Reporter's Diary: Looking ahead as the Congress closes

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The 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) finished with a flourish of excitement on Tuesday afternoon as it was confirmed that Xi Jinping Thought had been enshrined in the CPC Constitution.

As the media arrived at the Great Hall of the People ahead of the closing session, buses lined Tiananmen Square, the 2,200-plus delegates already delivered. Journalists queued – some since 3 a.m. – to enter the venue for the closing session, and expectations were high.

CGTN Photo

Inside the auditorium the session had already begun. As another queue formed, waiting journalists were quick to offer their insights and explain why attending the event was important to them.

'A new development era'

“If you want to understand the economic future of the world you have to understand the political system of China,” said Andrew Buzarov, deputy chief editor of The Economist Ukraine.

AllAfrica’s Cameroonian reporter Kimeng Hilton Ndukong added that China had entered “a new development era” that would have knock-on effects for his continent.

Guido Santevecchi, a five-year China veteran with Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, told us the world was watching closely to see whether Xi Jinping Thought would be inscribed into the CPC Constitution.

CGTN's Sim Sim Wissgott /CGTN Photo

And soon afterwards their curiosity was sated: not only was the CPC’s new Central Committee and the new Central Commission for Discipline Inspection elected, but delegates voted unanimously to enshrine Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in the Party’s Constitution.

CGTN Photo

On the balcony overlooking the delegates, the conductor of the PLA brass band quietly got to his feet, followed by the rest of the ensemble. As they prepared their trombones and horns, the Congress was clearly coming to an end.

Xi asked everyone in the Great Hall of the People to stand up, and received rapturous applause as he called on the Party to do its utmost for the people as China moved into the new era. The band began playing, as China’s top-ranking officials shook hands and slowly dispersed from the stage.

CGTN Photo

For journalists, this was the signal to get out of the auditorium quickly and into prime position for interviewing delegates, who were slowly making their way towards the exit.

Looking ahead to 'a historic mission'

Stepping out into the sunshine beaming across Tiananmen Square, delegates began pouring out onto the steps outside the Great Hall, where most were happy to talk to reporters and share their thoughts about the Congress and what was in store over the next five years.

“This meeting was inspiring and magnificent. I think it lays a really great foundation not only for the upcoming five to 10 years, but the next 50 years,” said a female professor from Fudan University in Shanghai.

“I feel really honored to have attended this conference... I think after this meeting we will all be clearer on our goals and we can do our jobs better,” she said as delegates rushed for the buses awaiting them on the square.

One model worker said he would do his best to inspire others and contribute to “building our great nation,” while another delegate praised the Party for uniting people and called for the need “to work harder, unite and build a prosperous society.”

“The congress is not only about the strategic development of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, it also relates to the dream and future of every Party member and every person across China,” Guan Xin, a delegate from the People’s Liberation Army Navy told CGTN.

There are still challenges ahead, added delegate Jiang Ying, dean of the law school at China University of Labor Relations, noting the “tremendous changes that happened across our country” over the last five years.

“The next step is to solidify what we have accomplished. I think we should broaden and deepen our reforms,” she said.

Xi’s talk of prioritizing education, medical care and environmental protection, as well as his emphasis on jobs, showed his concern for the people, Jiang noted.

(L-R) CGTN journalists Nicholas Moore, Sim Sim Wissgott and John Goodrich /CGTN Photo

“Now we’re standing at a new crossroads in history… We have achieved great social wealth. For our next step we need to work on building a prosperous and strong socialist country,” she said, calling Xi’s Thought a “historic mission.”

The space in front of the Great Hall was quickly cleared, and Tiananmen Square was suddenly quiet, empty except for pockets of journalists wrapping up their reports, with Mao Zedong’s portrait in the background.

History echoes around this silent center of Beijing, and surely weighs on the minds of the delegates returning to every corner of China, as they move forward into the future knowing there is still much work that needs to be done.