The 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, concluded its third session on March 11.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders including Li Qiang, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the closing meeting of the session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Entrusted by the session’s presidium, Li Hongzhong, executive chairperson of the presidium, presided over the meeting attended by 2,884 NPC deputies.

Lawmakers approved the government work report.

They adopted a decision to amend the Law on Deputies to the National People’s Congress and to the Local People’s Congresses at Various Levels. President Xi signed a presidential order to promulgate the decision.

Lawmakers approved a report on the implementation of the 2024 plan for national economic and social development and the 2025 draft plan, and approved the 2025 plan.

They approved a report on the execution of the central and local budgets for 2024 and the draft central and local budgets for 2025, and approved the central budget for 2025.

They also approved the work reports of the NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.

Addressing the meeting, Li Hongzhong urged rigorous implementation of the arrangements made at the NPC session and high-quality accomplishment of the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.

Li also called for practicing whole-process people’s democracy, focusing on managing China’s own affairs well, and working tirelessly to build China into a strong country and advance national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization.

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Meets the Press

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi answered questions from Chinese and foreign media about China’s foreign policy and external relations on March 7, 2025 at the Media Center during a press conference held on the margins of the Third Session of the 14th National People’s Congress.

Wang Yi said that China and Africa are always good friends, good partners and good brothers with a shared future. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and African leaders, China-Africa relationship is now at its best in history.

China has established strategic partnership with all African countries having diplomatic ties with it. The China-Africa community with a shared future has been elevated to an “all-weather” level.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of FOCAC. Over the past 25 years, China has helped Africa build or upgrade nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, and more than 10,000 kilometers of railways. In the past three years alone, Chinese enterprises created more than 1.1 million new jobs in Africa.

China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years. To African brothers and sisters, China-Africa cooperation is visible, tangible and truly beneficial. Last year, a Gambian farmer sent a bag of rice he grew all the way to Hunan Province in China to show respect to Yuan Longping, the father of hybrid rice. It is China’s hybrid rice that has helped end hunger and bring hope to them. Stories like these are happening in Africa every day.

Africa is a fertile land of hope of the 21st century. There will be no global modernization without African modernization. The stability and development of Africa is vital to the future of humanity, and the world must listen to Africa and heed its concerns. Africa is going through a new awakening, and countries should support Africa in exploring a new development path of self-reliance and self-strengthening.

This year marks the beginning of implementing the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit. China stands ready to deliver on the ten partnership actions for China and Africa to jointly advance modernization, including supporting Africa in accelerating its industrialization and agricultural modernization, implementing zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines, fostering new growth drivers like digital, green and AI industries, promoting 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects, enhancing governance experience sharing and raising the representation and voice of Africa in international affairs.

This year, the G20 summit will be held on the African continent for the first time. China firmly supports South Africa in carrying out its duty as G20 president, and in leaving a distinctively African mark in global governance.

Ambassador Fan Yong meets with Minister of International Relations Hon. Dr Phenyo Butale

On March 10, Ambassador Fan Yong met with Hon. Dr. Phenyo Butale, Minister of International Relations. The two sides exchanged views on strengthening bilateral relations and friendly cooperation between China and Botswana.

Ambassador Fan said that since the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Botswana, bilateral relations have maintained a sound momentum, with fruitful practical cooperation in various fields.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. China is willing to work with Botswana in joint efforts to deepen political mutual trust and promote new development of China-Botswana strategic partnership.

Hon. Butale said that Botswana attaches great importance to the friendship between the two countries and hopes to further enhance bilateral relations and achieve common development and prosperity.

“Taiwan as province of China” is U.N.’s consistent position: Chinese spokesperson

It has been clearly stated in official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the U.N. Secretariat that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stressed on March 10.

When responding to a question about Taiwan at a press conference on March 7, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the only reference to the Taiwan region in the U.N. is “Taiwan, Province of China.”

“This is the U.N.’s consistent position, which is well documented,” Mao said at a daily briefing in response to a query about whether Wang’s statement shows the Chinese mainland’s tougher policy on Taiwan.

Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971 by the U.N. General Assembly made it clear that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is not a country, and Taiwan is part of China, the spokesperson said.

She said it also made clear that there is only one seat of China in the United Nations, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal representative in the U.N.

“This resolution is observed by the U.N. and its specialized agencies as evidenced by their reference to Taiwan as ‘Taiwan, Province of China,'” she said.

Mao stressed that on the Taiwan question, China’s position is consistent and clear.

“We stay committed to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. We stand ready to work with the greatest sincerity and exert utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification.

“Meanwhile, China will take all necessary measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and firmly oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism and external interference,” she said. 

Tariffs are not the cure for the US Fentanyl crisis

Additional US tariffs on China went into effect on March 4. Under what pretext? Fentanyl. The US has cited illicit drugs “pouring into our country” as the primary reason and blamed China for not doing enough.

The US may see tariffs as the cure. They are not. The only significant effect was a heavier burden on American consumers. The cure must come from within.

In recent years, fentanyl abuse has become a severe crisis in the US. With less than 5% of the world’s population, the country consumes over 80% of the global opioid supply. Statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that synthetic opioids—primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl—were involved in 75,000 overdose deaths in 2023, accounting for nearly 70% of the total. Over 150 Americans die daily from overdoses linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl, making it the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.

A key driver of this crisis is easy access: over-prescription, lax regulation, and insufficient public awareness campaigns. As a Los Angeles County sheriff noted, “Getting fentanyl is as easy as ordering pizza.”

Where is the US government in all this? Instead of addressing root causes, politicians have sought foreign scapegoats—and once again, China is the target. They claim China bears responsibility for the unrelenting crisis and the loss of American lives to illicit drugs.

Anyone familiar with China’s modern history knows the trauma inflicted by the Opium Wars. This legacy fuels China’s deep antipathy toward narcotics and its zero-tolerance policy. The Chinese people empathize with Americans grappling with this crisis.

In fact, China has one of the world’s strictest counter-narcotics policies and enforces it rigorously. In 2019, China became the first nation to classify all fentanyl-related substances as controlled drugs. According to the 2023 China Drug Situation Report, registered drug users in China fell to 896,000 by late 2023—a 20.3% annual decrease, representing just 0.064% of the population.

China recently released a white paper titled Controlling Fentanyl-Related Substances: China’s Contribution, detailing efforts to regulate fentanyl medications, prevent abuse, crack down on illegal activities, and support global drug control.

The US has received substantial Chinese cooperation in combating fentanyl, including joint efforts in drug scheduling, intelligence sharing, case collaboration, online ad removal, drug-testing technology exchanges, and multilateral engagement.

In January 2024, the two nations established a bilateral Counter-narcotics Working Group. In July 2024, a Chinese interagency delegation attended its first senior-level meeting in the US. A press release of the US State Department acknowledged that the working group “complements ongoing efforts…to counter the fentanyl scourge.”

The US State Department’s 2024 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report concedes that “almost no fentanyl or analogues have entered the US directly from China since 2019,” when China imposed class-wide controls. US CDC data indicates overdose deaths dropped approximately 14% from June 2023 to June 2024—the sharpest decline in history—a result partly attributable to China’s actions.

Yet the US persistently overlooks China’s contributions. Using fentanyl as justification, it hiked tariffs on China twice in a single month. This strategy of repaying goodwill with hostility has proven irresponsible and self-defeating.

Scapegoating solves nothing. As Hillbilly Elegy observes, “We tend to glorify the good and ignore the bad in ourselves.” If the US truly wants to end the fentanyl crisis, it must confront its domestic failures and act swiftly. Further delays or distractions will only perpetuate negligence and more preventable deaths.

© Chinese Embassy Weekly Newsletter (17 March 2025)