10月29日英语新闻音频：Blueprint sign of democratic policymaking

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PresidentXi Jinping speaks in Beijing on Sept 22 at a symposium attended by experts andrepresentatives from the education, culture, health and sports sectors tosolicit opinions on China's development in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25)period. [Photo/Xinhua]

Leadership pools wisdom from public tosolicit suggestions for development

When theCommunist Party of China draws up the blueprint for the country's socioeconomicdevelopment for the next five years and beyond, people's concerns matter to itspolicymaking.

Indrawing up the proposals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), which are beingdiscussed at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, theParty has extensively sought public opinions to make the plan more relevant tothe country's reality and the people's desire to live a better life. PresidentXi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, wasdeeply involved in the process.

In thepast months, Xi held a series of meetings and symposiums to obtain opinions andsuggestions on the new five-year plan from economists, social experts,entrepreneurs, scientists, professionals outside the Party and grassrootsrepresentatives.

For thefirst time in history, a two-week campaign was launched in August to seekpublic input online for drafting the plan. It received over 1 million opinionsand suggestions from internet users on a wide range of topics, including socialgovernance, technological innovation, rule of law, the healthcare system, jobcreation, rural vitalization, educational reforms and environmental protection.Some of them have been delivered to him, according to Xi.

Observerssaid that such a policymaking process, which is carried out in the formulationof the nation's development blueprint, reflects the practice of socialistdemocracy with Chinese characteristics, which was described by Xi as "atype of whole-process democracy". That means all major legislativedecisions in the country are based on legal procedures and democraticdiscussions as well as scientific and democratic decision-making, according toXi.

In awritten instruction in August, Xi required combining top-level design andpublic opinions in compiling the 14th Five-Year Plan, and stressed the need tobroaden channels for the public to express their opinions and offer their suggestions.

Thecompilation of five-year plans involves all aspects of economic and socialdevelopment and is closely related to people's work and life, so people fromall sectors of society should be encouraged to offer advice by diverse means sothat social expectations, the wisdom of the people, expert advice andexperience at the grassroots level could be integrated into the plan, Xi said.

Whilepresiding over a symposium attended by grassroots-level representatives inChangsha, Hunan province, last month, Xi stressed that "realizing people'saspirations to live a better life is the goal we strive for", and heencouraged the public to offer advice and suggestions on compiling the planthrough various channels to ensure that it responds to the wishes of the peopleand meets their expectations.

At thatmeeting, 10 grassroots-level local representatives, including an agriculturalcooperative manager, a truck driver, a restaurant owner, an entrepreneur and aschoolteacher, offered their suggestions on issues including rural education,poverty alleviation through industrial support and the development of micro andsmall businesses.

Notingthat their ideas better reflect grassroots-level realities, Xi urged relateddepartments to carefully study and fully consider their suggestions.

Li Junru,former vice-president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, saidthat formulating the proposals for the five-year-plans for economic and socialdevelopment is an important way for the Party to govern the country.

In linewith the country's development needs and people's aspirations for a betterlife, the CPC Central Committee makes proposals for the mid-and long-termsocioeconomic development plan, and the State Council will organize relatedgovernment departments to compile the plan based on the proposals, Li said, andthe final plan will be presented to lawmakers for their approval when the annualsession of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, is heldnext year.

The Partyleads the formulation work, and the government and the legislature play theirdue roles in the process, Li said, adding that such a practice is a good experiencethat the CPC has created in the governance of China.

'Super policy package'

Createdevery five years since 1953, the five-year plans are one of the majorcharacteristics of China's governance system, setting growth targets anddefining development policies. They are more like "a super policypackage"－setting out quantitative indexeson many fields, including economic growth and environmental protection, andlisting major programs and infrastructure projects affecting people'slivelihoods. They also allow the authorities to map out strategies for overalleconomic and social development and advance with the times.

It takesat least two years for China to make a five-year plan as officials,policymakers and experts conduct a great deal of research, listen tosuggestions from people from all walks of life, analyze the existing problems,learn from previous mistakes and hold wide-ranging discussions.

The 14thFive-Year Plan is believed to be the cornerstone of China's development in thecoming years as the period between 2021 and 2025 marks the first five years onthe country's journey toward building a modern socialist country by 2049.

Thefive-year plans can fully leverage the decisive role of the market inallocating resources, and can also help the government play a better role ineconomic development, experts said. Guided by the plans, China has created themiracle of long-term rapid economic growth while maintaining long-term socialstability.

GafarKarar Ahmed, Sudanese ambassador to China, said that the prosperity andstability of China cannot be achieved without some kind of agreement betweenthe CPC and the Chinese people. "I have been in China for 25 years. I seeclearly that the Chinese model of democracy and human rights is extremely fitfor this nation. People who understand the history and culture of this nationwill understand China's system works indeed."

TheSudanese diplomat said that the CPC has done all it can to improve people'slivelihoods, healthcare, education and other aspects. "So in my point ofview, this model is very successful, because whatever you do and wherever youare, you and I want stability, you and I want a better life, you and I want tosee our children go to school safely."

CypriotAmbassador to China Antonis Toumazis said that socialism with Chinesecharacteristics, the strong leadership of the CPC, the economic system itupholds and the mentality of the hardworking and disciplined Chinese people allcontributed to China's development in the past decades.

"Youcannot say this kind of democracy is better than others, you have to take intoconsideration the history and culture of a country where the democracyapplies," Toumazis said, adding that the Chinese government and peoplewill find the best road for the nation's development.

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记者：曹德胜

播报：CorrieKnight

音频编辑：万月英

原文链接：

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202010/28/WS5f98a6f8a31024ad0ba815d8.html