Chongqing- Wang Yang, who chairs the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or the CPPCC, delivered the advisory body's work report for last year in Beijing on March 5. CPPCC Members provided their viewpoints and reflections regarding the work report of the CPPCC Standing Committee, as the country's top political advisory body are holding its annual session in Beijing.  

China's Business Environment 

“According to Wang Yang’s work report, I think there are three highlights worthy of attention,” said CPPCC member Wang Yu. “First, it created two ‘firsts’ in the history of the CPPCC, where the main leaders of the CPPCC led a team to supervise key proposals in the form of investigations for the first time, and combined field investigations and on-site consultations for the first time.” This further proves the role and main functions of the CPPCC, serving as a distinctively Chinese political institution dedicated to consultation and democracy.

Wang continued, second, since the 13th CPPCC National Committee, 77 important work systems have been formulated and revised. This has strengthened the procedural, scientific, and standardized work of the CPPCC. Additionally, he is also happy to see the upgrading of the political discussion platform in a combination of Internet and technology, where the timeliness and efficiency of the advice and management work have been significantly improved.

Besides, Wang also believes that optimizing the business environment leads the ranking of China's business environment rising from 84 to 31 around the globe. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China will further reduce the burden on enterprises, increase the vitality of micro-subjects, and create a relaxed, harmonious, and fair market environment for private enterprises' development.

Meanwhile, in terms of strengthening key technologies, Wang thinks private enterprises are an important force to promote technological innovation and high-quality development.

Wang said: “the private economy should seize the opportunities of the new round of technological revolution, and industrial transformation and development through increased investment in scientific research, improving the innovation capabilities and core competitiveness of enterprises, and participating in and integrate into the international market with higher quality and levels.”

Whether it is to reach consensus and gather resources to fight against the COVID-19 altogether, or to have a good start of the 14th Five-Year Plan with precise advice and targeted management, CPPCC member Yan Qi thinks that the advantages and functions of the CPPCC as a specialized consultation institution and an important part of the national governance system have been fully demonstrated.

With another identity acting as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Conference, Yan will lead a total of 1987 member companies from the Chongqing Catering Chamber of Commerce to support the policy opportunities for the development of catering companies, seize market opportunities in time, promote technological empowerment, and further improve industrial transformation.

Improve High-quality Development

CPPCC member Wang Junjin was thrilled to hear that his suggestion about building a national big data platform for migrant workers last year was included in the Practical Measures to Improve People's Well-being Section of the work report submitted to the Standing Committee of the CPPCC in 2021.

"As a CPPCC member, I will continue to conduct in-depth investigations and suggest solutions to issues of common concern," said Wang. "I will put forward practical suggestions and contribute to China's social and economic development."

"Private enterprises serve as one of the highlights of this year's CPPCC session," said CPPCC member Jiang Haoren.

As China adopts an innovation-driven development strategy, private enterprises will play the leading role as both the one who innovates and the one who directly benefits from it.

Jiang thinks that private enterprises should leverage their innovation capabilities and flexibility to market dynamics to achieve major technological breakthroughs as China gears towards self-independence in science and technology.

Address Concerns among Private Businesses

"Just like the chairman Wang Yang stressed in the work report, the CPPCC should translate its advantages in six aspects into concrete results," said CPPCC member Li Changjin. The advantages involve political cohesion, national solidarity, democratic consultation, vast intellectual capabilities, coordinated relations, and wide cross-sector connections, acting as the hallmarks of Chinese governance.

According to Li, strengthening the consultative institution's construction will help translate Party's thoughts into a common understanding of the people and incorporate an institutional advantage into part of state governance.

"I will fulfill my duties in addressing concerns of private enterprises and building consensus among entrepreneurs to improve China's business environment continuously," said Li.

The work report shows that China has set up 47 themed reading groups among CPPCC members in 2020. More than 140,000 reading responses were shared online, gathering 1.1 million views.

"These reading activities have brought all CPPCC members together," said CPPCC Member Yang Zhengguo. "We can learn from experts' opinions and insights regularly."

"Reading is a great way to follow political directions, scale-up research, reach out to the people and work with the colleagues," Yang added. He has attended a dozen of reading activities and themed discussions covering economy, social sciences, medical and public health.

On the sidelines, Yang has also completed reading responses of up to 15,000 Chinese characters. This has given him a perspective of the big picture in providing suggestions as a CPPCC member.