-- "One of the great misunderstandings is that China is not a democracy," said Mario Cavolo, an Italian-American writer and commentator. -- "The whole-process democracy is a hallmark of socialist democracy that distinguishes it from various capitalist democratic systems," senior lawmaker Wang Chen said.
-- China's defense budget is around one-quarter of the U.S.
The second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2021. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei) BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, convened its second plenary meeting Monday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with lawmakers from Qinghai Province, at the fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 7, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- China's "dual circulation" development paradigm, a major strategy championed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and featuring domestic and overseas markets reinforcing each other with the domestic market as the mainstay, is under the spotlight during the country's ongoing annual "two sessions.
