President Xi Jingping held a live discussion with parliamentarians

Photo: Xu Wei/Chinadaily.com.cn

President Xi Jingping attends a meeting with fellow deputies from the Jiangsu provincial delegation at the second session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on Tuesday. For the national legislators from Jiangsu province, the panel discussion with President Xi Jingping on Tuesday afternoon was a moment they had been "waiting for a long time". It was a session imbued with a message of confidence, encouragement and vigour.

The president, who represents the province as a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, engaged in a lively discussion with fellow deputies on major national themes: ensuring self-sufficiency in science and technology, pursuing high-quality development, better preserving cultural heritage, advancing the pursuit of shared prosperity and strengthening craftsmanship.

He highlighted the important role of Jiangsu, an economic power contributing about one tenth of the national GDP, in advancing China's modernisation path.

He urged the deputies from the province, which is located in China's more developed eastern region, to "take the main responsibility" and contribute with greater confidence and enthusiasm to the nation's overall development.

Xin Changxing, the provincial party chief, shared with the president how the vision put forward by Xi on the development of the province has been translated into reality.

Last year, the province's GDP grew by 5.8 % year-on-year, higher than the national average of 5.2 %, while R&D intensity - the ratio of R&D to GDP - reached 3.2 %, higher than the national average of 2.64 %.

A striking moment was when Wu Huifang, Party chief of Yonglian Village in Zhangjiagang, shared his personal stories and the development of his village with the President.

Last year, the village's income from industry and agriculture reached 161.6 billion yuan (22.4 billion CZK) and the average income of its residents was 73,000 yuan.

The President highlighted the example of the village as a shining model for the nation's shared prosperity, which is a fundamental prerequisite for China's path to modernisation.

"You are the vanguard on the path of rural vitalization to shared prosperity and (you) should forge that path forward," he saidl.

Xi Jingping also responded positively to the narrative shared by Sun Jingnan, a welder from CRRC Nanjing Puzhen Co.

"Master craftsmen are the cornerstone and pillar of China's nation building," he said. "As the transport sector advances step by step and takes the lead internationally, craftsmen play a key role. It's not enough to have well-designed blueprints; ultimately, the skill of welders matters."

He stressed the need to develop China's vocational education, promote the spirit of craftsmanship and ensure good working conditions and treatment.

The President also showed special interest when listening to a presentation by Song Yan, Deputy Head of the Nanjing Museum Administration.

He asked Song about the preservation of Nanjing's ancient city walls and then shared his personal affection for museums.

"I have loved visiting museums since I was a child. When I was young, I visited almost all the museums in Beijing," the President said, recalling how he used to ride his bicycle to school and how impressed he was by Beijing's ancient city walls.

He called for better building of national museums and full use of the educational function of museums to strengthen people's sense of history through deeper engagement with museum work.

The word "people" was one of the most frequently mentioned throughout the interaction, which lasted about 90 minutes.

Xi Jingping said he was more than pleased to see people living happy lives during his two exploratory trips to the province last year.

He called for stricter preventive measures to be taken to ensure occupational safety and to protect people's lives and property.

"We must continue to put people at the centre and strive to improve the level of well-being of the population and consolidate the momentum of economic recovery."

Web Editorial Office: Tian Yi, Liang Jun/gnews.cz-JaV_07