Global Times: China's national legislature holds closing meeting of annual session

BEIJING, March 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, held the closing meeting of its third session on Tuesday. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders attended the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

On Tuesday, Chinese national lawmakers passed several key resolutions. These included a resolution on the government work report, a resolution on the work report of the NPC Standing Committee, a resolution on the work report of the Supreme People's Court, and a resolution on the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, Xinhua reported.

Additionally, lawmakers adopted a decision to amend the Law on Deputies to the National People's Congress and to the Local People's Congresses at Various Levels during the same session.

The lawmakers also approved a resolution on the implementation of the 2024 plan for national economic and social development, alongside the adoption of the 2025 plan for national economic and social development. The 2025 plan received formal endorsement at the closing meeting.

Furthermore, a resolution on the execution of the 2024 central and local budgets, as well as the approval of the 2025 central and local budgets, was passed. The central budget for 2025 was officially ratified at the conclusion of the third session of the 14th NPC.

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, concluded its annual session on Monday.

Blueprint with confidence

The two sessions, held at a time when the world is facing turbulence, has injected confidence to the Chinese public and designated the specific areas to strive for. It has also showcased China's openness and willingness to share development opportunities with the world, according to attendees and observers.

The Global Times observed that technology has permeated through many conversations involving deputies and political advisors, and at press conferences throughout the past days. 

Deputy Zhang Jin, a CEO from a robot automation company in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, told the Global Times that "Innovation is not a slogan, but actual actions."

Zhang's team has strived to break foreign monopoly on a high-precision robotic hand for semiconductor production. It is less known as a bottleneck than lithography machines, but this progress is paving the way to technological self-reliance, Zhang said.

Song Yaping, an NPC deputy and president of the Shaanxi Provincial Children's Welfare Association, told the Global Times on Tuesday that through exchanges with deputies from different sectors, she is amazed by how artificial intelligence (AI) has changed all walks of life. Song is now thinking how to incorporate AI in education and help children to better learn about arts and traditional culture.

China has the strongest policy support, the most fertile soil for innovation, the broadest market and a large number of talents. These combined advantages give us the confidence to pursue higher goals, Zhang said.

China will establish a national venture capital guidance fund to drive nearly 1 trillion yuan of local and private funds to invest in tech firms in a market-oriented manner, according to Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission.

This year's government work report recognizes AI as essential for fostering new quality productive forces. It also outlined a blueprint to nurture and expand emerging industries and industries of the future, and called on innovative enterprises to pioneer breakthroughs for China's economic growth.

Another key topic frequently discussed is China's economic prospects. While foreign media including CNN, Nikkei Asia and the Financial Times describe the GDP growth goal as "ambitious," NPC deputies and political advisors are confident in realizing the objective along with the roadmap set by the two sessions.

The growth target is achievable, and the prospect is boosted by technologies, people-oriented investment, and an innovative ecosystem, Tian Xuan, an NPC deputy and associate dean of Tsinghua University's PBC School of Finance, told the Global Times.

The country has a vast market, and a complete and mature industrial and supply chain, a strong reserve of talent and a large body of trained labor force, these unique attributes will help the world's second-largest economy navigate the issues it faces during the course of development, Tian said.

Global feast

In a world of turbulence and uncertainty amid the new US administration's tariffs and other policies, the message sent by China's two sessions is a feast for a world that yearns for stability and development.

Muhammad Zamir Assadi, editor of the China Desk at Internews Pakistan, told the Global Times on Tuesday that China has outlined positive economic development strategies which will bring advantages not only to China, but also to its international cooperative partners. China's decision to emphasize technological advancements will provide partner nations with better prospects to obtain innovative Chinese developments alongside joint research activities as these will facilitate industrial modernization in their territories, Assadi said.

Milko Zivkovic, who works for North Macedonian daily newspaper Nova Makedonija, told the Global Times that what was discussed at the two sessions will eventually determine not only the direction of Chinese policy, but also of numerous processes on a global scale in different areas, regarding foreign relations, economy, science, and healthcare. The takeaway message for him during the event was "the openness of China to the world."

Yu Miaojie, president of Liaoning University and a deputy to the NPC, told the Global Times that this year's two sessions clearly conveyed that China's development will adhere to two fundamental principles: one is universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and the other is an equal and orderly multipolar world.

Building on these two principles, we will advance the three global initiatives, namely the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. In terms of opening up, we will focus on attracting foreign investment, improving the business environment for foreign enterprises, and enhancing the quality of the Belt and Road Initiative, Yu said.

Yu believes a two-pronged approach will be adopted: first, building a unified domestic market, and second, creating a more comprehensive, broader and deeper pattern of opening up. In simpler terms, it means "stimulating the domestic market while expanding openness to the world."

Democracy in micro-lens

Zivkovic noted that through reporting the two sessions, he managed to get an insight on the unique structure of the Chinese political system, the engagement of the political leadership with the public and media and the way decision-making is conducted.

Jiang Shengnan, a CPPCC National Committee member, shared with the Global Times how a proposal she made in 2024 about guarantees for rural women's rights was incorporated into the legislation of a law on rural collective economic organizations, which is set to take effect on May 1, 2025.

Jiang received a reply from a proposal committee of the CPPCC National Committee stating her proposal was taken up and incorporated. 

NPC deputy Li Liancheng is in his 70s. Li started learning to read when he was 51 and has served as Party chief of a village in Henan Province since 1991.

With a heavy accent, Li shared his experience of leading his fellow villagers to seek a better life, build greenhouses and introduce a lighting industry, and now he is thinking of how to invite more technological talents to villages to boost rural revitalization.

Li told the Global Times on Tuesday that he felt very much cheered by the just concluded NPC session. "I hope to bring the most updated policies back to the village and bring more good news of rural revitalization next year back to the Great Hall of the People." 

All these stories serve as a micro lens to understand how China's whole-process people's democracy works.

According to Eduardo Tzili-Apango, associate professor in the Department of Politics and Culture at Metropolitan Autonomous University and a member of the Mexican Council on Foreign Affairs, democracy refers to real collective decision making, which is observed in China, particularly during the two sessions.

SOURCE Global Times