travel to different places across the country, greeting locals and talking about their work and lives. Doing so, in turn, demonstrates how the CPC’s concern for the people
nd drives it to better engage with the public, gather people’s ideas and work to benefit their lives.
Published in 2020, a Harvard University survey on the Chinese people’s rate of satisfaction with their government’s performance between 2003 and 2016 found that Chinese citizens’ satisfaction with their government had risen across the board, with the Central Government receiving the highest level of approval, rising from 86 percent to 93 percent.
Since its founding in 1921, the CPC has united and led the people through arduous struggles. The Chinese now hold in their hands their own future as well as that of society and the country as a whole. The establishment of the people’s congress system ensures that the country is governed by the people.
Over the 46 years since China’s reform and opening up first began in 1978, it has built the world’s largest social security system— covering the largest population. Absolute poverty has been eliminated nationwide, and the First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects has been achieved. These achievements have instilled in society a greater sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.
In particular, China is committed to promoting environmental protection, pursuing sustainable development, and improving the quality of air, water and soil to make itself a better place to live.
When it comes to world affairs, China has stayed committed to the path of peaceful development, promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, bringing more benefits to people worldwide and contributing to the peace among, and development of, humanity.
Today, China is on a new journey to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, which provides a Chinese solution to aid the exploration of a better social system for humanity.
The goal is that by mid-century, common prosperity will largely materialize, and people can enjoy happier, safer and healthier lives.
In this process, China is willing to share development opportunities with other countries, as well as make greater contributions to global peace, stability and prosperity.
“A sovereign who aligns with the interests of the people will have their support; a sovereign who denies the interests of the people will provoke their opposition.” — Guan Zi