CPAFFC hosts online briefing on China’s 2022 two sessions

Liu Wei

O n March 18， the CPAFFC hosted an online briefing on Chinas 2022 “Two Sessions” for international friends from transnational corporations， chambers of commerce， NGOs and local organizations. CPAFFC President Lin Songtian attended and delivered a speech， as did Pan Jiang， deputy director-general of the department of international cooperation with the National Development and Reform Commission. Shen Xin， directorgeneral of the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs chaired the activity. Branch venues were set in some foreign affairs offices and peoples associations for friendship with foreign countries at the provincial and municipal level.

Liu Xueyan， director and researcher of the Macro-Economic Situation Research Office under the Economic Research Institute of the NDRC， and Shen Xianjie， associate researcher for the institute， were invited to introduce the two sessions. They answered questions from foreign guests.

More than 620 representatives， including Michael Hart， president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China； Julian MacCormac， chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China； Obara Masamichi， vicepresident of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in China and vice-president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ（China）； Zheng Yi， president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai； and others with transnational corporations， chambers of commerce， UN agencies in China and NGOs from nearly 20 countries and regions， were present online for the activity in Beijing， Shanghai， Sichuan， Chongqing and Shaanxi.

Lin said in his speech that China had presented a host of good performances since the beginning of spring. It successfully hosted the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games and held the 2022 “two sessions”， which shows the international community a different world featuring peace， unity， cooperation and development.

The two sessions， Lin said， matter very much to Chinese peoples political lives. They also serve as an important window for the international community to observe Chinas peopleoriented democracy as well as its con- sultative politics.

The two sessions， Lin said， have three main characteristics：

First， they represent the collective wisdom of the people. The nearly 3，000 deputies to the National Peoples Congress， including outstanding representatives of migrant workers and sanitation workers， came from different regions， ethnic groups， fields and social strata and were elected from the bottom up. The more than 2，000 members of the CPPCC National Committee are all people of insight from different parties or with no party affiliation， and from peoples organizations and various social sectors. They offer comprehensive intellectual support to the Chinese government for scientific decision-making and targeted decision implementation.175467BE-6D46-43F0-8EC6-0CB9ADBBA4E1

Second， they represent extensive public opinion. Before attending the meetings， NPC deputies and CPPCC members need to solicit opinions from the general public and submit motions and proposals regarding national governance and policies so that the opinions and needs of the people can be translated into the will of the State.

Third， the motions and proposals they submit are backed by the peoples strength and hence feasible in practice. Chinese democracy is a whole-process peoples democracy， which emphasizes procedural democracy with an open mind to the peoples wisdom before making any decision. More important， it puts greater stress on results-oriented democracy and substantive democracy with all the motions and proposals from the NPC deputies and the CPPCC members being answered and followed and public opinion being fully respected.

Lin said that against the background of the global COVID-19 pandemic， sluggish global economy and turbulent geopolitics， the Chinese government and people have overcome difficulties at home and abroad and achieved comprehensive economic and social development under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping. The annual government work report deliberated and approved by the fifth session of the 13th National Peoples Congress not only summarized the economic and social achievements made in 2021 but also specified goals， policies and measures for better development in 2022.

The report， Lin said， upheld the underlying principle of prioritizing stability while pursuing progress； set the economic growth target of 5.5 percent； and launched a series of reforms that focus on a stable economy， facilitating innovation and promoting peoples welfare. Releasing positive signals， the report injected positive energy into the world， which is now in confusion and disorder. China has always valued credit and is keen on keeping its promises. The targets set by the NPC pointed the way the Chinese government is heading.

“We believe the forecast development goal will be achieved to contribute more to global economic recovery，”Lin said.

Pan Jiang said that， generally speaking， Chinas economy has been deeply integrated into the world with the total amount of imports and exports accounting for over one-third of its GDP， with 70 percent of industrial added value contributed by imports. China has been the second-biggest import market for 10 consecutive years and the second-biggest export destination in the world for five consecutive years.175467BE-6D46-43F0-8EC6-0CB9ADBBA4E1

“We will unswervingly expand high-standard opening-up， advancing the stable development of foreign trade and investment to facilitate in-depth reform and high-quality development，”Pan said.

“First， we will carry out a series of measures to stabilize foreign trade； second， we will encourage foreign investment； third， we will stick to highquality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative； fourth， we will deepen multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

“The NDRC would like to strengthen communication with foreign business circles to enhance multilateral and bilateral exchanges and cooperation and to optimize the local business environment.”

Pan said the NDRC and CPAFFC have established a good foundation for cooperation. He expressed hope that all the guests invited to the briefing would take the opportunity to share stories of friendship， seek cooperation and share opportunities in Chinas economic development to be better integrated into Chinas new development paradigm.

Liu Xueyan introduced the main content of the 2022 government work report and reviewed its positive signals. She said the economic indices set in the two sessions， including the 5.5 percent annual growth target， planned increase of urban employment， surveyed urban unemployment rate， CPI and deficit rate are rational and reasonable.

Chinas macro policies， she said， will be kept consistent and made more effective； the proactive fiscal policy will be more effective， more precisely targeted and more sustainable； the prudent monetary policy will be both flexible and appropriate， with ample liquidity being maintained.

“We can see that the Chinese government has full confidence to make the economy grow steadily this year，”the NDRC economist said.

Shen Xianjie from NDRCs Economic Research Institute shared with the online guests his understanding of urban and rural development， regional development， carbon peak and carbon neutrality. He noted that China is staunchly expanding domestic demand and promoting coordinated regional development and new urbanization.

“Also，” he said， “we will remove all impediments to national economic circulation by smoothing the procedures of production， distribution， circulation and consumption and see that domestic demand plays a bigger role in driving economic growth.

“China will advance its carbon peak and carbon neutrality in a systematic way and implement the action plan for carbon dioxide emissions to peak at the scheduled time. We will advance an energy revolution to facilitate research and development， while promoting and applying environmentally friendly low-carbon technology. We will transition from assessing the total amount and intensity of energy consumption to assessing carbon emissions.”175467BE-6D46-43F0-8EC6-0CB9ADBBA4E1

The two experts also answered questions on matters raised by the guests， such as expanding foreign asset admission， stimulating domestic consumption， realizing common prosperity and achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets.

Hart of the American Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the Chinese market matters immensely to American enterprises.

“Weve been calling for constructive contact between the Chinese and American governments to facilitate the launching of policies and measures that can benefit both sides，” he said.

“Weve noticed that the Chinese government promised in the 2022 government work report to deepen reforms， expand opening-up and continue improving the business environment. It promised better use of foreign investment and good implementation of the negative list for foreign invest- ment market access， expansion of the fields for foreign investment and solid progress in the development of piloted free trade zones.

“In the meantime， the Chinese government is committed to pushing forward work related to the carbon peak and neutrality in a good order and implementing an action plan. The members of the American Chamber of Commerce in China appreciate and welcome all the promises mentioned above.”

MacCormac of the British Chamber of Commerce said that according to his chambers latest survey， 2021 had a higher percentage of enterprises who are optimistic about business and trade between the UK and China. More than 70 percent of British enterprises annual revenue exceeded that of 2020. Meanwhile， 60 percent of the enterprises have restored their business to the level occupied before the COVID-19 pandemic. The chambers member enterprises expect the Chinese government to further improve the business environment and market access criteria.

“The British Chamber of Commerce in China is ready for help in more dialogues and exchanges between the British enterprises in China and the Chinese government，” he said.

Obara Masamichi said that the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in China gives advice to its members on ways to cooperate with the Chinese side by releasing a white paper annually and through other channels of exchange. Its member enterprises are mainly concerned about the business environment in China， including fair play， Chinas opening-up， policy implementation and relevant procedures.

It is hoped， Masamichi said， that foreign companies will make full use of opportunities to open up new areas in a better business environment this year so that they can enjoy high-quality and efficient development together with Chinas economy.175467BE-6D46-43F0-8EC6-0CB9ADBBA4E1

All the guests applauded and appreciated the briefing. They said that the authoritative interpretation and the Q&A given by the Chinese experts had given them an objective， comprehensive and deep understanding of the main content of the 2022 two sessions and now have more confidence in cooperation with China for win-win results and common development. They said they will further study the lecture texts provided by the experts after the activity for better understanding.

To satisfy the pressing needs of foreign enterprises， chambers of commerce and international friends based in China for a better understanding of China and to enhance understanding， friendship and mutual trust， the CPAFFC plans to host a “Chinese policy interpretation” briefing once per quarter to help foreign friends in China acquire a deeper understanding of the trend of Chinas economic and social development and its policies and practices at home and abroad. It will answer their questions and remove unnecessary doubts. In this way， we can strive for win-win cooperation and common development.175467BE-6D46-43F0-8EC6-0CB9ADBBA4E1