I have been amazed by the number of phone calls made to me over the past few days from friends and relatives, near and far.

Their calls also flatter me as all of them come with the sort of big questions only ministers can answer, such as whether house prices will rise after the 18th Party Congress and why the stock market remains unchanged despite the convening of such an all-important congress.

Even my 83-year-old grandmother living in a rural area asked me whether pensions would rise next year.

Oh, my goodness. I feel the sudden buzz of becoming a mini-spokeswoman for the Party congress despite the fact that I am neither an expert nor an official in any sector, but a China Daily reporter who writes on politics and diplomacy.

I think the root cause of my ballooning popularity is the fact that the majority of people in the country are keenly anticipating what policies the country will introduce in the next few years and how these will affect their lives.

The 18th Party Congress comes at an important juncture, given China's rising and increasingly integrated role in the global community and the arduous tasks it faces in improving its people's standard of living and ensuring social equality and progress.

The country's economy is slowing down from its decades-long double-digit growth, triggering huge pressure in employment; it has to balance the huge demands of economic development and the fragile environment.

In the global community, the role of China is also changing, with its economy rising to be the second largest, and it has trouble with some neighboring countries in territorial disputes, while the US Asia Pivot policy further raises tension in the region.

What kind of domestic and foreign policies a rising China will implement in the next five years certainly deserve attention from both home and abroad.

In my understanding, the reason that the Chinese people pay attention to the congress is that they care about their own future.

For countries which have close ties with the world's second-largest economy, watching closely how China will pursue its economic, defense and foreign policies will certainly do them good while drawing up their own China policies.

The attention paid both at home and abroad to the congress is perhaps best illustrated by the interest in the political report delivered at the opening of the congress on Thursday.

The 64-page report touches upon major sectors that are closely connected with everyone's life, including the social welfare which is a concern of my grandmother and the country's defense and foreign policy, a concern of my overseas friends.

The report is widely seen as setting the tone for the country's detailed policy measures in every major sector.

The political report, which has been prepared since last October, has been drawn up in consultation with dozens of local governments and ministries. It is also formulated by drawing opinions from all walks of life in the country through rounds of discussions with them.

The wide-ranging integration of opinions from the whole of society means that many people will find their concerns addressed in the Party's highest document.

As I interviewed a dozen delegates to the congress and the public today, I found that every one of them found something exciting in the report.

"This shows that the top leadership really knows about what elderly people are concerned about," said my grandmother after I briefed her on the policy blueprint.

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