The 'Two Sessions': a Fourfold Challenge
By Tim Collard As the excitement and holiday mood of China's Spring Festival wears off and the nation goes back to work, the Year of the Sheep kicks off in the usual way with the formal exposition of the government's policy goals in the annual "two sessions" of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), to be held as usual in the first week of March. Following the major test of the Spring Festival family reunions, China's transport infrastructure faces a somewhat lesser challenge as thousands of delegates travel to Beijing for another great reunion. As has become normal, the Chinese leadership has issued a general statement of purpose in advance of the meetings, with further details regarding the individual elements of the programme to be discussed during the "two sessions" and released in the post-meeting communiqués. For the purpose of tabulation and easier memorability, the general statement usually comprises a small number of headings: thus, following the "three represents" of the Jiang Zemin era, we now have "four comprehensives." These headings do not normally represent new departures: they are used to focus intensively on policies already in place, giving a unifying general direction to existing policy. China does not believe in sharp turns and breaks in the development of policy, though there may be changes of emphasis to fit changing times and requirements. The "four comprehensives" provide a balance between economic and political goals. The first is the achievement of a "moderately prosperous" society. The word "moderately" shows the intention of managing the public's expectations, after the astonishing speed of growth over the last 30 years. Everybody must have known that such growth rates could not be sustained forever, and that China would at some point have to adjust to slower and steadier rates; that moment has now come. The stimulus packages of previous years, reaching into the trillions of RMB, will now cease. When the target growth figure is announced by the NPC, it will be surprising if it is higher than 7 percent - still a figure of which most countries can only dream. The second policy goal is the deepening of reform, which will be necessary if changes in the rate of economic development are to be handled sustainably. But possibly more attention will be diverted to the political aims set out in the third and fourth statements of intent: the establishment of firm governance based on the rule of law, and the intensification of Party discipline, the struggle against corruption and other abuses. These are established elements of President Xi's declared policy, but many details are still unclear. The precise meaning of the expression "rule of law" still requires clarification, as the Chinese leadership has made it clear that this must not be understood in the Western sense of a separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary from the executive. A new basis for the rule of law must therefore be thought out and implemented. The key must surely be the establishment of clarity: for the citizen, clarity over what is and is not permitted under the law, and, for officials, what is and is not permitted in the implementation of the law. The all-too-common feeling that it is important not to work according to clearly expressed and consistently upheld laws, but to pay more attention to not damaging the interests of the police and other officials, must give way to a legal framework which is open and clearly comprehensible to everyone. As has been repeatedly emphasized by the Chinese leadership, reform is the key to stability and innovation is the key to progress. Neither must be inhibited by fear of repression by vested interests, provided that one proceeds with reform and innovation in accordance with the law. How precisely these principles can be implemented in Chinese conditions remains to be seen. What is clear is that we have moved into new territory with this initiative; there are no foreign or historical precedents for the establishment and maintenance of the balance at which President Xi is aiming, especially in a country the size of China. But that does not mean it is impossible: there were no precedents for the growth of the Chinese economy over the last 30 years either. Thus, just as the leadership will have to manage expectations regarding the future growth of the economy, so they will also have to manage expectations of the speed at which "rule of law with Chinese characteristics" can be fully achieved. This is a long-term program; its implementation will exceed the period of the current leadership's tenure of office, and so measures will have to be put in place to ensure the continuation of these policies well into the future. I am sure we will find out how the government intends to tackle these issues by the end of the session. The writer is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/timcollard.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China Today.
