Building Consensus For Development

Every March， deputies and members from across the country meet in Beijing for the“two sessions”—a series of meetings lasting from March 3-16 this year. The sessions center around the National Peoples Congress（NPC）， the highest organ of state power that consists of more than 2，900 deputies， and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC） National Committee， composed of about 2，200 members. The CPPCC is an institution for multiparty cooperation and political consultation in which representatives from non-Communist parties as well as various sectors of society discuss government policies and offer their suggestions.

NPC deputies are routinely tasked with reviewing and passing a number of documents， including the Government Work Report， state budgets， development plans and draft laws. In addition， work reports by the Supreme Peoples Court and the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate are examined. This year， they also adopted the 13th Five-Year Plan （2016-20）. As the countrys top policy advisors， CPPCC National Committee members， for their part， held discussions on these issues and aired their opinions.

Economic issues took the spotlight during the meetings， prompting questions such as： How can China implement the innovation-driven， balanced， green， open and inclusive development concept？ How will the country ensure the realization of the goal of lifting all its poor people out of poverty by 2020？ How will the state carry out the supply-side reform？ These questions and more reflect Chinese peoples concerns， and were addressed in earnest.

A highlight in this years Government Work Report， delivered by Premier Li Keqiang， is the setting of a GDP growth target between 6.5 and 7 percent for 2016. Instead of a specific number for growth， as was the case in previous years， this years growth target offers a buffer zone against an expected deceleration in growth. It also serves to allay the international communitys fear of a hard landing for the Chinese economy.

Like previous years， issues concerning peoples livelihoods such as medical care， education， housing， care for the elderly， employment， and the environment received intense scrutiny during the meetings.

The 13th Five-Year Plan， which sets the tone for Chinas social and economic development over the next five years， was an important aspect of the sessions. The next five years will be crucial in terms of Chinas goal to complete the creation of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. China is expected to achieve that target in addition to circumventing the middle-income trap.

China is currently at a critical stage of development. The decisions made and consensus reached at the two sessions this year will promote the countrys progress and contribute to the fulfillment of the goals set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan.