The first session of the 14th National People's Congress closes in Beijing on March 13. Photo: Xinhua

On Monday, while delivering an important speech at the closing meeting of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that the relay baton of building a great modern socialist country and advancing national rejuvenation has been historically passed on to our generation and we must make due contributions of our generation in accordance with the strategic decisions of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

At a time when the world is full of turmoil, difficulties and confusion, a China that has always been truly centered on the people, dedicated to development, and willing to benefit the world has shown a high degree of stability and certainty. This is the blessing of the Chinese people and the whole world. 

The 20th National Congress of the CPC drew a grand blueprint for China's future. The first session of the 14th NPC successfully completed various agendas and elected state leaders and endorsed the new lineup of the State Council, which indicates that the pace of the new journey has already been set. Indeed, after the two sessions, the sense of direction of the Chinese society has become clearer, and confidence and enthusiasm have been consolidated and supplemented. For the international community, the firm belief in peaceful development and win-win cooperation conveyed by China's two sessions, and the vision of promoting high-level opening-up, building a human community with a shared future are all scarce goods and positive energy in today's world.

After the closing of the first session of the 14th NPC, Premier Li Qiang attended a press conference and answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists about the new government's policy goals, China's economic prospects, the future development of Hong Kong and Macao, the development of the private economy, cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, China-US relations and other fields. He said that the task of the new government is to implement and deliver on the important decisions and plans laid out by the Party's Central Committee, turn the inspiring blueprint drawn up at the 20th Party Congress into an implementation scheme, and work with all the people to step by step turn this blueprint into a beautiful reality. These words are very real, and what they describe is actually the process of the CPC governing the country and the whole Chinese society promoting the development of a great country.

From President Xi's important speech to Premier Li's press conference, it is not difficult to see that the important consensus in China at present is: to put the people first, always act for people and rely on them in everything we do; promote high-quality development, which is the foundation of improving people's well-being and also the realistic way to build a great country; adhere to reform and opening-up, and always stand on the right side of history no matter how the external environment changes... These are the common aspirations of the Chinese people, forming the largest common denominator in Chinese society. Therefore, its power will be infinite.

This is a valuable strategic determination and sobriety. In today's world, the political chaos in many countries, especially the US and Western countries, is rooted in the fact that interest groups have kidnapped party politics. On the surface, they repeat "the will of the people," but the practice that "only vote matters" cannot withstand scrutiny as it is all about personal gains. The ruling elites, who are caught up in vicious struggles between political parties for votes, have lost their way on major directional issues of national development and foreign policies, and even often make "sharp turns" in major political policies. This has not only hindered the possibility to solve problems in the country's development, but has also exacerbated internal conflicts and exerted a destructive impact on the whole world.

China has always maintained an attitude of seeking truth from facts - not avoiding problems and pressures, but at the same time, with a positive and promising attitude. It is not afraid of difficulties and obstacles, and dares to confront the challenges. This manner of seeking truth from facts comes from the special nature of the CPC, and once again demonstrates the superiority of the Chinese system. From the inspiring blueprint to the implementation scheme, there is both a top-level design with an eye on the overall situation and a down-to-earth focus on the present. Every link has a structural division of labor, and the connection is becoming smoother and smoother, reflecting the growing maturity of China's political system. The historic achievements made in the past 10 years in the new era have also been translated into the people's full trust and high confidence in the Party and the country.

In fact, as long as China puts forward a strategic plan or long-term goal, not only the Chinese people, but even the whole world believes that China is definitely not just shouting slogans, but will definitely do what it says. Just imagine, if Washington believed that China would not achieve national rejuvenation, would it still be as anxious, sensitive, suspicious, and aggressive as it is now? These abnormal behaviors of the US reflect that China's steady development and huge potential have made the US hegemony, which is accustomed to dominance, feel threatened. It's just that they found the wrong opponent and took the wrong way. Containment and suppression will not make the US great, and it will not stop China's rejuvenation.

Of course, we also know that there are still various difficulties on the way forward for China, as well as foreseeable and unforeseen storms, but we have always achieved new development through overcoming difficulties. A China that is not afraid of difficulties and struggles in unity has embarked on a new journey toward the grand goal of "building a great country and advancing national rejuvenation." It will continue to achieve self-transcendence, and transform this transcendence into a sense of gain and happiness that ordinary people can see and touch. This will also form a huge appeal and attraction to the outside world, thereby providing new ideas and new methods for the world to solve problems and benefit all mankind.