Beijing - The deputies to the 14th National People's Congress from Chongqing held an open event in Beijing on March 5, 2024, where they deliberated the Government Work Report and answered questions from 112 Chinese and foreign media organizations in an open format, the first to have taken place since 2019.
During the event, a unique question was directed towards Yuan Jiajun, an NPC deputy and Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Chongqing Municipal Committee, which task presented a greater challenge, the design of manned spacecraft or the management of a large city.
When the CNBC journalist was given the chance to ask the final question of this session, many were surprised to learn Secretary Yuan is a Doctor of Engineering with 32 years of experience in the aerospace system and graduated from the Department of Aircraft Design and Applied Mechanics at Beihang University in the 1980s.
Later, Secretary Yuan assumed positions in the Ministry of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China Aerospace Industry Corporation, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation before he entered the world of officialdom with the Party Committee of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 2012.
58 delegates from Chongqing deliberated the Government Work Report before taking live questions from reporters in an open format at the 14th NPC in Beijing (Photograph/James Alexander)
In response to this unexpected question drawing on these impressive credentials, Secretary Yuan humorously remarked this was a personal question, and so the former "Young Marshal of Aerospace," who can still accurately tell the launch date of Shenzhou 5 and the total hours that astronaut Yang Liwei spent in space, proceeded to compare spacecraft design and managing Chongqing.
Aerospace and urban management share commonalities
From the perspective of engineering, Secretary Yuan explained that spacecraft design can be seen as a closed system that is giant and complex, while social management work is open. He then provided respective illustrations to make the statement easier to envisage.
"When I designed spacecraft, my job was to create the graphic layout on paper, but these would never change in the draw overnight, so this can be described as a closed system. However, city management is different because people and their environment play a dynamic role, and the situation behind decisions can change tomorrow."
Chinese President Xi Jinping has attached great importance to systems thinking and has repeatedly encouraged cadres to apply this to problem analysis. In the view of Secretary Yuan, the commonality between spacecraft design and city administration is they both require a management approach towards system engineering, with top-level design being the key aspect.
In the field of urban management, the promotion of a "Digital Chongqing" is aimed at building a closed-loop management and control system, as well as effective mechanisms for risk factors. This way, daily work can be more optimally standardized, freeing time and energy to study more complex issues that greatly impact future economic and social development.
Top-level design key to success
As cities grow ever larger in scale, urban governance challenges rise in line with greater flow and interaction between factors. Therefore, smart cities represent the obligatory path for modernization through efficient urban operations and comprehensive reform. However, this form of management does allow room for trial and error in terms of application, a luxury that doesn't apply in the same measure for aerospace technology, as engineers must ensure 100% in manned spaceflight.
"It appears that all complex systems are likely to succeed and fail, but those engaged in manned spaceflight must perform to the limit for every launch. This was the case 21 years ago when I was in charge of the manned spacecraft program, as one single weak link can bring the entire project down in failure, so all imaginable problems must be solved." Secretary Yuan explained.
However, good top-level design and a firm understanding of its economic and social operations are also essential for Chongqing. As Secretary Yuan elaborated, when problems occur at the grassroots level, officials must be able to clearly envisage the scenario, identify the problem, and swiftly take the appropriate action.
Finally, Yuan emphasized this is a distinct advantage for China, where under the leadership of the CPC, it is possible to mobilize societal forces from all sectors, driving qualitative, efficient, and dynamic transformations in socio-economic development.