Global attention will turn to Beijing next week with the start of the two sessions, China's biggest annual political event, through which the people's voices will be heard by policymakers, while the country's development priorities will be discussed.

With the people's well-being in mind, President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has since 2013 leveraged the two sessions to hold discussions with grassroots-level lawmakers and political advisers from across the country, listening to their suggestions on the country's development.

Two sessions refer to the annual gatherings in Beijing of the deputies to the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, and the members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top political advisory body.

As an embodiment of whole-process people's democracy, the two sessions have become a strong bond linking the Chinese leader and people at the grassroots level.

At discussions during the two sessions about the country's development priorities, Xi has touched upon a variety of topics, including efforts to promote high-quality growth, foster new quality productive forces, enhance innovation in science and technology, and strengthen ecological conservation.

He has always highlighted the need to make every effort to enable China's 1.4 billion people to lead a better life on the path to Chinese modernization.

When he took part in deliberations with NPC deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu province last year, Xi emphasized the need to adhere to the people-centered development philosophy. "We must steadily enhance the level of livelihood security through development, and guide and motivate our people to create a happy life with their own hands," he said.

People-centered development has been at the core of Xi's governance philosophy. When he has conducted inspections nationwide, he has always visited rural areas and urban communities to see how people are faring in their lives.

Last year, he spent a total of more than 30 days on inspection tours, visiting 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as well as the Macao Special Administrative Region. He visited farmers' homes, orchards and farm fields, as well as urban communities, seaports and high-tech industrial parks.

"As far as Chinese modernization is concerned, the people's well-being is prioritized," Xi told local residents when visiting a rural community during his inspection tour of Chongqing in April. "All the work of the Party and the government is aimed at ensuring a happier life for the ordinary people," he added.

On Jan 22, ahead of Chinese New Year, Xi braved the cold to visit people who had been affected by floods in the village of Zhujiagou in Huludao, Liaoning province. He visited villagers who had moved into their new houses and inquired about the quality of the reconstructed homes and whether their daily necessities were adequate.

Wang Lili, Party chief of the village, said that what Xi cares about most is whether the villagers affected by the floods live a good life.

"President Xi's care brings warmth and happiness to our hearts," she said.

According to the Ministry of Finance, 70 percent of government expenditures in 2024 went toward ensuring the people's well-being.

In his 2025 New Year message, Xi said: "Of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people. ... We should work together to steadily improve social undertakings and governance, build a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere, and settle real issues, big or small, for our people. We must bring more smiles to our people and greater warmth to their hearts."

Regarding the Chinese president's visit in 2018 to Liangjiahe, a village in Shaanxi province, where Xi had stayed for seven years as an "educated youth" in his teens, Faustin-Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic, said that he was impressed by Xi's strong connections with the people.

"Xi is deeply rooted in the people, always standing with the people and serving the people," Touadera said in an interview with China Global Television Network.

Under Xi's leadership, the Party has made it a major task of Chinese modernization to ensure and improve people's livelihood through development.

The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which was held in July, adopted a resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, with a focus on enhancing people's quality of life, improving the income distribution system, promoting an employment-first policy, strengthening the social security system and deepening reform of the healthcare system.

Guo Jianning, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of Marxism, said that putting people first underpins the governance philosophy and core values of the Party.

Ensuring that the people lead better lives serves as both the starting point and the ultimate goal of the Party to further deepen reform on all fronts, Guo said in an article published by China Education News.

While striving to improve the well-being of its own people, China, led by Xi, has also been committed to promoting the world's common development to ensure a better life for people in all countries.

"On the path toward modernization, no one and no country should be left behind," Xi said at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September, calling on China and Africa to join hands to boost the modernization of the Global South to contribute to peace, security, prosperity and progress around the world.

caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn