Sidelights: Opening of the Third Session of the 14th Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, What Good Strategies and Practical Measures Do the Members Bring?

On January 14th, the 14th Session of the Shanghai Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference opened at the World Expo Center. (Photo by Zhao Yun, The Paper)

From rental housing to the mental health of working professionals, from artificial intelligence to innovative drug research and development, from cultural tourism consumption to the low-altitude economy… It is time for the “Shanghai Two Sessions” again, and CPPCC members will offer their suggestions on social hotspots and issues that are important to the people.

In the morning of January 14th, the 14th Session of the Shanghai CPPCC opened its third meeting at the World Expo Center.

Before the opening ceremony, many CPPCC members gathered in the hall and enthusiastically exchanged their topics of concern, creating a warm atmosphere inside the venue.

“In the new year, Shanghai still needs to work more on internationalization.” Zheng Shaohua, a CPPCC member of Shanghai and vice president of Shanghai政法学院, said whether it is talent attraction and retention or the creation of a vibrant atmosphere, Shanghai still has more work to do on internationalization. He brought two proposals this year, one of which is to establish the Shanghai International Law and Comparative Law School to cultivate practical涉外 talents.

“I am very excited to hear more pragmatic suggestions at the Two Sessions.” Cai Yongjie, a CPPCC member and professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, said this year he will continue to offer suggestions in the field of urban construction. Last year, he focused on urban micro-renewal, hoping that small social capital could participate in urban renewal, forming a two-way effort with the government and large enterprises. This year, he turned to issues of improving the performance of existing resources, such as increasing the building density in newly developed urban areas.

The topics of concern for CPPCC members are diverse, covering not only the construction of the “five centers” of economy, finance, trade, shipping, and technological innovation, but also high-quality development such as optimizing the business environment and promoting consumption transformation and upgrading. They also cover issues related to people’s well-being such as city renewal, employment and entrepreneurship, healthcare, and serving the elderly and children. In addition, they also focus on the construction of soft power in urban culture such as Haipai culture and cultural landmarks.

When talking in detail, CPPCC members are well prepared. Zhang Jinquan, a CPPCC member of Shanghai and an equity partner at Beijing Zhonglun (Shanghai) Law Firm, brought a proposal on “Guiding Social Capital to Assist in the Revitalization of Rural Areas with Shanghai Characteristics.” He spent two months last year leading a team to visit villages in Pudong and Chongming, communicating with domestic and foreign agricultural enterprises, and finally formed a 32-page research report.

He said, “I am an old CPPCC member for two sessions, but I position myself as a new member. Each proposal and social opinion needs careful research and careful polishing to provide precise suggestions to relevant functional departments. Only in this way can such suggestions be implemented.”

Li Yan, a CPPCC member and professor at the Department of Sports Humanities of Shanghai University, focuses on the elderly care industry. In the past year, she visited nursing homes, elderly care communities, elderly industry associations, and even home decoration associations to fully understand the daily life needs of the elderly, suitable aging modifications, etc.

During frequent research, she had some unexpected gains. “The elderly are always very happy to see me and like to chat,” which made her realize the emotional needs of the elderly beyond hardware facilities. She began to think about how to encourage young people to enter elderly care communities and how society can work on making it enjoyable for seniors to be productive in their later years.

At the annual Two Sessions meeting, some topics are repeatedly mentioned and some proposals have been efficiently implemented. At the 2024 Shanghai Two Sessions meeting, “the difficulty of payment for inbound tourists in China” was a topic of heated discussion among CPPCC members. This year, the number of foreign tourists on Shanghai streets has surged, and payment is no longer an issue as they praise the convenience of Alipay and WeChat Pay.

Focusing on the transformation work of “two old villages”, Wang Haitao and other 23 CPPCC members jointly proposed innovative solutions such as a “housing voucher placement” model in 2024. Subsequently, within seven months, Shanghai’s first “housing voucher” was issued in Jinshan District.

At the opening ceremony of the CPPCC conference, Shanghai CPPCC Chairman Hu Wenrong said that over the past year, the CPPCC has held various types of consultation meetings such as thematic consultations and inspections covering 244 events with 3920 participants who submitted 24 research reports to the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal