Nigeria Times

By Li Xinping, People’s Daily

On China’s railway network that spans over 150,000 kilometers, numerous railway workers and police officers stand guard at their posts, dedicating themselves to safeguarding smooth and comfortable travel for all. Recently, five of them from the frontlines shared their unforgettable stories of growth alongside the railways.

In Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan province, high-speed rails stretch towards almost all directions. The Zhengzhou Railway Station sees the arrival and departure of a train every 1.6 minutes. As a on-duty station officer at the Operating Workshop of the Zhengzhou Station of China Railway Zhengzhou Group Co., Ltd., Jiang Tao processes a new “route” every 36.36 seconds.

“On Jan. 31, Zhengzhou was hit by a heavy snow,” Jiang recalled. “Each of us on-duty station officers was in a race against time – getting trains safely into the station, then dispatch them as quickly as possible to send passengers back home without delay.”

During the Spring Festival holiday, Hainan experienced a convergence of tourists, students returning home, and people on family visits, which led to a significant increase in passenger volumes entering, exiting via the Qiongzhou Strait and traveling around the island.

Wang Xiaobing, a signal worker of the Haikou Comprehensive Maintenance Workshop of the Haikou Comprehensive Maintenance Section of China Railway Guangzhou Group Co., Ltd., told People’s Daily that equipment maintenance personnel had to perform inspections and repairs at midnight during the Spring Festival holiday to ensure safe operations.

“Although passengers may not see how we work, we still must meticulously maintain the signaling equipment to guarantee their safe journeys,” said Wang.

He said with the world’s first island-looping high-speed rail line constructed in Hainan, it is possible for people to visit all the attractions on the island in just one day.

“The loop line plays a vital role in the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port and in accelerating Hainan’s development into an international tourism consumption center,” Wang noted, adding that guests from various countries also frequently travel on the loop line during the annual Boao Forum for Asia.

In the eyes of Sonam Wangdrak, a driver instructor of the No. 1 Operating Workshop of the Golmud Locomotive Maintenance Section of China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co., Ltd., the railway network has been growing fast on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in recent years, which has not only facilitated residents along the routes but also reduced the costs of transportation. A range of specialty products, including highland yak meat, yogurt, and ethnic handicrafts, can now be transported by rail from the plateau to the rest of the world.

“The area around the Lhasa Railway Station has developed rapidly. The trains running across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau are tangibly changing the local residents’ mobility, way of production and way of life,” Sonam Wangdrak said.

Zhu Shaoming is a third-grade sergeant at the Huilai Railway Police Station of the Huizhou Branch of the Guangzhou Railway Public Security Bureau, whose job is to ensure railway safety and security. Since the Hangzhou-Shenzhen Railway opened in 2013, his jurisdiction has maintained a “zero occurrence” of incidents that endangered train operations or threatened the lives and property of passengers.

Moreover, Zhu has long been devoted to philanthropic causes. He has established a charity team that regularly helps local seniors that live alone, people with disabilities, and orphans. They also routinely donate school supplies, sports equipment, books, and school uniforms to schools in remote mountainous areas. Additionally, Zhu helps local farmers sell unsold fruits, contributing to rural vitalization.

Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region boasts diverse landscapes and picturesque scenery, making it a popular tourist destination. To ensure visitors from afar feel welcome, Mierban Aiyiti, chief conductor of the Hotan No. 1 Fleet of the Korla Passenger Section of China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd., has led her team to offer a themed service that uses text and images to introduce the scenery and folk customs along the route to passengers. On her train, Xinjiang specialties like hand-pulled noodles, Xinjiang chicken stew, and naan bread are provided.

Mierban Aiyiti believes high-speed railway has brought places closer together. With the opening of the Golmud-Korla Railway and the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway, trains can skirt a full circle around a desert for the first time in the world. More and more people living on deserts and plateaus are having the opportunity to see the bigger world.

In March 2022, while on duty, Mierban Aiyiti encountered a sick infant who needed urgent transport to a hospital in Aksu prefecture. Not only did she provide attentive service throughout the journey, but she also helped contact an ambulance and donated money to help the baby.

“Apart from me, many other passengers also lent a helping hand. People of all ethnic groups are connected, just like a family,” she said.

By Zhou Nan

On the morning of March 5, the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) is held in Beijing. The Chinese government work report delivered a series of impressive achievements and highlights, boosting people’s confidence in the future.

These include a GDP exceeding 126 trillion yuan ($17.5 trillion), the creation of 12.44 million jobs in urban areas, a grain output of 695.41 million tons, and a 6.1 percent year-on-year increase in the per capita disposable income of residents.

This hard-earned performance bears witness to every effort, as well as the resilience and strength of the Chinese economy amidst challenges. While maintaining a strong momentum of economic growth, new industries, business models, and growth drivers have expanded rapidly, injecting innovation and vitality into the Chinese economy, and providing a solid foundation for high-quality development.

New industries experienced rapid growth. Industries are the foundation of the economy.

In recent years, traditional industries in China have accelerated their transformation and upgrading, while strategic emerging industries have flourished. The future industries are being planned in an orderly manner.

Therefore, time-honored brands have been rejuvenated, new entities are full of vitality, and green industries are developing rapidly. This contributes to a more solid and powerful pace towards high-quality development.

Today, dozens of quantum enterprises have gathered along Yunfei Road in the Hefei National High-Tech Industry Development Zone in east China’s Anhui province; in the Optics Valley, or East Lake High-tech Development Zone in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei province, a cluster of optoelectronic information industry have reported total value of over 500 billion yuan.

A group of high-end, intelligent, and green new pillar industries is rapidly emerging, showing China’s significant progress made in the development of a modern industrial system and accumulating strong momentum for the country’s economic development.

New business models have ignited new vitality. During the just-concluded Spring Festival holiday, Yabuli Ski Resort in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province welcomed a daily average of over 130,000 visitors, while the ice and snow parks in Zhaosu county, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region were filled with laughter and joy. The new business forms combining winter tourism, cultural tourism and winter sports have become new consumption trends.

In recent years, there has been accelerated development in the integration of urban and rural cultural tourism, as well as the emergence of live-streaming e-commerce, social e-commerce, instant retail, and cross-border e-commerce. These continuous innovations of new business models, forms, and scenarios have further stimulated the potential of consumption.

Last year, the contribution of final consumption expenditure to China’s economic growth reached 82.5 percent, and the added value of services accounted for 54.6 percent of the country’s GDP. Consumption played as a robust engine, and the economic structure continued to optimize, which fully demonstrates the high quality of the Chinese economy.

New growth drivers have built new advantages. Developing new quality productive forces is an intrinsic requirement and an important focus of promoting high-quality development.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for focusing on high-quality development as the top priority and developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions when he participated in a deliberation with fellow lawmakers from east China’s Jiangsu province during the second session of the 14th NPC.

China has made significant progress in the development of high-end equipment such as aircraft engines, gas turbines, and fourth-generation nuclear power units. Innovation achievements in cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum technology continued to emerge.

China’s scientific and technological innovation has achieved new breakthroughs, with fruitful results made in the research and development of core technologies in key fields. The country’s ability to drive development through innovation is continuously improving.

Accelerating the development of new quality productive forces will undoubtedly provide strong impetus and support for high-quality development, continuously enhancing the momentum and resilience of economic growth.

To understand the overall trend of the Chinese economy, it is important to consider both the short-term situation and long-term momentum, as well as focus on both the quantity of growth and the quality of development.

China’s economic performance in 2023, as reflected by new industries, business models, and growth drivers, not only indicated the growth and quality of the Chinese economy, but also proved that the fundamental trend of the economic recovery and long-term positive outlook has not changed and will never change.

By Peng Xunwen

China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 2.38 trillion yuan ($331.64 billion) in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 15.6 percent. In particular, exports increased 19.6 percent from a year ago to 1.83 trillion yuan.

Digital foreign trade forms, such as cross-border livestream commerce are becoming important channels for foreign trade companies to obtain orders and expand their brands internationally.

“We obtained inquiries from over 9,000 overseas buyers via livestream in two months,” said Wu Xinhe, marketing director of Maxevis, a tech firm based in Shenzhen, south China’s Guangdong province.

Wu’s company sells technology products for children such as smart water bottles. Its major overseas clients are in Europe, North America, and South America.

During the Spring Festival holiday last year, the company decided to try cross-border livestream commerce on the international website of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant. To quickly capture the interest of overseas customers, Wu and the livestream team put a lot of effort into highlighting the product’s features and selecting the target customers.

As a result, they acquired hundreds of new customers. “This growth is at least twice as fast as before,” Wu said.

Maxevis is a vivid example of Chinese foreign trade companies in the exploration of cross-border livestream commerce. Statistics show that there are currently 645,000 companies nationwide with actual import and export performance, of which over 100,000 are engaged in cross-border e-commerce.

Nowadays, “cross-border e-commerce” and “livestream” have become buzzwords among foreign trade companies. Bukrein, an import and export company based in Ningbo, east China’s Zhejiang province, has specifically equipped itself with a 5G livestream vehicle. The company’s new customers gained from livestream have doubled each year.

Shanghai APCOM Compressor Machine Co., Ltd. has transformed its previous 3,000-square meter showroom, which was used to receive overseas clients, into a livestream studio. Every salesperson in the company has learned how to livestream.

The company has installed dozens of high-definition cameras in its factory, allowing overseas clients to watch the factory and place orders in real-time whenever needed. The overall returns greatly outweigh the outlay.

The rapid development of cross-border livestream is largely attributed to the continuous promotion by Chinese e-commerce platforms. According to data from Alibaba’s international website, the number of overseas buyers watching cross-border livestream has increased by 127 percent year-on-year since 2023, bringing a 156 percent growth in business opportunities for foreign trade merchants.

Statistics from Chinese online retailer giant PDD showed that since the launch of its Temu platform in September 2022, it has expanded its business to over 40 countries across five continents, allowing many Chinese manufacturers to sell their products to European and U.S. markets through cross-border livestream commerce.

A report released by the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that livestream has become a new trend in generating data traffic both in China and abroad. Livestream commerce provides an interactive shopping experience that replicates the offline face-to-face shopping model. Some cross-border e-commerce entities have keenly targeted this new direction for “going global” in marketing their brands.

“The popularity of cross-border livestream commerce in China is mainly due to the country’s strong supply chain, high-quality products, responsiveness to market demand, and attractiveness to consumers. These advantages are well demonstrated through cross-border livestream,” said Pan Helin, a researcher with the International Business School, Zhejiang University.

He pointed out that the developed ecosystem of the livestream e-commerce industry in China provides a strong talent pool for cross-border livestream commerce to expand internationally.

With the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and algorithmic recommendations, the models of foreign trade livestream commerce are changing.

“In the past, we relied on hosts working around the clock to sell products via livestream. Now, we only need a staff member to manage the ‘digital host,'” said Wu. In December last year, Wu’s company started experimenting with a digital host for livestream. This not only effectively reduced labor costs but also increased the duration of livestream.

The digital host was an “all-around performer.” It could accurately remember various products’ features and prices, and was proficient in many languages. Through training, it could automatically answer questions based on keywords mentioned by users or play relevant short videos to explain the details and functions of products.

E-commerce platforms are also innovating in terms of livestream models and operational methods. Alibaba’s international website has introduced many new technologies this year. For example, they have implemented a “time compass” feature to help foreign trade companies find the most suitable time slots for livestream. They have also added voice-to-subtitle and translation functions for livestream, which can convert the sellers’ voices into real-time subtitles.

By Li Hongxing, People’s Daily

If there were no fast logistics or delivery couriers, consumption in mountainous areas would be quite different.

Li Xingying’s home is located deep in the Gaoligong Mountains in southwest China’s Yunnan province.

Many years ago, she went to high school in another place in Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture. When her parents wanted to send her some local specialties from home, they had to ride a motorcycle for 20 kilometers on a mountain road to the post office, which took at least an hour. It would take at least two days, even if they were in the same prefecture, before Li could receive the specialties.

Now, every village in Yunnan has access to postal services, and villagers can enjoy courier services at their doorsteps. Recently, Li bought New Year’s goods for her family, and it took less than four days for these packages to reach her hometown after traveling over 2,000 kilometers from east China’s Zhejiang province.

“It’s so convenient now. We can just order whatever we want on our phones and pick up the items with just a few steps outside,” said Li’s mother.

According to data released by the State Post Bureau, express courier firms nationwide handled 132.07 billion parcels in 2023, up 19.4 percent compared to the previous year. This figure has ranked first in the world for 10 consecutive years.

These parcels, connecting thousands of households and various industries, vividly depicted the vibrancy of China.

Smooth Logistics is driving development and improving living standards while meeting the needs of the people for a better life. Today, it takes as short as 48 hours for imported Boston lobsters to be put on the Chinese table from the moment when they are caught, and “Next-day” delivery is so quick that customers don’t even have time to change their delivery address.

With the introduction of cold-chain logistics, various fruits, vegetables, and seafood can be kept fresh throughout the entire transportation process.

The logistics industry, connecting production and consumption, vitalizes the commodity market and fosters innovation. Embracing the dual opportunities of consumption and industrial upgrades, a secure and efficient logistics network that connects domestic and international markets is rapidly taking shape.

Efficiency in circulation and production are equally crucial for improving the overall operational efficiency of the national economy.

Over a decade ago, “logistics overload” was a buzzword on the internet, as cross-border parcels were difficult to deliver on time. Slow speed and high costs became bottlenecks for the development of the industry.

Problems give rise to changes. The introduction of electronic waybills initiated automated sorting, thus establishing intelligent logistics systems. The continuous improvement of urban and rural transportation infrastructure, with roads reaching every village, has made logistics smoother.  China’s internet penetration continues to increase, leading to a more complete and diverse logistics ecosystem.

Thanks to economic development and social progress, the logistics industry has benefited from the dividends of informatization and digitization. It has made a qualitative leap in terms of hardware facilities, software technology, and operational methods, demonstrating remarkable “Chinese speed” and impressive “Chinese efficiency.”

The modern circulation system is a strong support for building a new development pattern. Every change in transportation tools and increase in business volume in the logistics industry, from manual handling to intelligent sorting, and from bulk freight to the opening of dedicated lines and air transportation, has greatly promoted the reshaping of the economic landscape.

Today, China’s logistics industry has achieved a remarkable leap from handling 10 billion parcels each year to 10 billion parcels each month. The super-large market of China provides vast space and opportunities for the development of the logistics industry. The thriving and active logistics industry also plays a crucial role in enhancing the reliability of domestic circulation, while elevating the quality and level of international circulation.

More accesses result in greater space for development, and a higher level of openness yields stronger power for development. Thanks to the thriving international business of Chinese express courier firms, a Spanish consumer received a car diagnostic tool from China in just less than five days, and marveled at the speed of China’s cross-border parcels.

According to customs statistics, the total imports and exports of China’s cross-border e-commerce reached 2.38 trillion yuan (about $331 billion) in 2023, up 15.6 percent year-on-year.

As China’s logistics industry accelerates its international expansion, the efficiency of global cargo transportation is steadily improving. With smooth logistics and global services, China’s economy, with strong resilience and wide space, continues to bring new development opportunities to the world.

Logistics aggregates commercial flows, while commercial flows drive logistics. As cargo planes take off and land, cargo ships arrive at ports for loading and unloading, packages are sorted and transported, and delivery vehicles depart and return, a more complete and smooth modern distribution system is contributing to a more dynamic and resilient Chinese economy.

By Wang Jingyue

This past winter, Harbin in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province just went viral, gaining huge fame on the internet as a tourism hot spot.

According to statistics released by a big data research institute under Chinese technology company Sina, information about Harbin’s tourism began surging in late December last year. The total online information exceeded 10 million pieces, a quadruple increase year-on-year.

Videos showcasing Harbin’s features spammed social media pages. They showed Oroqen people walking on the street, leading their reindeer and wearing traditional hats made of Siberian roe deer fur, plump arctic foxes curling docilely in the arms of tourists, with their eyes squinted to slits, as well as exquisite frozen pear slices and an artificial moon hanging above the St. Sophia Cathedral…

Driven by the social media buzz, Harbin’s offline tourism was equally prospering. According to big data analysis by Harbin’s culture and tourism bureau, during the three-day New Year holiday, the city welcomed a total of over 3 million visitors, generating 5.9 billion yuan ($821.11 million) in tourism revenue, 4.4 times and 7.9 times the figures from the same period last year, respectively. During the Spring Festival period, Harbin received more than 10 million tourists, with tourism revenue reaching 16.42 billion yuan, both all-time highs for the city.

Harbin’s popularity reminds people of other Chinese cities that have previously captured internet stardom: Chongqing, Changsha in Hunan, Zibo in Shandong, Litang in Sichuan…

Despite their distinct characteristics and varied styles, these cities have all drawn massive crowds of tourists with their diverse urban landscapes.

According to Wang Xin, associate dean of the National Institute of Advertising at the Communication University of China, cities can develop their iconic cultural concepts by uncovering and amplifying distinctive spatial and cultural activities based on existing perceptions of urban culture held by residents and visitors. These cultural concepts then spread widely through social media, attracting attention from people who are not present and giving first-hand experiences to those on site.

For instance, those who are not in Harbin can watch the city’s attractions online, and tourists to the city can share their first-hand experiences by posting photos on social media and more. This process exponentially attracts more tourists to spontaneously participate in the promotion of “internet-famous cities.”

How do “internet-famous cities” attract even more tourists? They have mastered the art.

Quanzhou in southeast China’s Fujian province, the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, has leveraged its rich resources of intangible cultural heritage to launch an experiential activity that encourages visitors to not only appreciate the local marionette show but also try manipulating the marionettes themselves.

Additionally, the city has opened night markets and increased evening performances by local troupes, expanding nighttime tourism options for visitors.

Dali Bai autonomous prefecture in southwest China’s Yunnan province, a renowned tourism destination now gaining fame on the internet, is currently cultivating an urban culture centered around coffee. Nowadays, visitors to Dali can not only admire the scenic Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake, but also savor different varieties of coffee to feel the charm of the “City of Coffee.”

For those cities that rose to internet fame through TV dramas and films, relevant governments have adopted creative approaches, blending the features of the cities with filming locations.

For instance, the web series “The Bad Kids” was filmed in the Chikan Old Street in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province. After the hit went sensational, the local government invited history and culture experts to train a volunteer service team, so that the team could share the rich history and cultural heritage of the old street with visitors.

Regardless of what propelled a city to internet stardom, it’s evident that “internet-famous cities” are all attempting to integrate culture and tourism. This allows tourists to take away more than just “buzzwords” and “catchphrases,” leaving them with deeper, more lasting memories.

How to convert online data traffic into long-term popularity and sustained development is a question every “internet-famous city” grapples with. Experts suggest that upholding a visitor-centric philosophy is paramount for a city to thrive in tourism. Providing comprehensive and thoughtful public services is crucial for retaining visitors.

“Service awareness is cultivated over the long term,” said Liu Simin, vice president of the tourism branch of the China Society for Futures Studies. While making short-term, intensive efforts to improve services for visitors can provide temporary relief during peak tourist seasons, an “internet-famous city” can only sustain long-term popularity by establishing an overall visitor-friendly environment and continually enhancing supporting amenities and public services.

Culture is the soul of a city. “When the online fame becomes a thing of the past, to retain visitor traffic and maintain lasting appeal, cities must focus on local culture and residents, as these are elements that cannot be replicated,” said Huang Zhuowei, associate professor at the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University. He added it is important to develop non-mainstream attractions or those not driven by online trends.

By People’s Daily

The per capita disposable income of Chinese residents increased by 6.1 percent in real terms last year, outpacing the GDP growth during the same period. China created 12.44 million new urban jobs, maintaining overall stability in employment. Additionally, with price reductions and medical insurance reimbursement, negotiated drug prices in 2023 saved over 200 billion yuan ($27.78 million) for patients.

These tangible improvements in livelihoods have continuously enhanced the Chinese people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security.

“In recent years, our village has vigorously developed collective economy, which created job opportunities and increased villagers’ income,” said Xu Chuanjiang, Party head of Yuejia Village community in Chengyang neighborhood, Juxian county, Rizhao, east China’s Shandong province.

Yuejia Village has made a success in running supermarkets and hotels, and now its collective assets have exceeded 1 billion yuan, with a collective economic income of 65 million yuan.

“In the future, we will continue to expand the village’s collective economy and explore new paths to prosperity,” said Xu.

To meet the housing needs of people is an important goal for improving people’s livelihoods and directly concerns their well-being, said Shangguan Jian, secretary of the Communist Youth League Shanghai Committee.

Shanghai is increasing the supply of affordable rental housing for new residents and young people, accelerating the development of a multi-level and tiered rental housing supply system, Shangguan noted. The city is also optimizing the spatial layout of affordable housing for young people to alleviate the housing difficulties they face.

Equal education is an important foundation for social equity.

“In our school, there are over 3,500 students from ethnic minority groups. With the support from governments at various levels, there have been significant improvements in infrastructure, and students have achieved balanced and comprehensive overall development,” said Yulong, a teacher at the First Primary School in Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan province.

According to her, 20 schools were built or expanded in Xishuangbanna last year, providing an additional 9,680 school places and introducing high-quality educational resources. As a result, teaching quality in the prefecture has been on continuous improvement.

In recent years, various issues concerning people’s livelihoods, ranging from strengthening food safety supervision to reducing students’ academic burden, and from the “toilet revolution” to garbage sorting, have been effectively addressed.

The various demands and needs of the people are being addressed and satisfied, highlighting the image and unique strengths of Chinese modernization.

To provide people with easier access to high-quality medical resources, China has implemented a series of policies and measures, such as establishing urban medical groups and county-level medical consortia, said Yang Zhenglin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital.

Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital has established a medical alliance with 12 county-level public hospitals through a trusteeship model, to bring high-quality medical resources to lower-tier regions, thus expanding people’s access to medical services, Yang noted.

With steady progress in various reforms and gradual improvement of supporting measures, significant achievements have been made in ensuring people’s access to childcare. The enrollment rate for preschool education has reached a historic high of 91.1 percent, and the number of affordable kindergartens has reached 236,400. A comprehensive and quality public service system for preschool education, which ensures wide coverage and basic access, is continuously being established.

“In recent years, China has accelerated the improvement of its elderly care service system, greatly enhancing the sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security for the elderly,” said Xiong Shuilong with the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

As one of the pilot cities for the long-term care insurance system, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, has issued trial measures on long-term care insurance.

Currently, the long-term care insurance system covers nearly 8.97 million employees and over 2.54 million residents in the city. A total of 83,000 people have been benefited.

Xiong suggested further expanding the pilot scope. “By further expanding the coverage, we can ensure that elderly people in need of long-term care receive proper assistance, relieving more families of their worries.”

In 2023, the Department of Civil Affairs of Hunan Province, in collaboration with relevant departments, carried out a special campaign to ensure the well-being of 9,000 orphans and 29,000 children without parental care, safeguarding their healthy growth, said Huang Donghong, head of the Department of Civil Affairs of Hunan Province.

This year, Hunan province will continue to expand the care for vulnerable children, including raising the minimum living guarantee standards for orphans and children without parental care as a key priority in the province’s livelihood projects. More care will be extended to those in need of assistance, she added.

The wellbeing of the people is the fundamental goal of development. Making steady progress in ensuring people’s access to childcare, education, employment, medical services, elderly care, housing, and social assistance, China has continuously enhanced the wellbeing of the people and raised their quality of life.

By Zhao Zhanhui, People’s Daily

China’s State Council Information Office hosted a policy briefing on March 1, at which relevant officials from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and other departments were invited to introduce China’s efforts to optimize payment services and enhance payment convenience.

Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the PBOC, noted that the PBOC, in collaboration with other departments, has drafted a document on further improving payment services and enhancing payment convenience, with a focus on improving the weak links in payment services for elderly people and foreigners in China.

The document has recently been reviewed and approved by a State Council executive meeting, Zhang added.

The document highlights six key measures: promoting the usability of foreign bank cards in key places, continuously improving the cash payment environment and enhancing foreign currency exchange and cash services, making payment services more friendly to the elderly and foreigners, better protecting consumers’ right to choose payment methods, encouraging banks and payment institutions to further optimize the account opening process, and carrying out diverse and targeted promotional activities.

In recent years, mobile payment has been developing rapidly in China. Yet some foreigners coming to China face challenges with mobile payment, such as the difficulty in binding their overseas bank cards and limits on spending amounts.

Zhang said the PBOC will request and instruct payment institutions such as Alipay and Tenpay to streamline their operating procedures, improve the efficiency of binding overseas bank cards, and simplify identity verification while ensuring the security of personal information.

Besides, the PBOC will also guide major payment institutions to raise the single transaction limit for overseas travelers using mobile payment from $1,000 to $5,000, and lift the annual cumulative transaction limit from $10,000 to $50,000.

According to Zhang, efforts have been made to make foreign wallet apps usable in China, and 13 such apps have been introduced to China by Alipay and Tenpay so far.

According to statistics, nearly 4 million foreigners used mobile payment in China last year, who made over 70 million transactions totaling more than 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion).

“We highly respect the practice of foreign nationals in China making large payments using bank cards. In major commercial areas, airports, and railway stations, we are guiding commercial banks and payment institutions to expand the acceptance of foreign bank cards,” Zhang said.

The PBOC is comprehensively improving foreign currency exchange, ATM cash withdrawal, and other related services.

Additionally, to address the difficulty of getting change for cash payments, it has required commercial banks to provide “change packs.”

“For example, a 300-yuan pack contains nothing but small-denomination notes,” said Zhang. “No matter if it’s a taxi driver or a restaurant owner, they can exchange for these packs to make it easier to provide change.”

Many foreign visitors to China have complained about the difficulty of using cash to pay for cultural and tourism services and products. To address the issue, China’s National Development and Reform Commission, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the PBOC have jointly issued a notice requesting strict crackdowns on the refusal of cash payments in RMB. The notice aims to ensure sufficient overall cash supply and a reasonable denomination mix in major cities and tourist attractions.

Departments attending the briefing said they will implement comprehensive measures and work together to create a favorable payment environment.

Liu Bin, director general of the Current Account Management Department of China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said the administration will keep encouraging more foreign currency exchange institutions to provide better exchange services for foreigners coming to China, and further meet their needs for mobile payment and online consumption.

The establishment of hardware and software facilities required for mobile payment, bank cards payment and cash payment at tourist attractions will be advanced, said Shi Zeyi, a person in charge of the Bureau of International Exchange and Cooperation of China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Gao Bo, a person in charge of the Transport Service Department of China’s Ministry of Transport, noted that the Ministry of Transport has adopted a series of targeted measures, including accelerating the popularization of online ticketing, to facilitate both domestic and foreign nationals in purchasing tickets online using various identification documents such as ID cards, passports, and permanent residence permits.

Zhao Yang, a person in charge of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration of China’s Ministry of Commerce, said the Ministry of Commerce will improve payment acceptance environment in catering and other sectors, ensuring availability of manned service and traditional payment methods. It will refine standards of the retail industry to provide diversified payment services. It will also leverage the exemplary role of international consumption center cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing to create a favorable payment environment.

By Qi Yukun, People’s Daily

Whenever he has time, Qian Haijun, a community manager in the customer service center of the power supply company of State Grid in Cixi, east China’s Zhejiang province, would conduct door-to-door research with a small notebook.

Qian, also a deputy to the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), discussed experiences of carbon reduction with company managers and energy-saving measures with local residents. He gathered suggestions on topics like new energy transformation and green electricity trading, and then brought them to the NPC meetings.

To make proposals that better align with public opinion and reality, researcher Jiang Qi with the Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, also a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), had frequent field research to learn about the expectations of livestock farmers. He has brought “fresh” proposals to the meetings of the top political advisory body currently held in Beijing.

NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members from all walks of life extensively listen to the voices of the people. Each “golden idea” that gathers the collective wisdom of the people showcases the unique charm of China’s whole-process people’s democracy, invigorating socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics with robust vitality.

There are various ways to achieve democracy. The people’s congress system and the CPPCC system enrich the forms of democracy, and demonstrate unique and significant institutional advantages.

NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members actively fulfill their duties and conduct thorough research on various issues such as community governance, ecological conservation, and rural revitalization. They gather wisdom from all and draw on the strengths of all, contributing their insights to the ultimate goal of delivering a better life for the people.

The stories bear witness to the harmonious blend of democracy and people’s livelihoods, showcasing the true value of democracy.

The stories of NPC deputies and CPPCC National Committee members fulfilling their duties reflect the methodologies for advancing national endeavors. Promoting Chinese modernization is an exploratory undertaking of hundreds of millions of Chinese people and thus they are the main actors in this process.

By learning about the needs of the people and seeking their advice, identifying practical issues from the pressing concerns of the people, and drawing inspiration from the vibrant practices of the people, China can better arouse the will for unity, rally the strength for striving, and blaze new trails forward.

In order to meet the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life, the “two sessions,” which refer to the annual sessions of the NPC and the CPPCC National Committee, have become an important platform that pools wisdom for practical strategies and good advice to achieve high-quality development.

With an aim to meet the people’s aspirations for a better life, the “two sessions,” gathering more wisdom and strength from the public, are unfolding a magnificent picture across the country that improves people’s well-being and enhances their quality of life.