Proposals aim to have tangible impact on people's daily lives, international cooperation

Boats ply a waterway in an ecological scenic area in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in December. [SHI BAIRONG/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Gu Shuzhong, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and environmental policy professional, had already submitted five proposals to this year's two sessions before the annual political event opened on Monday.

His proposals focus on environmental governance and green development, including suggestions for further improving the river and lake chief system — in which government heads are designated to be in charge of protecting water bodies within their jurisdiction — and accelerating the establishment of an interprovincial compensation mechanism for the production and sale of grain.

Gu Shuzhong, a CPPCC member and environmental policy professional. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Gu's suggestions are based on research and investigation in the past year while serving as a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee.

As integral players in multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, CPPCC members serve as advisers for government, legislative and judicial organs, and are tasked with putting forward proposals on major political and social issues.

About 2,100 national political advisers will gather in Beijing on Monday to attend the annual conference, along with that of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body, making up the two sessions.

Last year, the CPPCC National Committee added a new group focused on the environment and natural resources, consisting of professionals and officials in related fields.

It was the first time a new group had been launched by the CPPCC National Committee since a group focused on economics was added in 1993. In response, many provincial CPPCC committees also launched their own groups to focus on the environment and natural resources.

Gu, a senior research fellow from the Institute of Resource and Environmental Policy of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the move reflects the central leadership's attention to the issue.

At the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection held in Beijing in July, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, stressed that the coming five years will be critical to the building of a "Beautiful China".

Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the country should make remarkable achievements in building a Beautiful China, support high-quality development with a high-quality ecological environment and accelerate the advancement of modernization featuring harmony between humanity and nature.

He said the committees of the CPPCC at all levels should intensify efforts to conduct special consultation and democratic oversight in boosting ecological conservation.

Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau and China's vice-premier, urged political advisers to leverage their professions while taking part in a group meeting of advisers from the environment and resource group during the two sessions last year.

He underscored the need to accelerate socioeconomic development with a comprehensive green transformation, proactively and steadily work toward the targets of carbon dioxide peaking and carbon neutrality, enhance capacity to ensure the supply of key energy resources, and sort out prominent ecological and environmental problems that directly affect people's lives.