By Staff Reporters

The 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will open their second session on March 5 and 4 respectively. Because the NPC and CPPCC are traditionally held in March around the same dates, people have taken to calling them the "Two Sessions" or "Lianghui".

The NPC is the highest organ of state power and the top legislature. Its deputies are elected from all levels of society for a five-year term. They have the right not only to appoint and supervise  the chief justice and chief prosecutor of China, but also to formulate and amend the laws.

The CPPCC, also known as China's top political advisory body, was established in 1949, five years before the NPC. Every year, the CPPCC facilitates China's multiparty cooperation and political consultation mechanism, led by the Communist Party of China. CPC representatives, members of other political parties, and people from all ethnic groups and other parts of society, can offer proposals to participate in the deliberation and administration of state affairs.

The Two Sessions offer the public a practice of "whole-process people's democracy" every year.

The term of "whole-process people's democracy" was first mentioned by President Xi Jinping, and was written into Chinese law in 2021. It is a process which allows "people to pursue, develop and realize democracy" and fully represents the idea of "people are the masters of the country." Specifically, people can engage in democratic elections, consultations, decision-making, management, and oversight.

Every year, a government work report on behalf of the State Council is delivered at the opening meeting of the NPC. It summarizes the past year's achievements, while also proposing China's major development targets and the key tasks of government for the next year.

During the Two Sessions, all NPC deputies will gather together to review the past year's work of the central government and reach consensus on policies for the next 12 months.

The proposals of the Two Sessions are related to many areas. Throughout history, many far-reaching decisions have been made during this period, such as establishing new administrative regions, constructing the Yangtze River Three Gorges Dam Project, joining the World Trade Organization, and eradicating absolute poverty.

Unlike previous years, this year the Two Sessions will not be affected by COVID-19 and how to bail the economy out of its slump caused by the pandemic will be put in the spotlight.

To date, all the provincial-level regions have unveiled their 2024 growth targets. Important hubs like Beijing and Shanghai have already set a growth target of around five percent, consistent with last year's goals. National specific economic stimulus policies will also be discussed during the Two Sessions, and the announcements are sure to attract much attention from the world's media.

In addition, regulations and bills in respect of people's livelihood and policies that aim to promote science and technology development are also on the agenda.

As for now, the deputies of the Two Sessions are preparing for the proposals. How to implement the large-scale equipment upgrading and trade-ins of consumer goods which was proposed during the just-concluded  Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs will be a key concern of the Two Sessions. It is expected that proposals to increase R&D and to improve the technical level of related industry equipment will be put forward.