China's national legislature opened its annual session Saturday morning in Beijing. On Friday, the 13th National People's Congress held a news conference via video link. Here are the highlights:
About the session
- The session runs from March 5-11
- The session deliberates the report on the work of the government
- The session deliberates the draft amendment to the Organic Law of the Local People's Congresses and Local People's Governments
- The session deliberates the draft method for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to elect deputies to the 14th NPC
- The session deliberates the draft method for the Macao SAR to elect deputies to the 14th NPC
On COVID-19
- China's dynamic zero-COVID policy has kept the global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth
- China's dynamic zero-COVID approach has worked in China's context and is by no means zero infection
- All the figures show that China is one of the best performers in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic
On democracy
- China's "whole process people's democracy" not only has a complete institutional procedure but also emphasizes participation
- "People's democracy" is the essence and core of socialist democratic politics
- "Whole process" means that all the people participate in democratic elections, consultations, decision making, management, and supervision
- No one-size-fits-all model of democracy
On China-US ties
- Stable ties between China and the US are good for the development of both sides and conducive to maintaining international peace
- US' treating China as a strategic rival will only undermine mutual trust and cooperation and will eventually hurt the US' own interests
On people's congresses
- More than one billion voters have participated in the latest round of elections of deputies to people's congresses
On one-China principle
- One-China principle is a political foundation for China to develop bilateral relations with all countries
- Lithuania responsible for current difficulties in relations
On COVID-19 vaccines
- China is the country that provides the most COVID-19 vaccines globally
- China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for more than 120 countries and international organizations, accounting for one-third of the total number of vaccines administered outside China
- China will continue to prioritize developing countries as major partners in vaccine cooperation
On China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law
- The law is a defensive measure to counter others' containment and oppression
- The law is essentially different from the unilateral sanctions pursued by some countries
(Source: China Daily)