Look East for New Drivers and Opportunities
H.E. Huang Xilian, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines
The Spring, as always, brings new scenes in China. The National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), or more commonly known as the Two Sessions, were convened successively in early March in Beijing. Nearly 3,000 NPC deputies and over 2,000 CPPCC members gathered in China’s capital city to bring the voices and aspirations of the people to the nation’s highest decision-making platform and into the top-level design of national development. The Two Sessions have forged a strong force for furthering comprehensive reforms and advancing Chinese modernization.
2025 marks the final year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and the year of strategic planning for the next or the 15th Five-Year Plan. As a key link between the past and the future, this year’s Two Sessions drew significant attention. This consensus-building event not only infused confidence into regional partners but also carved new pathways for global cooperation and shared prosperity. The substantial outcomes of the Two Sessions showcased to the world the resilience and vitality of the Chinese economy, groundbreaking innovations in science and culture, and China’s sincere commitment to sharing development opportunities with the rest of the world.
I. China’s Economy Advances Steadily with High-Quality Development
Amid a complex and evolving global landscape, China has set a GDP growth target of around 5% for the year. This goal reflects a scientific assessment of both domestic and international conditions, unwavering confidence in the path of high-quality development, and a balanced approach to driving both the quality and quantity of economic growth. It underscores the overarching principle of “seeking progress while maintaining stability” and striving with determination and achievement. China enjoys solid foundations, robust support, and has strong confidence in hitting the above target.
Over the past year, China’s economy has grown steadily with continued improvements in the people’s livelihood. Key economic indicators such as consumption, investment and exports have risen steadily, demonstrating a clear recovery and upward trend. The per capita disposable income of Chinese residents grew by 5.1%, while employment and prices remained stable overall. A total of 12.56 million new urban jobs were created, with the average surveyed urban unemployment rate at 5.1%, and the consumer price index rose by 0.2%. Achievements in poverty alleviation were consolidated and expanded, with strengthened safeguards in compulsory education, basic elderly care, healthcare, and social assistance.
Over the past year, China has advanced green and low-carbon development, achieving remarkable progress in ecological conservation. Efforts to meet the “dual-carbon” goals accelerated, driving green energy development and the expansion of new energy industries to foster low-carbon growth. The battle against pollution has gained further ground, yielding significant improvements in air quality and ecological governance: the average concentration of PM2.5 or hazardous fine particle matter in prefecture-level cities and above fell by 2.7%; the proportion of days with good air quality rose to 87.2%; the share of surface water with good quality reached 90.4%; energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by over 3%; an installed capacity of 373 million kilowatts has been added to the renewable energy sector. Through technological innovation, China promoted models of green manufacturing and circular economy, embedding the principles of sustainable development into societal consciousness.
Over the past year, China has steadily expanded openness and enhanced its international engagement. By the end of 2024, full mutual visa exemptions have been implemented with 25 countries, unilateral visa-free policies are being trialed for 38 countries, and 144-hour visa-free transit policy is granted to travelers from 54 countries. It is also worth noting that China’s mutual visa exemption policies are extended to ASEAN countries like Singapore and Thailand. A comprehensive, high-level, and wide-ranging regional framework for open cooperation is rapidly taking shape, injecting new momentum into high-standard openness and high-quality development. Social media trends under the theme “China Travel” have exceeded 1 billion views globally, amplifying China’s allure in the new era of globalization.
II. Surging Innovation: Twin Engines of Technology and Culture
During the Two Sessions, scientific and technological innovation dominated discussions. Keywords such as “new quality productive forces,” “AI+,” and “low-altitude economy” sparked widespread debate, reflecting breakthroughs in innovation, robust growth in emerging industries, expansion of digital and green economies, steady upgrading of the traditional sectors, and fresh progress in nurturing advanced productivity.
China’s innovation has entered an era of explosive growth: the “new trio” of Chinese exports—new energy vehicles (NEVs), lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products—saw export value surging by 30% year-on-year, China’s holding on tight in its role as a key driver of global green transformation. the quantum computing prototype “Zu Chongzhi-3” broke world record for superconducting quantum supremacy again, 6G technology R&D made new breakthroughs, and China now leads the world in the number of large AI models. Annual NEVs production and sales surpassed 12 million units, remaining in the top global position for a decade. CATL’s sodium-ion battery technology has ushered in a new era of energy storage.
The fusion of tradition and modernity illuminates China’s cultural confidence: its new year animation Ne Zha 2 captivated global audiences with oriental aesthetics, grossing $2 billion worth of box-office worldwide as a non-Hollywood, non-English animated film—ranking the fifth in global box office history. The Three-Body Problem series adaptation debuted on international streaming platforms, igniting a sci-fi frenzy. AI assistant DeepSeek also highlighted China’s vibrant innovation ecosystem; Social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known by its international APP users as “the Red Note”, topped global app charts, facilitating cross-cultural dialogue between China and the West; the Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong won global gaming awards with cutting-edge technology, reshaping perceptions of Chinese digital creativity; Web novels and short vertical dramas became a cultural phenomenon overseas, dominating Southeast Asian markets; China now holds 63% of the global humanoid robotics industrial chain. Humanoid robots are set to run alongside their human competitors at the Beijing Marathon next month. These milestones showcase China’s intergenerational innovation prowess—from the digital rebirth of cultural symbols to advancements in hard tech—continuously expanding humanity’s imagination of what is possible.
III. Committed to Deepening Ties with Neighboring Nations, Forging a Regional Community with a Shared Future
China’s neighboring regions are the foundation for its security and prosperity. China shares intertwined destinies with its neighbors. A thriving neighborhood enables China’s own development, while China’s progress reciprocally elevates the rest of the region. As a result, the benefits of China’s growth will inevitably and abundantly flow to its neighbors first. The Two Sessions underscored China’s vision of integrating its own development with that of its neighbors and leveraging regional progress. This reflects China’s responsibility as a regional major country for leading cooperation and safeguarding peace and development, and is poised to inject vitality into building a global community with a shared future.
Today, China’s economy has transitioned from growth with a high speed to development with a high-quality, marked by innovation, accelerated consumption and improved industrial structures, and vast opportunities in markets, growth, investment, and collaboration. By accelerating the dual-circulation development paradigm—where domestic and international markets reinforce each other—China has cultivated a diversified trade network spanning over 230 countries and regions, enhancing resilience against external uncertainties. China will further deepen reforms and expand openness, steering its colossal ship of economy through challenges and steadily forward, benefiting both its own people and bring to the world invaluable stability.
IV. The Annual Two Sessions: A Window into China’s Whole-Process People’s Democracy
Democracy is a shared human value and a right of all peoples. Whole-process people’s democracy, the broadest, most genuine, and most effective form of democracy, is not only the choice most suited to China’s national conditions but also a significant Chinese contribution to enriching the political civilization of humanity. During the drafting of the Government Work Report, nearly 4,000 pieces of opinions were solicited, and over 2 million suggestions from netizens were collected, ensuring the fullest possible pooling of wisdom and the broadest reflection of public will. After the conclusion of the Two Sessions, government departments will comprehensively implement all outlined tasks, completing a full-cycle governance process—from soliciting and listening to public opinions, through deliberation, and to implementation. This demonstrates the governance philosophy of democratic consultation and collective decision-making, highlighting the unique strengths of socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics.
In 2025, united by and under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people will continue to work and forge ahead to complete the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan with high quality, lay a solid foundation for a good start of the 15th Five-Year Plan, and take new and solid steps in China’s modernization. The Two Sessions of China sent a clear signal to the world: the modernization process of 1.4 billion people will surely provide the world with a larger market, better solutions, and more possibilities through a higher level of opening-up, and write a new chapter of win-win cooperation with the world using Chinese wisdom.