Commentary: 2016 'two sessions' new milestone for China's development

This year’s two sessions have left the deepest impression on me, not just because it was the first time for me to cover the sessions as a journalist, but it is an event that deserves to be remembered by both China and the rest of the world. Its distinctions have surely exerted milestone significance to China’s development.

The first distinction is the adoption of the 13th Five-Year plan, a blueprint for China’s development in the next five years.

The Five-Year plan is of great significance as the plan ends at 2020, the year China is resolute to achieve the goal of building itself into a moderately prosperous society in all respects. It is also the first of China’s “two centenary goals”.

The 2016 National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) also laid out the starting year of the 13th Five-Year plan.

China has gone through several starting years, including those of comprehensively deepening reform and promoting the rule of law. A smooth starting year will ensure the successful implementation of the top-level design, and elevate people’s trust in reform.

Another feature that sets this year’s two sessions apart is that China has assured a stable economic growth while the whole world is watching how it would cope with downward economic pressure.

Amid a world economic slowdown, each move of the world’s second largest economy will leave certain impact. Against such background, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has set the GDP growth target of 2016 between 6.5 percent and 7 percent in his government work report, unveiling a glimpse of China’s confidence.

Other than the economic expectation, the rapid yet steady progress of China’s reform is sending more signals. Macro-economic policy, supply-side structural reform, the Belt and Road initiative, other opening-up strategies as well as other agendas also showed China’s strength and attitude while addressing the world’s concern to China.

Confidence and determination were also highlighted during this year’s political season. Confidence values more than gold, because it has real impact on development.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping, also the General Secretary of CPC, was visiting members of the China National Democratic Construction Association and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on the sidelines of the CPPCC, he reaffirmed the government’s support to the non-public sector, offering private entrepreneurs more confidence.

When he joined the deliberation of the Shanghai delegation group, he explicitly stated that the central government will stick to the political foundation of the 1992 Consensus when promoting the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Meanwhile, Xi reiterated China’s determination in poverty alleviation when he met with delegates from northwest Qinghai province and central Hunan province.

As the modern communication theory points out, human’s communication activities carry ritualistic connotations. In events with strong ceremonial sense like the two sessions, its signals, confidence, and determination will spread across China and to the world through various channels.

China and the rest of the world will remember the 2016 two sessions.

(The author is an editor of People’s Daily)