China News Agency, Beijing, March 3. Question: How to understand China's two sessions from the news release?

　　——Interview with Cheng Manli, Dean of National Institute of Strategic Communication of Peking University and Distinguished Professor of Minzu University of China

　　Author Cui Bailu

　　The annual two sessions of China are about to kick off.

This year marks the "first year" after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and China's two sessions will be re-elected, which attracts great attention from Chinese and foreign public opinion.

Why China's two sessions attract the attention of the world?

What kind of historical evolution has the news release work of the two sessions experienced?

How to further move towards openness and transparency?

　　Cheng Manli, dean of the National Institute of Strategic Communication of Peking University and a distinguished professor of the Minzu University of China, who recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West", said that the press release system of China's two sessions has been continuously developed and improved along with the reform and opening up process, with more advanced concepts and more content. It is richer and more diverse in form, and plays an important role in promoting the openness of government affairs, optimizing national governance, and meeting the information needs of the public at home and abroad.

Data map: The Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang

The interview transcript is summarized as follows:

Reporter from China News Agency: China is about to enter the "two sessions", and Chinese and foreign public opinion is highly concerned. Why does China's two sessions attract the attention of the world?

Cheng Manli:

The annual two sessions of China are not only a major event in the political life of the country, but also a window for the world to observe and understand China.

The topics of China's two sessions involve all aspects of China's development, and it is also the platform with the most government information releases, the highest frequency, and the richest content.

　　The influence of the two sessions has long gone beyond China, attracting the attention of the world every year.

Its growing importance is closely related to the continuous improvement of China's status in the global political and economic fields.

As the world's second largest economy and the largest trader of goods developed in the process of globalization, China today is closely connected with the development of the world economy.

With the accelerated evolution of major changes unseen in a century, the world has entered a new period of turmoil and change. In the face of increasing risks, challenges and uncertainties in the world, China's domestic and foreign policies are also attracting the attention of the world.

Therefore, in addition to domestic audiences, foreign politicians, media, experts and scholars also use the two sessions to understand China's development and perceive China's policies and future trends in politics, economy, and diplomacy.

To understand the "two sessions of China", is to understand the "Chinese story".

Data map: In the Xiling Gorge section of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, ships on the river shuttle back and forth, and the ro-ro terminal operates around the clock.

The picture shows the busy Zigui ro-ro terminal.

Photo by Zheng Jiayu

China News Agency reporter: What kind of historical evolution has the news release work of the two sessions of China experienced?

Cheng Manli:

The news release work of China's two sessions can be traced back to the early stage of reform and opening up 40 years ago.

　　From the founding of New China to the early stage of reform and opening up, China rarely used the form of a spokesperson to release news, and only a few press conferences were held during this period.

For example, the more influential ones are: On September 29, 1965, then Foreign Minister Chen Yi held a press conference in the Great Hall of the People to refute the military encirclement of China by the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 300 Chinese and foreign journalists participated in the interview.

　　The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1978 ushered in a new historical period of reform, opening up and socialist modernization.

At that time, the international community was eager to understand China, and China also hoped to send a positive and open signal to the world.

In this context, as an important measure of China's reform and opening up, China's press release system came into being.

　　In February 1983, the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Leading Group for International Propaganda jointly issued the "Opinions on Implementing the Establishment of a Press Spokesperson System" and Strengthening the Work with Foreign Journalists, requiring the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and various departments of the State Council that have more foreign exchanges to establish System, release news regularly or irregularly.

On March 1, 1983, Qi Huaiyuan, the new director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was officially appointed as the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held the first press conference.

On April 23, 1983, the China Journalists Association introduced the spokespersons of various ministries and commissions of the State Council and people's organizations to Chinese and foreign journalists for the first time, officially announcing the establishment of a spokesperson system in China.

　　In June 1983, the First Session of the Sixth National People's Congress and the First Session of the Sixth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference were held in Beijing.

This year, China's two sessions held a press conference for the first time. Zeng Tao, then Deputy Secretary-General of the First Session of the Sixth National People's Congress, and Sun Qimeng, Deputy Secretary-General of the First Session of the Sixth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, became the first spokespersons of the two sessions and released a press conference to Chinese and foreign reporters. News about the two sessions.

　　Since then, the news release work of the two sessions has continued to reform and open up, and it has continued to this day, and has been continuously improved and innovated in content and form.

For example, in 1988, China Central Television reported the press conference of the two sessions of China through live TV for the first time; since 1993, the press conference of the Premier of the State Council has become normalized and institutionalized. The era has come. The two sessions of China started live webcasting for the first time in 2004, and the media also began to interview deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference through online interviews.

Data map: The Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan

　　The 2014 NPC and CPPCC was called "the first NPC and CPPCC in the WeChat era".

This year, the Information Center of the National People's Congress and the News Team of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference launched the WeChat official account to release information for the first time.

From government news releases to representatives' exchanges, to media interviews and live broadcasts, WeChat has further improved the convenience and openness of information transmission and news reports of the two sessions.

　　Looking back at history, we can see that the press release system of China's two sessions has been continuously developed and improved along with the process of reform and opening up. The concept is more advanced, the content is richer, and the form is more diverse. etc. play an important role.

China News Agency reporter: In addition to the press conference, the channels for ministers, representatives and committee members are also a highlight of China's two sessions. Relevant heads of ministries and commissions, deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference go to the channels to face concerns and respond on the spot. What is the role?

Cheng Manli:

The emergence of the ministerial channel, representative channel and committee member channel has added a touch of color to the news release of the two sessions of China.

　　Before 2013, there were few opportunities for the media to have direct contact with the heads of ministries and commissions, and reporters could only conduct short-term interviews in the way of "siege and interception" on the passages they often enter and exit.

Since 2014, the two sessions of China began to have a special person responsible for arranging the leaders of the ministries and commissions to be interviewed in the ministerial channel, which not only established a communication bridge between the government departments, the media and the public, but also reflected that the main leaders of the government actively responded to concerns and were frank. A sense of responsibility for communication.

　　Although the ministerial channel has become an important bridge for conveying government information, the number of deputies to the People's Congress from the grassroots and members of the CPPCC in various professional fields is larger and has a wide range of representation.

Therefore, since 2018, in addition to opening the channel of ministers as usual, the two sessions of China have also opened the channel of representatives and committee members, which is refreshing.

Among the representatives of all parties, there are workers, farmers, professional technicians, and grassroots cadres from the front line, as well as representatives from various democratic parties, people without party affiliation, people's organizations, ethnic minorities, and representatives from all walks of life. They appeared on the channel and faced the camera , directly express public opinion, tell the voice of the heart, and show the demeanor.

　　In recent years, more and more relevant heads of ministries and commissions, deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have taken to the channel during the two sessions to release authoritative information in a more down-to-earth way of close interviews, face social concerns, and respond to difficult problems on the spot. A confident and responsible attitude not only increases the amount of information released by the two sessions, but also improves the degree of information disclosure. It not only meets the information needs of the domestic public, but also responds to the needs of foreign publics, reflecting the proactive, open and transparent concept of China's two sessions.

China News Service reporter: In the era of all media, with the rapid development of mobile Internet technology and media integration, new media and new technologies play an important role in all aspects of China's two sessions; at the same time, the public opinion environment of "everyone is a participant" also Bring new challenges and new requirements to news release work.

How will China's NPC and CPPCC respond to this change?

Cheng Manli:

From the historical development of the press releases of the two sessions of China, we can clearly see the role of new media and new technologies in the overall process and various links of the two sessions.

　　The update of technical means and the integration and development of media have enabled the information of the two sessions to be more fully presented and disseminated in a wider range.

From the initial on-site news release, to live TV broadcast, to webcast, cloud live broadcast, and even holographic images, the news release methods of China's two sessions are changing with each passing day, becoming more and more open, convenient, efficient, and transparent.

Data map: Reporters use multimedia equipment to conduct interviews.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yazi

　　At the same time, the public opinion environment in the era of social media also brings certain challenges to news release.

The so-called "everyone is a participant" means that everyone can become a participant in news dissemination by using self-media.

As far as the two sessions are concerned, in the past, while the public paid attention to the information of the two sessions and government policies, if they had ideas and appeals on some specific issues, it was difficult for their voices to be directly transmitted to the two sessions or spread widely through the news media.

But these viewpoints do not mean that they are unimportant. Some of these appeals are very real and deserve social attention.

At present, the emergence of social media and the participation of netizens have greatly shortened the process of forming public opinion, allowing the public's opinions and appeals to be widely disseminated, which has attracted the attention of all walks of life, which is conducive to conveying public opinion and solving appeals. The uncontrollable, unpredictable, and irreversible process of rapid increase and qualitative change may also form negative public opinion, and bring certain challenges to the government's information release, information management, and public opinion response.

　　Therefore, the news release work in the information age must provide information actively, timely and effectively, and meet the information needs of the public at home and abroad.

It is also necessary to maintain sensitivity, take social public opinion and public demands seriously, especially the urgent and anxious issues of the public, respond to concerns in a timely manner, and do a good job of clarifying doubts and two-way communication to make news releases more grounded and effective.

(over)

Respondent profile:

　　Cheng Manli, Dean of National Institute of Strategic Communication of Peking University, Distinguished Professor of Minzu University of China, Honorary President of China Journalism History Association, Executive President of Journalism Research Association of Peking University, Special Post Professor of "Cheung Kong Scholars" of the Ministry of Education, National Social Science Fund Chief expert on major topics.

The main research fields are the history of news communication, international communication, and overseas Chinese media, and published "Research on <Bee Chinese Newspaper>", "Research on Overseas Chinese Media", "External Communication and Effect Research", "International Communication Course", "Introduction to the History of Foreign News Communication" "From International Communication to National Strategic Communication—Cheng Manli Research Collection" and other books, textbooks, and more than 300 academic papers.

　　Since 2003, he has been entrusted to participate in the training of spokespersons of various ministries and commissions, governments at all levels, and party committees, as well as the training of expatriate journalists from mainstream media, heads of "going global" enterprises, directors of Confucius Institutes, and teachers.

In 2019, with the national "Belt and Road" inter-ministerial joint working group, he went to the countries along the route to inspect, and provided training for the heads of local Chinese-funded enterprises in responding to public opinion. After the new crown epidemic in 2020, he continued to conduct relevant online training.