Full coverage: 2017 NPC & CPPCC Sessions

By Han Xu, director of political system research office, Institute of Political Science, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, cartoon drawing by Liao Tingting.

On the afternoon of March 5, Xi Jinping, Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, joined a panel discussion with deputies to the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) from Shanghai Municipality.

Xi's remarks covered the construction of free trade zones, innovation-driven development, and seeking the route for megacity governance from the overall perspective of national governance. It injected ideological power for the Party, and people of all nationalities to implement the new development initiatives, and create a new situation for economic and social development.

New practices should be conducted in deepening pilot free trade zones reforms, promoting science and technology innovation, improving social management and governing the Party in an all-around and strict manner.

The four practices proposed by Xi is considered the general directive for Shanghai to deepen reform and opening up, lead innovation-driven development and urban management innovations.

It's a crucial period to implement the 13th five-year plan with intensive tasks for deepening comprehensive reforms, which demands we roll up our sleeves to work harder for achieving the goal for a comprehensive well-off society with new practices and results.

(The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com)

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