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To Nevenx Pierre, a French restaurant owner in Beijing, the
annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), due to
open in March, mean bright red halls, reports and press conferences
on TV.
After opening a restaurant serving Western food in Beijing three
years ago, the French man is quite aware of the importance of the
annual NPC and CPPCC sessions to the Chinese people.
"Every year in March, televisions in our restaurant will be
fixed on the two sessions channel," he said. "It's a special
service for Chinese customers."
But to more foreigners in Beijing, the political center of
China, the annual NPC and CPPCC sessions are not merely the special
focus of Chinese people any longer.
As an investment consultant in a foreign enterprise in Beijing,
Wu Qide from Singapore sees the two sessions as a golden
opportunity for him to seize investment opportunities and perceive
the economic development trends in China.
"The 'Report on the Work of the Government' which will be
delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao is what I most care about," said
Wu.
With five years of working experiences in Beijing, Wu knows "a
sentence in the Premier's report may bring the opening of an
industry".
Sam Goya, a lawyer from the United States, found that messages
released from the annual NPC and CPPCC sessions have become very
important for him, as "more and more clients will ask me how to
understand information released from the two sessions."
As an analyst noted, China's entry into the World Trade
Organization (WTO) accelerates the integration of China's economy
and the world economy. As a result, both China's domestic market
and its export fluctuation have drawn attention from the whole
world.
"For most foreign businessmen, policy messages released by the
NPC and CPPCC every year may become golden opportunities," said the
analyst.
For foreigners in Beijing, the attraction of the two annual
sessions not only is reflected in the economic fields, but in every
aspect of society.
What Prof. Michael Prosser of Beijing Language and Culture
University centers on is the comprehensive development of a
"XIAOKANG society," or a relatively affluent society in China.
For the 68-year-old man from the United States, China is an
"amazing Oriental country" and "What China should be most proud of
is that even in the process of its transition from the planned
economy to the market economy, it still sees steady and rapid
economic growth".
"It is different from many countries which have also experienced
such a transition but with unrest or in a painful way."
What most interests Sendi from Saudi Arabia is China's
reflection on the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)
epidemic.
"It's a global problem," said Sendi.
Studying traditional Chinese medical sciences in Beijing, Send
wonders how China, the earliest country to study human health
sciences, will handle epidemics in the future after the SARS
epidemic killed hundreds of lives in the world.
As a project manager in Shell's China branch, Noel Eric Ang from
the Philippines would like to consider himself a Beijinger as the
transportation situation in China's capital draws much of his
attention.
"Everybody living in this city is talking about the traffic
problem, including us foreigners," said Noel Eric Ang.
In the recently-ended second session of the 12th Beijing
Municipal People's Congress, a series of city development projects
were issued by the Beijing Municipal government, which satisfied
Noel Eric Ang to some extent.
Living in Beijing for two years, what Noel appreciates is not
only the history and culture of this city, but also "the
cooperation and close relationship between the government and the
local people".
As a metropolis, Beijing boasts over 50,000 resident
foreigners.
(Xinhua News Agency February 29, 2004)
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