•The two sessions will also discuss sustained pollution reduction as China seeks to achieve peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
•The major document of the two sessions is the Government work report.
Image: reuters
It is that time again in China’s annual calendar when the country’s top governing echelons meet to deliberate on business, economy, politics and almost everything else that touches on its future both at home and abroad.
China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), kicked off its annual meeting on Saturday. The NPC meeting is part of the country’s so-called “two sessions”, which is arguably the biggest political event on the country’s annual calendar. Happening concurrently is the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body.
The NPC is the highest organ of State power and top legislative body. Its permanent body is the Standing Committee. The NPC deliberates and passes major laws, decides on major issues, and supervises the work of the State Council, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (Prosecutor General's Office).
The CPPCC National Committee is an important institution of multiparty cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The 2000-member committee comprises CPC representatives, members of other political parties, and citizens from all walks of life. Its members offer proposals to participate in the deliberation and administration of State affairs.
The twin events offer a clear glimpse into the workings and thinking of the central government across the socio-economic and political spectrum. Therefore, the outcomes of these meetings are of interest to China’s friends and foes alike as their effects reverberate globally.
The two sessions this year also offer a backdrop to the CPC’s national congress later this year, most likely in October, when the ruling party will reorganize its leadership. Each congress is elected for a five-year term. The Party is expected to give a third term to President Xi Jinping.
The major document of the two sessions is the Government work report. This is a combination of "what has been done" in the previous year and "what will be done" in the current year. It sheds light on national progress, past achievements and challenges and draws a policy road map for the current year.
On the opening day of the NPC on Saturday, Premier Li Keqiang read out the report to the assembled thousands of delegates for their deliberation and approval. Once agreed on and published, it will serve as a guideline for administrative departments, local governments and all other sectors of the economy and society in the country, including the territories of Hong Kong and Macao.
Although economic and social development form the core of the report, the NPC will also discuss pertinent issues such as diplomacy, national defence, Covid-19, population, women's rights, Hong Kong and Taiwan may also be covered.
For instance, although not explicitly stated for debate, it is expected that the NPC will discuss the Russo-Ukraine conflict. President Xi Jinping has advocated for a diplomatic solution to the ongoing war and has asked all sides to the conflict to come to the negotiating table with clean hands.
Now, in the background of a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 8.1 per cent growth in 2021, the government projected a 5.1 per cent growth this year. China is facing triple pressures of shrinking demand, disrupted supply and weakening expectations.
Image: AFP
Rural vitalisation has taken centre stage after China announced the eradication of extreme poverty in 2020. Under this agenda, the country aims for higher incomes, better facilities and improved living conditions for the rural population. It is expected that rural areas will continue to be the foundation of China's development.
The two sessions will also discuss sustained pollution reduction as China seeks to achieve peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Amid recent power outages that affected homes and businesses last year, the challenge will be for the government to seek ways of achieving its climate goals while ensuring a stable power supply regime.
A huge one will be ways of increasing the country’s dwindling population growth rate even after the government loosened its family planning policy in 2021 to allow couples to have a third child. The meeting is expected to discuss more policies and incentives to encourage couples to have more children.
Property development and real estate are also high on the agenda, with a solution expected in bridging the government's goal of stabilizing housing prices even as some local developers have experienced debt crises in recent years. Experts predict that new policy initiatives will be developed to ensure the property market does not crash and becomes more vibrant.
Experts also say that considering China's economic developments in 2021, there may also be announcements on trade, taxes, investment and technological innovation and reforms among other hot-button issues during the two sessions.
The writer is the Executive Director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi based research and development communication think tank.