Biz leaders offer thoughts on China's future at two sessions

The annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, also known as the two sessions, are taking place in Beijing.

Lawmakers and national political advisers have offered suggestions and brought forth several proposals regarding tax exemption threshold, carbon market and artificial intelligence for the high-quality development of China's economy.

Let's see what they've said.

Raising tax exemption threshold to 10,000 yuan per month

Dong Mingzhu, a deputy to the National People's Congress and chairwoman of Gree Electric Appliances, suggested that the tax exemption threshold be raised from 5,000 ($694.58) yuan per month to 10,000 yuan per month, and to further optimize the tiers and spacing of the progressive tax rates, so as to prompt tax cuts tilted toward the middle- and lower-income groups.

Dong said that listed company executives should not be allowed to reduce their stock holdings during their tenure. She emphasized a strict prohibition on stock speculation, advocating that executives can only buy shares, which shows their trust and confidence in the company.

Dong also suggested amending e-commerce laws to enforce penalties for illegal activities and create a deterrent effect. She advocated holding live-streaming e-commerce platforms accountable and imposing restrictions on operators within these platforms to promote standardized development.

Supporting high-quality development of green hydrogen industry

Zhong Baoshen, a deputy to the National People's Congress and chairman of Longi Green Energy Technology, made suggestions for the support of the high-quality development of the green hydrogen industry, and the coordinated development of rural photovoltaic and scenic landscapes.

Zhong suggested that the green hydrogen industry has a critical role to play in decarbonizing agriculture, chemical processing, metallurgy, thermal power generation and transportation to achieve the dual carbon goals.

He recommended supporting renewable hydrogen production and providing policy and tax incentives for off-grid hydrogen projects.

Zhong suggested implementing standards for the selection of key materials such as components and inverters for rural photovoltaic (PV) power generation projects, conducting demonstration projects for key initiatives to promote the high-quality development of rural PV.

In addition, he recommended setting planning standards for integrating rural PV into buildings and promoting the installation of PV on new and renovated buildings to a high standard.

Accelerating the green transformation of the supply chain

Lei Jun, a deputy to the National People's Congress and founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Group, brought suggestions involving low-carbon, artificial intelligence, intelligent driving and intelligent manufacturing.

Lei suggested accelerating the green transformation of the supply chain to boost China's commodity competitiveness globally. This includes establishing a database on the carbon footprint of manufacturing industries, promoting international convergence and recognition, and developing a global carbon footprint management system with China's in-depth participation and leadership.

Lei suggested integrating AI education into compulsory education and social practical activities at primary and secondary schools. Meanwhile, he advocated for the expansion and promotion of AI-related majors in colleges and universities, increasing investment in AI disciplines, and fostering collaboration with leading global research institutes.

He also recommended establishing a safety supervision mechanism for assisted driving products, accelerating the application of safety technical requirements and refining human-computer interaction standards.

Enhancing security and AI capabilities to address concerns related to big models

Zhou Hongyi, a national political adviser and founder of Chinese cybersecurity company 360 Security Group, brought proposals focusing on the construction of digital security public service infrastructure, large-scale model verticalization, industrial development and general large-scale model security issues.

Zhou said that an important direction for China in developing big models is to leverage the advantages of industries and scenarios, integrating big models with business processes and product functions. This approach seeks to achieve vertical and industrialized implementation, empowering numerous industries and accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces.

Security issues are inevitable, especially with recent artificial general intelligence (AGI) technology breakthroughs. Zhou proposed that relevant government departments encourage enterprises to enhance both security and AI capabilities to address technical, content and human security concerns associated with big models.

Promoting the automobile industry to achieve China's dual carbon targets

Li Shufu, a national political adviser and chairman of Geely Holding Group, made a proposal on strengthening the foundation of the carbon market and promoting the automobile industry to achieve China's dual carbon targets.

Li said it is urgent to accelerate the construction of a national carbon market, establish relevant carbon management mechanisms and policies, and standardize digital platforms for carbon management so as to maintain China's leading position in the new energy vehicle industry and comply with international carbon emission policies.

Li proposed that in order to further expand China's export advantage of automotive products and address the carbon trade barriers in European countries and the US, it's crucial for automotive products to be among those products that adhere to carbon footprint accounting rules and standards which will be introduced by 2025.

Exploring the innovative application of 'AI+Security'

Qi Xiangdong, a national political adviser and chairman of cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin Technology Group, expects China to vigorously explore the innovative application of "AI+Security", seize the strategic commanding heights of AI for national security, and improve its ability to cope with the risks and uncertainties of cyberspace security.

He proposed making good use of digital technology and promoting the shift of science and technology finance from a passive service model to an active service model, while building a strong cybersecurity floor to contribute to Chinese-style modernization.

Qi also focused on new quality productive forces in this year's two sessions, and believed the private sectors are the major body for the development of new quality productive forces.