Speakers:
Xiang Dong, deputy director of the State Council Research Office
Liu Rihong, director general of the First Department of General Research of the State Council Research Office
Song Li, director general of the International Department of the State Council Research Office
Chairperson:
Shou Xiaoli, deputy director general of the Press Bureau of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and spokesperson of the SCIO
Date:
March 5, 2022
Shou Xiaoli:
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this briefing held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO). The fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) opened this morning, and Premier Li Keqiang delivered the annual Report on the Work of the Government. To help the public better understand the report, we have invited Mr. Xiang Dong, deputy director of the State Council Research Office, to elaborate on the report and take your questions. We also have with us Mr. Liu Rihong, director general of the First Department of General Research of the State Council Research Office, and Mr. Song Li, director general of the International Department of the State Council Research Office.
First, we will give the floor to Mr. Xiang.
Xiang Dong:
Friends from the media, good afternoon.
This morning, Premier Li Keqiang delivered the Report on the Work of the Government to the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implementing the guiding principles of the19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), all plenary sessions of the 19th Party Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference last year, the report reviews the major achievements and major tasks in promoting China's economic and social development in the past year, and puts forward the main projected targets, policy orientation and major tasks for 2022.
I have been reading media reports on the premier's work report and the public's reaction to it. Many NPC deputies and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) believe that the report is down to earth, displays foresight and strategic vision, and responds to the concerns of all sectors of society. Some say that they can feel much of the progress outlined in the report in their own lives. In the context of the ongoing pandemic and the complex and volatile global economic situation, the achievements in the past year have been particularly hard-won and made people proud. Some say that in the report, they found practical measures to address the key tasks of economic and social development and tackle the difficult issues that concern people, and that many packages of policies have also been introduced. They expressed stronger confidence in the future development of the country and greater hope for the new year. It can be said that the report fully implements the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and fully responds to social concerns. It is a pragmatic and inspiring report.
2022 is a very important year for the development of the Party and the country. The CPC will hold its 20th National Party Congress. Drafting the report was a key task, and the Party Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to it. General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over meetings of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to discuss the drafting of the report, made important instructions on the drafting, and put forward specific requirements for further revisions and improvements, which provided fundamental guidelines for drafting and revising the report. The guiding principles for this year's work, policy orientation, and main goals and tasks proposed in the report were all drafted in accordance with the principles of the Central Economic Work Conference. Premier Li Keqiang presided over the drafting and revision of the report and chaired executive and plenary meetings of the State Council to discuss the draft. He also presided over several themed symposiums to directly hear opinions and suggestions from all parties. Li and other leading officials of the State Council also listened to opinions and suggestions through investigation and research in various places.
In accordance with the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on openly collecting suggestions and pooling wisdom, we have attached great importance to listening to and adopting the opinions of all sectors of society in drafting and revising the report. It can be said that the drafting is a process of gathering the wisdom and strength of the public, and also a process of meeting the expectations of society, and constantly refining and detailing the policy measures. In drafting the report, we solicited thousands of opinions and suggestions from multiple channels and took them under advisement:
First, Premier Li Keqiang presided over several symposiums to directly listen to opinions and suggestions. In late January, the premier presided over a symposium attended by experts and entrepreneurs, a symposium attended by representatives from the education, science and technology, culture, health, and sports sectors, a symposium attended by representatives from the central committees of non-Communist parties, the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and non-party affiliated individuals. He conducted face-to-face exchanges and heard opinions and suggestions from people from all walks of life on a draft government work report.
Second, opinions from various regions and departments were extensively solicited. To collect opinions and suggestions, the draft report, discussed and revised at the plenary meeting of the State Council, was printed out and distributed in accordance with the procedures to all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, Party organizations, central government agencies, the military, people's organizations, some enterprises, and other entities. Thousands of opinions for revisions were collected, of which more than 300 important opinions were taken into consideration.
Third, media platforms were used to solicit opinions. For example, a campaign called "Share Your Ideas with the Premier" was launched for the eighth consecutive year to solicit suggestions from the public. The campaign was launched by www.gov.cn in cooperation with 22 online platforms, including people.com.cn and xinhuanet.com, as well as the websites of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. People were invited to offer their opinions on 21 topics such as "employment and entrepreneurship," "enterprises and self-employed businesses" and "technological innovation." Nearly 1 million comments from netizens were received. The top five topics that received the largest amount of advice were: public affairs, social security and assistance, education, macroeconomics, and housing. The www.gov.cn carefully sorted through and selected more than 1,100 typical suggestions, and the report has taken some key advice.
In drafting the report, we have collected a large number of explicit comments and suggestions on almost every section and paragraph of the report. Regarding these opinions and suggestions, whether they came from local governments, departments, enterprises or ordinary citizens, the premier asked us to carefully sort through and summarize them and study them one by one, in a bid to better respond to the public's demands and gather wisdom from the whole of society.
This year's government work report is divided into three parts. The first part is a review and summary of last year's work and achievements. The second part expounds on the overall requirements, main projected targets and policy orientation for this year's economic and social development. The third part puts forward nine major tasks for achieving economic and social development in 2022. At the same time, it also touches on the topic of government building, the affairs of ethnic groups, religions, overseas Chinese, affairs related to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and national defense as well as diplomacy.
Next, I and my colleagues, Liu Rihong and Song Li, would like to discuss the drafting of the report with you.
