The NPC, the CPPCC and the Chinese Dream
- By Sajjad Malik
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 3, 2014
The "dream" evokes an exquisite tapestry of words and ideas. But it will also demand Herculean efforts to produce the required results and the Chinese leadership will have to address serious issues like rampant corruption, reforming an inefficient and wiry bureaucracy and the Communist party machine which for an outsider works like a mysterious wheel within a wheel, if they really want the dream to become a reality. There are social issues like poverty, strict family planning laws, an aging population and slackening old social bonds among the people. Other evils which accompany the opulence may come up during the course of development.
Domestic issues could be easier to address, but there are challenges linked to the far reaching changes in the systems of creating information and sharing it with others. Old barriers are falling apart and curtains withholding news and information are proving ineffective. As people get rich, they demand rights which the poor never have time to think about.
Xi rightly dreams for the material welfare of his people. He raised "comprehensively deepening reform", which was approved at the Third Plenum, aiming to double the per capita income in China to US$12,000.00 by 2021 -- the year marking the centennial of the Party -- and to become a developed economy in 2049, the centennial of the founding of the PRC.
It is quite a big task and the leadership will have to take bold steps to meet the deadlines. It needs uninterrupted economic growth and a foreign policy to avoid confrontations while guarding territorial integrity and sovereignty over land, air and waters. China will have to manage its ties with the United States, bordering nations, the ASEAN grouping and countries like Japan and South Korea.
Xi has emphasized that the Chinese Dream is a dream of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit for all. He says that it is connected to the beautiful dreams of the people in other countries. But why should outsiders believe it until they witness the fruits of China's progress. This is where international economic institutions step in. China should push for a fair distribution of international wealth as well in order to make the Chinese Dream as the world dream.
The annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference should spare time for discussion over the concept of the dream and how to make it relevant for the common people, poor people and the world at large. The NPC, as China's top legislative body with near 3,000 deputies, can also play role in providing financial and legislative support to this "dream initiative." Similarly, the CPPCC, as the top think-tank with members from diverse backgrounds, is in a great position to leverage both domestic and international opinions in its favor.
The writer is a Pakistani analyst and journalist.
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