In June, on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, tower cranes stood tall and machines roared. Here, the Changsha Olympic Sports Center — the main venue for the 16th National Games — was taking shape. At the construction site, Zou Bin, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and quality director of the General Contracting Company of China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau, moved swiftly among the steel and concrete On this key project carrying the expectations of millions, he safeguarded the structural integrity and safety of the building with an unwavering commitment to precision down to the millimeter.

Zou Bin (second from left), a deputy to the National People's Congress, talks with fellow workers at the site of the Terminal T3 project at Changsha Airport. [Photo provided to the npc.gov.cn]

"Buildings are built for the people. Every brick must be laid solidly, and every joint must be sealed tightly, so that we never let down the trust placed in us." Having stayed on the frontline of construction for over a decade, he has practiced exactly what he preaches.

At the age of 16, Zou followed a local construction crew from his hometown to Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, and became a junior bricklayer, starting from the basics — mixing mortar, hauling sand and carrying bricks. When others rested, he would practice repeatedly on the side. "At first, even with gloves on, my hands were blistered by the bricks. After a few layers of calluses, I got used to it."

The work was paid by the piece — the more walls he laid, the more he earned. But whenever Zou felt a wall wasn't aesthetically pleasing enough, he would tear it down and rebuild without hesitation. "You have to stick to your own standards when you work. If you persist, you will surely gain something," he said. "Perhaps that was the budding of my understanding of craftsmanship."

If you learn something, learn it to perfection. Thanks to this tenacious persistence, Zou's bricklaying skills improved rapidly. In April 2014, he won first place in the youth bricklaying group in a skills competition held by China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau. The next year, he made his mark in bricklaying event at the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, winning a Medallion for Excellence and breaking China's zero-award streak in the category.

In 2018, at the age of 22, Zou was elected as an NPC deputy, making him the youngest member of the Hunan delegation at the time. Beyond the excitement, he also felt the weight of responsibility.

"At the construction site, a single project can bring you in contact with thousands of workers. The more workers from different trades you interact with, the more authentic the voices and concerns you hear." He asks about workers’ concerns wherever he goes, keeping the urgent needs and worries of his fellow workers close to heart. In his spare time, he devotes himself to training sessions for deputies, symposiums, discussions and collective research, broadening his horizons and sharpening his skills, all in pursuit of suggestions that are grounded in the realities of workers' lives and carry real weight.

As a grassroots deputy from the construction industry, he submitted three suggestions at his first NPC annual session on improving the social security of construction workers, strengthening vocational skills training and smoothing the channels for joining trade unions, bringing the aspirations of his fellow workers to the conference hall.

On Sept 17, 2020, Zou attended a symposium of grassroots deputies in Changsha. At the meeting, he put forward suggestions on improving policy support systems for migrant workers in areas such as employment, income growth, education and healthcare. At the NPC annual session in 2021, he was surprised to find that his suggestions had been included in the draft outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). "That gave me a sense of accomplishment and an even greater sense of responsibility," he said.

"I especially want to say to more of my fellow migrant workers: stick to your trade, love what you do and grow into master craftsmen of the nation." On March 8, 2021, Zou appeared at the Deputies' Passage during the fourth session of the 13th NPC, sharing his journey from a junior bricklayer to an award winner at an international competition, and speaking up for the broad community of migrant workers. He called on society to show greater care for migrant workers, giving them more opportunities to learn, improve, and change their lives.

As a deputy from the ranks of migrant workers, he has always kept a close eye on the working and living conditions of his fellow workers and the future development of the construction industry. At this year's NPC session, he offered suggestions on the transition of migrant workers into intelligent construction industrial workers, the timely payment of migrant workers' wages and solutions to the renovation of dilapidated buildings in old residential communities.

Regarding the challenges migrant workers face in the transition to intelligent construction, Zou proposed launching a national special action to empower migrant workers in the construction industry through measures such as establishing dynamically updated vocational skills standards, building an inclusive training network and improving a full-chain incentive mechanism, to help migrant workers build sustainable careers and make a living through their skills. He also suggested accelerating the adoption of the modular intelligent construction model that involves demolition and reconstruction on the original site to address the challenges in renovating dilapidated buildings in old communities.

"I am an NPC deputy elected by migrant workers. Speaking for them is the most sacred responsibility for me as a deputy," he said. "My greatest wish is for my fellow workers to have jobs, get paid and have something to look forward to, and for the construction industry to move forward on a steadier and stronger footing."