People focus 'crucial' to govt strategy

Policy demonstrates good leadership, rapid development in China: experts

The firm determination of China's new government to further practice the people-centered approach to improving people's well-being is impressive and should be respected by the world, foreign experts said.

At his first news conference in Beijing on Monday, the newly elected Premier Li Qiang stressed the philosophy of people-centered governance in response to a question on the goals and priorities of the new Cabinet.

"The ultimate aim of the work of the Party and the government is to improve the well-being of the people," said Li, who vowed to make solid efforts on concerns such as housing, employment, income, education, medical services and the environment.

Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, dean of the College of Local Administration at Khon Kaen University in Thailand, said such approach of people-oriented development is a good explanation of how China enjoyed rapid development over the past years and it is also proof of its good leadership.

"As a resident from Thailand, a close neighbor of China, I do admire the achievements that China has made for its people over the past years. A people-centered policymaking principle played a crucial role," he said.

Peerasit said the governance philosophy is a good practice that the Chinese government has done for a long time. "China has a large population and its government feels obliged to work for the common interests of its people," he added.

He said Li's commitment showed the new government's determination to further enhance people's welfare.

Nikola Vasilyevich Dusan, a Russian ophthalmologist who received the Chinese government's Friendship Award in 2009, said practicing a people-oriented development approach in a big country of 1.4 billion people is challenging and respectable.

Having devoted two decades of his life to helping Chinese patients, Dusan said he knows how tough the task in front is for the Chinese government to meet the needs of its people who live in such a vast land with a great diversity of cultural, economic and geological conditions.

As a doctor, Dusan said he has been focusing on the welfare of Chinese people for years, especially healthcare. He said China's medical system has become more advanced after several major reforms over the past decades.

"Now, China is facing new challenges from an aging society, like many other countries do. So an improved medical system with better services and more extensive facilities will be highly expected by its people, those in the elderly group in particular," Dusan said.

Confidence expressed

He expressed confidence in the new government's performance in the next five years. Also, he predicts better living conditions for Chinese people due to the country's rapid economic growth.

As China set its GDP growth target of about 5 percent this year, Premier Li emphasized that the country will keep to the direction of socialist market economic reform and promote higher-level opening-up.

"Li's remarks will boost market confidence, especially against the background of uncertainties in the global economy," Wichai Kinchong Choi, senior vice-president of leading Thai bank Kasikornbank, said.

He said China's GDP growth target is a conservative estimate. "The Chinese government has attached great importance to high-quality development, which is mainly supported by innovation and green technology. This is a positive sign to the world," he said.

China plays a crucial role in the post-pandemic recovery of the world economy, as it shares its big trade platform with the world, Choi said. He said the country's reform and opening-up will also contribute to a higher standard of international trade rules.