(Excerpts from “Speech at the Central People’s Congress Work Conference” by Xi Jinping, Qiushi Journal, No. 02, 2022)

人大要强化政治机关意识，加强人大自身建设

People’s congresses should be more aware of their identity as political institutions and intensify self-improvement efforts

各级人大及其常委会要增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，不断提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力，全面加强自身建设，成为自觉坚持中国共产党领导的政治机关、保证人民当家作主的国家权力机关、全面担负宪法法律赋予的各项职责的工作机关、始终同人民群众保持密切联系的代表机关。

People’s congresses at all levels and their standing committees must be deeply conscious of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. They must stay confident in the path, the theory, the system, and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. They must uphold the core position of the General Secretary on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and uphold the Central Committee’s authority and its centralized, unified leadership. They must continuously improve their political judgment, understanding, and execution, improve themselves in all respects, and build themselves into political institutions that consciously uphold the Party’s leadership, institutions of state power that ensure the running of the country by the people, working institutions that fully assume functions conferred by the Constitution and the law, and representative institutions that always maintain close ties with the people.

要优化人大常委会、专门委员会组成人员结构，打造政治坚定、服务人民、尊崇法治、发扬民主、勤勉尽责的人大工作队伍。要加强纪律作风建设，既严格履行法定职责，遵守法定程序，又坚决防止形式主义、官僚主义，提高人大工作实效。

People’s congresses should optimize the composition of their standing committees and special committees and train personnel that maintain political resolve, serve the people, respect the rule of law, promote democracy, and are diligent and responsible. In order to improve the effectiveness of their work, they should improve conduct and strengthen discipline, not only strictly performing statutory duties and abiding by statutory procedures, but also resolutely guarding against favoring form over substance and excessive bureaucracy.

来源：《求是》英文版