BEIJING, March 6,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ancient Chinese scholars
used to say that people are fundamental to a country. The key to
winning the hearts of the people lies in acknowledging their needs
and ensuring their voices are heard.
One of the most inspiring facets of Chinese President Xi Jinping's
leadership is his determination to put the interests of his people
at the forefront. He once said that people's support is our top
political priority. By repeatedly representing public sentiments,
President Xi has won the hearts of his nation.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of
China (CPC), every year during the
national two sessions, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist
Party of China Central Committee, has engaged in discussions and
exchanges with deputies of National People's Congress (NPC) and
members of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
(CPPCC) National Committee, seeking opinions from the people,
consulting with the people, and understanding the needs of the
people.
During his speech at the deliberation session of the Inner Mongolia
delegation to the Third Session of the 13th NPC in 2020, he
stressed that the sole aim of the CPC in governance is to meet the
needs of the people and give its all in serving them and striving
for their wellbeing.
"It is a must to put the people first on the new journey of
building China into a great modern
socialist country and advancing national rejuvenation." Addressing
the closing meeting of the first session of the 14th NPC in 2023,
Xi said the people are the decisive force in building China into a great modern socialist country in
all respects.
Using the metaphor of "arithmetic of politics and popular support,"
the Chinese president has always stressed to remain committed to
putting the people first. How to calculate this arithmetic? The
answer could be found in the stories about what Xi cares during the
two sessions.
Has the 'Steamed Bun Office' gone?
On March 8, 2019, during the
deliberation of the Henan
delegation at the second session of the 13th NPC, Xi asked a
question: has the "Steamed Bun Office" gone?" His question elicited
laughter from the audience, who responded in unison, "It's
gone!"
Residents in Henan love to eat
steamed buns. In the past, there was a "Steamed Bun Office" in the
capital Zhengzhou as the
availability of steamed buns was a destabilizing factor. Now there
is no need for such a special institution.
The "Steamed Bun Office" was established in 1998 in Zhengzhou to strengthen the management of the
steamed bun market and ensure that the citizens could enjoy "safe
bun" by revoking unsanitary workshops.
Henan is a major grain-producing
province and a microcosm of Chinese agriculture. The establishment
of the "Steamed Bun Office" highlights the longstanding issue of
food security that has persisted for thousands of years in
China, as well as the food
security concerns that are always on Xi's mind.
Xi has always stressed putting the improvement of comprehensive
agricultural production capacity at a more prominent position, and
continuing efforts on promoting the high-quality development of
social security.
When visiting national political advisors from the sectors of
agriculture and welfare and social security, who were attending the
fifth session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee in 2022, Xi said
that China has fed nearly
one-fifth of the world population with 9 percent of the world's
arable land and 6 percent of fresh water resources, hailing this
hard-won accomplishment while warning against a lapse of attention
on the issue of food security.
The president underscored keeping the annual grain output at over
650 million tonnes and "filling the rice bowl of Chinese people
mainly with Chinese grain."
A small rice bowl is connected to the hearts of the people,
and the hearts of the people represent the greatest politics.
Over the years, Xi would always visit fields during local
inspections to understand the grain situation and inquire about
grain matters.
In March 2024, after a trip to
Changsha, the capital of
Central China's Hunan Province, he traveled northwest to the
city of Changde, the largest grain producer in the
province.
For 20 years, the city has ranked first in grain production in a
province that holds one of the nation's largest food stockpiles.
Local farmer Dai Hong welcomed the
Chinese president to his home, and introduced his agricultural
equipment.
"President Xi walked between these tractors, and found these seeds.
He pointed at the label and said they're produced locally. He was
very interested in the technology being applied to farming,
especially at such a crucial time of spring plantation. I found his
timely visit really motivating," Dai told the CGTN.
Ma Huijuan, a NPC deputy from the Ningxia delegation who works as a
peasant, presented suggestions to improve grain production
efficiency at this year's two sessions.
She told the Global Times that the government's emphasis on food
security and land cultivation has become more detailed in recent
years, prompting more specific demands from NPC deputies and CPPCC
members at the two sessions.
Prior to the session, she visited local fields to understand
community needs, and afterward, returned home to explain the
government's beneficial policies in simple terms and plain
language. Connecting the agricultural community with the Great Hall
of the People is her mission as a NPC deputy.
The keen attention on the "Three Rural Issues" continued into this
year's two sessions. How should high-standard farmland be
constructed? How can China ensure
the income of grain farmers? Practical and effective suggestions
from lawmakers and political advisors consistently lead to the
introduction of more beneficial policies for agriculture.
After being elected as an NPC deputy, Zhang Daoheng, president of a
vegetable cooperative in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, proposed 16 recommendations
related to the "Three Rural Issues," including the establishment of
a public service platform for agricultural industries, the
cultivation of new professional farmers, and the strengthening of
policy-based agricultural insurance.
These proposals received positive responses from relevant
departments. This year, Zhang will focus on topics such as
revitalizing idle farmland and protecting the enthusiasm for grain
production, bringing the voices of the people to the national two
sessions.
In 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs handled
1,686 proposals, including 1,115 from the NPC and 571 from the
CPPCC National Committee. This has generated great anticipation for
this spring gathering.
Electric heating beds for villagers
In Banyan village, Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, the city of Haidong,
in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, generations have traversed
the rugged mountain paths, and the earthen houses have been patched
up for decades. Unexpectedly, through relocation for poverty
alleviation, villagers now enjoy a life envied by city
dwellers.
"What are the villagers' electric heating beds like?"
On March 7, 2021, Xi asked the
question to a local deputy when he took part in a deliberation with
lawmakers from Qinghai Province at
the fourth session of the 13th NPC. During a visit to the village
in 2016, when the president had walked through the muddy paths of
the newly established village, where such beds have not existed
yet.
"They are quite economical. It spent just one kilowatt of
electricity for a night, costing only a few cents," the deputy
answered.
Due to its remote location in a poor mountainous area, with
inconvenient transportation and limited access to information, the
residents of Banyan village did not lead affluent lives. After
completing their relocation, local villagers developed
characteristic industries, resulting in a significant increase in
the average annual income per person. The development journey of
Banyan village is a microcosm of China's battle against poverty through
relocation especially in remote ethnic minority regions.
Is it a flush toilet or a pit latrine? How does the embroidery
industry contribute to poverty alleviation? Every detail, no matter
how small, that affects the villagers' livelihoods is a matter of
great concern for the president.
Over the past decades, China has
lifted 800 million people out of poverty, achieving the poverty
reduction goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
a full decade ahead of schedule.
A series of practical measures for targeted poverty alleviation,
including industrial poverty alleviation, educational support, and
social security policies, have helped to improve the lives of the
people.
During the two sessions this year, a range of proposals aimed at
advancing the development of ethnic minority regions brought about
heated discussions, emphasizing economic growth through tailored
support for local industries, educational enhancement, and social
welfare improvements to enhance the results of poverty
alleviation.
The discussions underscored the importance of preserving cultural
heritage while promoting sustainable development and increasing
infrastructure investment to bolster connectivity and information
access.
Arithmetic of politics and popular support
Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Xi has reiterated
that the battle against corruption is first and foremost a
political issue.
The people's support is of paramount importance in governance. The
people resent corruption most. If we let a few hundred corrupt
officials slip through the cracks, we are letting down all 1.4
billion Chinese people. This is the simple arithmetic of politics
and popular support, he said.
China's anti-corruption battle
continues to roar. In 2024, it made waves in sectors such as
finance, energy, healthcare and sports, while dismantling
sophisticated forms of graft that sought to conceal themselves as
legitimate market practices.
According to the country's top anti-corruption watchdog, 58
high-ranking officials under the supervision of the CPC Central
Committee were probed last year, Xinhua reported in January.
The crackdown on corruption has also intensified in areas impacting
the daily lives of ordinary people.
A campaign launched in April 2024 saw
433,000 low-ranking officials disciplined, with 14,000 referred for
prosecution, according to Xinhua.
In a People's Daily's survey before this year's national two
sessions, netizens said the top three topics they were most
concerned with were "livelihood security," "anti-corruption," and
"social governance," all closely resonating with the hearts of the
grassroots.
In 2024, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and
the National Supervisory Commission handled 22 proposals during the
two sessions, all of which have been successfully addressed, the
commission said.
The proposals and motions tackled a variety of important issues,
such as advancing anti-corruption legislation, combating new and
hidden forms of corruption, ensuring high-quality development of
the private economy, optimizing the business environment, and
promoting a culture of integrity.
Xi has reiterated on many occasions that the country is its people,
and the people are the country. The president's deep care for
people's livelihoods during national two sessions shines like the
warm sun of spring, touching hearts everywhere.
Such care translates into concrete measures, making education more
accessible for rural children, reducing medical burdens for the
elderly, and safeguarding workers' rights. These improvements in
people's lives are quietly transforming society, painting a
beautiful picture of the Chinese path to modernization.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202503/1329640.shtml
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SOURCE Global Times
