NPC delegations open up group meetings to media, offering greater local insights

Delegations of deputies from multiple provinces and autonomous regions across China opened up their group meetings to the press at the just-concluded fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, with deputies fielding questions across various topics and offering reporters greater insight into the measures being taken at the local level.

The group meetings were held during the "two sessions", a key event on China's political calendar which gathered thousands of Chinese lawmakers and political advisors in Beijing, offering a unique window into the country's development direction and policy priorities.

Members of the media were invited to a group meeting held by delegation members from Beijing, the nearby Tianjin Municipality, and the neighboring Hebei Province, where deputies shared their views on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region -- a mega-city cluster in north China which boasts a permanent resident population of over 100 million people.

Meanwhile, at the meetings of provincial-level regions in southern and eastern China, questions were mainly related to high-quality development and the emergence of 'new quality productive forces,' a new strategic approach which promotes sci-tech innovation and stresses advanced productivity freed from traditional economic growth models.

"In order to play a leading role in the global competition of the quantum computing industry and maintain our position, it is necessary to ensure seamless integration of the innovation chain and the industrial chain, promote the integration of general computing, supercomputing, intelligent computing and quantum computing power and build an independent and controllable industrial ecosystem, so as to drive the development of new quality productive forces," said Guo Guoping, a deputy from the delegation of east China's Anhui Province and chairman of Origin Quantum, a firm focused on quantum computing products.

Elsewhere, deputies from southwest China's Yunnan Province and the Xizang Autonomous Region as well as those from the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region all shared more about the measures they have taken to enhance people's well-being and promote ecological protection.

Deputies from regions rich in tourism resources, such as northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, southwest China's Guizhou Province, northwest China's Shaanxi Province and south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, answered questions focusing on measures to boost local cultural and tourist consumption.

One deputy even sought to give reporters a visual representation of how his region has become a tourism hotspot.

"I want to show two pictures for everyone to take a look at. In the pictures, we can see streams of hikers walking along both banks of the Lijiang River after New Year's Day this year. They came to experience the feeling of 'wandering in a painting' as Guilin is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty," said Tang Jianwei, a deputy from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and deputy director of the Strategic Development Department of the Lijiang River Scenic Zone.

Deputies from east China's Jiangxi Province, northeast China's Jilin and Liaoning Provinces and northwest China's Gansu Province all elaborated on their achievements in increasing local infrastructure investment, developing heritage tours and promoting rural revitalization.

Many noted how modern technological methods are being fully utilized at the local level to boost local economies.

"Mobile phones are new farm tools and live-streaming is new farm work nowadays. As the year 2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan, we will employ sci-tech means to help farmers increase their income. We plan to coordinate with regional e-commerce platforms to open up a new path of online ordering, offline self-pickup and cold chain delivery," said Tan Xinping, an NPC deputy and a local village committee director in Jiangxi Province.

Reporters, including those from overseas, said they were pleased to get access to these discussions and to learn more about the specific measures and grassroots programs that are taking place across the country.

"This is my third time to report the 'two sessions'. Today, I feel it's more open and more democratic. I can personally experience the changes in China, year after year. In particular, through the 'two sessions' I can gain a better understanding of the development plans, and see how they become a reality," said Olena Protchenko, a reporter from the Dubai-based China Arab TV.

The 14th NPC concluded its fourth session on Thursday.

NPC delegations open up group meetings to media, offering greater local insights

The Ecological and Environmental Code solidifies China's successful reform experiences in the form of law, transforming ecological conservation into a long-term national goal for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation, said a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday.

Chinese lawmakers voted to adopt the Ecological and Environmental Code at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing earlier in the day.

Lyu Zhongmei, also vice chair of the NPC Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee, who first proposed the drafting of the code, said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the adoption of the code represents a milestone in transforming the country's successful reform policies into a stable legal framework, with profound implications on both national ecological governance and people's daily lives.

"I think this actually sends a very strong signal to the world. Many of our past achievements in ecological civilization system reform were reflected through policies, with numerous reform measures introduced. This time, we are institutionalizing the successful experience of those reforms in the form of law, the most authoritative and stable way to solidify them. This shows that our efforts are not just a one-off campaign. Rather, ecological and environmental protection and the building of an ecological civilization are national goals that reflect the people’s aspiration for a better life and serve the ultimate purpose of ensuring the sustainable development of the Chinese nation," said Lyu.

Lyu highlighted that the code directly enshrines China's greenhouse gas pledge and dual-carbon goals into law, demonstrating the country's concrete actions to fulfill its international responsibilities and uphold its image as a responsible major country.

"We have directly written the commitment to fully meet greenhouse gas targets into the code, and incorporated pledges to use the 'dual carbon' goals as a driving force to advance a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. I think this reflects our concrete actions to honor our commitments and take responsibility to the international community, demonstrating China’s image as a responsible major country," she said.

On the topic of global trade, she explained how the code will help safeguard China's interests.

"On the one hand, we are raising standards for the green and low-carbon transition and adopting market-based measures. Some of the standards we have established based on China's actual situation and the methodologies we have created can contribute China's experience and expertise to the world. On the other hand, the Ecological and Environmental Code also includes provisions on extraterritorial application and establishes China’s own system of environmental protection standards," Lyu said.

Looking to the future, she discussed the code's role in the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

"During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, I believe our ecological and environmental protection will undergo fundamental changes. In the past, it relied more on strict administrative enforcement and control. But now, while not lowering strict control standards or reducing strict control measures, we must also introduce more incentive-based measures. Strict regulation will push enterprises to transform and encourage them to pursue environmental protection. The code will provide a clear, long-term and stable norm. In my view, the Ecological and Environmental Code is not only a 'tightening band' that constrains corporate behavior, but also an 'engine' that opens up new tracks for enterprises’ future development," she said.

China's ecological environmental code represents milestone in environmental rule of law