Political Lens

Remains of former vice-premier Zou Jiahua cremated

The remains of Zou Jiahua, a former Chinese vice-premier, were cremated in Beijing on Thursday.

Xi Jinping, along with other Party and State leaders including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng, bid farewell to Zou at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery on Thursday morning. Zou died on Sunday in Beijing at the age of 99.

Amid solemn music, they walked slowly toward Zou's body and stood in silent tribute. They then paid their final respects with three bows, shook hands with Zou's family and offered condolences.

Zou had served as a member of the Political Bureau of the 14th Communist Party of China Central Committee and vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the ninth National People's Congress.

He was extolled as an excellent CPC member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian revolutionist, and an outstanding leader in boosting China's economic development and national defense industry and advancing the socialist legal system.

Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and Hu Jintao either visited Zou while he was in hospital or mourned him and sent condolences to his family through various means following his passing.

Premier chairs State Council study session

Premier Li Qiang underscored the importance of ensuring that the country's economic policies better benefit people's well-being and promote consumption, as he chaired a study session of the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Thursday.

Li emphasized that boosting consumption is not only a leverage for expanding demand and stabilizing economic growth in the short term, but also a key step toward the transformation of the development model in the long term.

To harness the country's consumption potential, the premier called for efforts to address people's needs and enhance services in sectors such as education, healthcare, culture, sports, tourism, elderly care and domestic services.

He also highlighted the importance of fostering consumption in the scientific and technological sectors by unlocking the potential of artificial intelligence terminal products and promoting consumption in niche markets by catering to diverse and differentiated products and services, among others.

Official calls for addressing people's practical concerns

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for efforts to care about different social groups and focus on addressing the practical concerns facing them.

Cai made the remarks on Thursday at a meeting attended by the country's social work officials.

He called on the officials to uphold and strengthen the Party's leadership, adhere to a people-centered approach, and make continuous advances in modernizing social governance.

Cai said the "Fengqiao model" for promoting community-level governance in the new era should be applied and further developed, and he urged efforts to encourage all sectors to actively participate in social governance.

The model is a grassroots governance approach that emerged in the 1960s in Fengqiao, a town in Zhejiang province. It emphasizes resolving conflicts locally through community participation and cooperation to maintain social stability.

Xinhua - China Daily