BEIJING, March 2 -- When China's annual "two sessions" convene in Beijing each spring, the discussions of national lawmakers and political advisors extend well beyond macroeconomic targets and national blueprints.
The meetings are also opportunities for them and President Xi Jinping, who is a national lawmaker himself, to drill down into the everyday concerns of ordinary people -- safe housing and transport, employment, healthcare, education and other concrete details that shape daily life.
More than 2,100 kilometers from Beijing, the fate of a small mountain village in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, had long weighed on the mind of Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
During the 2017 "two sessions," while joining a deliberation with lawmakers from Sichuan, Xi spoke of his concern after seeing media reports that residents of Atulie'er, widely known as the "cliff village," had to climb rattan ladders clinging to a sheer precipice to reach the outside world.
"Seeing it left me with a heavy heart -- it was deeply distressing," Xi recalled. He said he later felt somewhat relieved after learning that a new steel ladder with handrails had been completed by the end of 2016, improving travel conditions for villagers.
Perched in a mountain hollow at an altitude of 1,600 meters, Atulie'er was emblematic of poverty-stricken areas in western China. After Xi took the top office, China launched a nationwide campaign against poverty, aiming to lift all rural residents above the absolute poverty line within about a decade, nearly 100 million people in total. The entire nation was mobilized in support of this effort.
Xi, notably, traveled extensively to inspect poverty alleviation work firsthand. He also used key occasions such as the "two sessions" to press for progress, coordinate action and hear feedback from the grassroots.
At the 2022 gathering, Xi was briefed about fresh updates from the "cliff village." As part of a state-led relocation program designed to assist residents in inhospitable areas, villagers from Atulie'er had begun moving to a nearby county seat. The community was also developing tourism as a new source of income.
After reviewing before-and-after photos of the village, Xi asked detailed questions about children's schooling and access to medical services for the elderly. This time, he appeared reassured.
"The village has truly taken a big step forward -- thanks to the Party and the country's policies. We're planning projects such as a canyon adventure camp and a cultural experience camp, and life is getting better and better," said Jilie Ziri, a lawmaker from Liangshan.
Over the years, improving people's livelihoods has remained central to Xi's agenda at the "two sessions." He has closely followed developments in Shibadong Village in central China's Hunan Province, where many young migrants have returned from the more prosperous eastern coastal regions to start businesses, injecting new vitality into their hometown.
His focus on livelihood issues spans diverse regions and varying development needs. During the "two sessions" in 2021, Xi joined lawmakers from Qinghai Province and asked questions about daily life in a small village on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Residents have engaged in distinctive local industries, ranging from ethnic-style embroidery to solar power projects, tailored to the region's unique conditions.
The people-centered approach was also evident during last year's "two sessions," when Xi met Li Xiaona, a lawmaker from Jiangsu Province in east China. Xi asked in detail about conditions in her community and set out specific expectations.
Senior canteens, he said, should operate in ways suited to local circumstances and remain financially sustainable. Home-based elderly care services should be strengthened, and more professionals in geriatric medicine and nursing should be trained.
This year, a major focus of the "two sessions" will be the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization.
"Chinese modernization puts people's well-being first. All the work of the Party and the government is aimed at ensuring the people a happier life," Xi has said.
Last October, the Party's leadership passed a set of recommendations for drafting the plan, which included a dedicated section on ensuring and improving public well-being. This section covers employment, income distribution, education, social security, housing and healthcare, which are areas closely tied to people's daily lives.
Last month, Xi visited a downtown area in Beijing during his pre-Spring Festival inspection. He dropped by an elderly home and a community canteen where diners aged 60 and above, as well as those in new forms of employment such as delivery workers, are offered a discount.
Xi carefully examined the dishes and asked staff members whether the canteen's operations were sustainable. He also spoke with delivery workers resting in the restaurant, asking about their work and daily lives.
The CPC has recently launched a five-month Party-wide campaign to guide its members, especially officials, in establishing and practicing a correct view on what it means to perform well. Officials across the governance hierarchy are urged to maintain a people-centered approach and take more concrete action to meet public needs.
"The CPC regards serving the people and improving their well-being as the most important measure of performance, and uses the extent to which officials deliver tangible benefits for the people as an important benchmark in evaluating their performance," Xi said.
