Press Conference before 19th National Congress of CPC

Tuo Zhen, spokesperson for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, holds a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Tuo Zhen, the spokesperson for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.

Tuo introduced the agenda of the upcoming 19th CPC National Congress, which will begin on Wednesday in Beijing, and answered questions from domestic and overseas media.

The 19th CPC National Congress will open Wednesday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and will last seven days till October 24, Tuo said.

Liu Yunshan has been appointed secretary general of the 19th CPC National Congress, according to the spokesperson.

The credentials of 2,280 delegates to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China have been approved, said Tuo.

China maintains commitment to combat poverty in rural areas

China is confident that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee it will win the battle against poverty, Tuo Zhen, spokesman of the 19th CPC National Congress, said on Tuesday.

“Whether we can build a moderately prosperous society, the key lies in the rural population,” he said. “It depends on if the poor population living in the rural areas can be lifted out of poverty.”

To lift all of the rural population living in poverty by the current standard by 2020 is a solid commitment made by the Party, and is a hard target that has to be achieved, Tuo added.

“We will emphasize real efforts, real progress and real results in poverty alleviation,” said Tuo. “To ensure the impact of poverty alleviation work will truly win the recognition of the people and stand the test of history.”

President Xi Jinping has made it a key aim that no one should be left behind in building the moderately prosperous society in all respects, he added.

Xi has presided over 17 meetings and conducted 25 surveys on poverty alleviation.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, to win the battle against poverty, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have rolled out a series of measures and united the efforts of the Party and the country in advancing poverty alleviation.

In the four years to the end of 2016, the number of people living in poverty fell from 98.9 million to 43.3 million.

“We are firmly opposed to the manipulation of numbers and results in poverty alleviation,” Tuo said. “We have implemented the strictest performance evaluation standards and strengthened discipline inspection and supervision on poverty alleviation.”

Those who commit acts of dishonesty and frauds in poverty alleviation will be held accountable, he added.

China will never deviate from the course of reform

China has set a clear direction for advancing reform and “will never deviate from this course”, Tuo Zhen, spokesman for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, said on Tuesday.

Tuo made the comment at a press conference about the upcoming National Congress in response to being asked about the various reforms being advanced in the country.

“Reform is an ongoing process, and there is never an end (in the pursuit of the reform),” Tuo said.

China is firm in taking reform forward and will not slow its pace, he added.

The 19th CPC National Congress will be held in Beijing from Wednesday until Oct 24.

Tuo said it will facilitate strategic deployment for reform and development during the coming five years, and beyond, allow for the planning and advancement of reform at a higher starting point and will unswervingly carry reform forward to the end.

Tuo noted that the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform was established and headed by Xi Jinping, general secretary of CPC Central Committee.

Xi has made plans for and guided the reform, and has chaired 38 meetings of the Leading Group, Tuo said.

A range of symbolic, guiding key measures for reform was introduced and enacted, and the overall framework for reform has been basically established, Tuo added.

The range of influence, plans introduced, interests covered, and efforts made have been “unprecedented”, and many longstanding issues have been resolved, said Tuo.

Speaking about any remaining difficulties for the advancement of reforms, the spokesman noted that there are still many hard nuts to crack in comprehensively deepening reform, such as limitations upon thinking, entrenched interests, and systematic and institutional barriers.

Tuo said there is, therefore, a need to work on priorities, overcome difficulties, and focus on implementation, so that reform will truly serve the need of development and meet the aspirations of the people.

Party will design reforms to fit the nation’s needs

The Communist Party of China has achieved a great deal during its efforts to reform the nation’s political structure and will continue with the work, based upon China’s own conditions, rather than by copying others’ models, said a senior spokesman.

Tuo Zhen, spokesman for the 19th CPC National Congress that will begin on Wednesday, made the remarks at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.

He said the reform of the nation’s political structure has remained a key topic on the Party’s agenda since China adopted its reform and opening-up policy nearly 40 years ago.

“The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee meted out roadmaps for the ongoing comprehensive reforms, including 60 tasks for political structure reform,” Tuo said.

The Fourth Plenary Session published 190 measures to boost the rule of law, and the Sixth Plenary Session arranged for new efforts to be made to improve the management of Party members, Tuo told reporters.

“Thanks to all of these steps and previous measures, the reform of the political structure has had historic accomplishments and has laid a solid foundation for deepening reforms in other sectors,” he said.

The spokesman noted that reform of the political structure “can’t be fulfilled overnight” and that China will not “copy or duplicate others’ models” because it has a unique culture, tradition, history, and conditions.

“Therefore we must walk along the development path that suits our own characteristics,” he said.

Attendees of the 19th CPC National Congress will make comprehensive plans for reforms of the political structure and other systems in accordance with the Party’s experience and unsolved problems, he said. The Party will firmly push forward its endeavors to improve socialism with Chinese characteristics and the government’s governance capabilities, said Tuo.

Cutting debt does not mean cutting growth

Tuo Zhen, spokesman for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, said on Tuesday that reducing debt and stabilizing economic growth are not contradictory policies.

“In the long run, deleveraging will help remove hidden risks that will affect steady and healthy economic development and strengthen medium- and long-term economic resilience,” Tuo said.

China has created a good and steady macroeconomic environment for deleveraging and economic growth by holding onto the fundamental principle of making progress while maintaining stability, continuing to implement active fiscal policy and prudential monetary policy, sticking to supply-side structural reforms and moderately expanding total demands, he said.

“We insisted on taking multiple measures to deleverage to ensure that deleveraging will not make a negative impact on economic growth,” Tuo said.

“At the current stage, deleveraging has made initial progress without bringing obvious austerity effects on the economy,” he added.

China will stick to opening up

China will stick to the opening-up policy and further expand market access to foreign investors, the spokesman of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China said on Tuesday.

Tuo Zhen, the spokesman, said opening up is a basic State policy.

He cited President Xi Jinping, saying that China will not make changes to the basic policy, and will not make changes to the commitments to provide better services to foreign investors.

The State Council, the cabinet, released documents in January and August, and local governments have introduced measures to attract more foreign capital, according to Tuo.

He said there will be renewed efforts to attract foreign investors in the future as the opening up and reform continues.

“The goal is to see a win-win result and common development,” he said.

2,280 delegates will attend Congress

A total of 2,280 delegates from all walks of life will attend the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which starts on Wednesday.

The Party elected 2,287 delegates before the Congress, but seven of them did not pass the final review by the delegate credential committee. “The qualification of the 2,280 delegates is effective,” Tuo Zhen, Congress spokesman, said on Tuesday.

The qualified delegates are from various sectors, including the economy, education, health and justice, and are from all levels of society. For example, 33.8 percent of the delegates come from grassroots departments, 3.3-percentage points higher than the figure of the last Congress, according to Tuo.

Of the delegates, 8.7 percent are workers; 3.8 percent are farmers and 12.4 percent are technicians, he said.

Meanwhile, the number of female delegates and those from ethnic groups have been respectively going up, and more than 70 percent of the total delegates are younger than 55, he said.

In addition, a majority of the delegates joined the Party after the country’s reform and opening-up, he added.

Source：People’s Daily，Xinhua