Thousands of delegates from across China are gathering in Beijing this week for the start of the country's most prominent annual political event, where leaders will signal how they plan to steer the world's second largest economy in the year ahead — and try to dispel deepening concern about the challenges it faces.
Projecting confidence is likely to be high on the agenda for Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his top Communist Party officials during the days-long, highly choreographed event, known as the "two sessions," when China's rubber stamp legislature and top advisory body convene.
The largely ceremonial gathering is taking on heightened importance this year as China's economy has been roiled by a property sector crisis, hefty local government debt, deflation, a stock market rout and tech friction with the United States — all fueling questions about whether the country will lose steam before it reaches its goal of becoming a developed global power.
It will also include a significant break with precedent: the scrapping of a closing news conference with China's premier, a political tradition at the gathering for three decades – at times providing a rare window into the thinking of China's No.2 leader, who is nominally in charge of the economy.
The press conference would also not take place for the rest of the current five year political cycle "unless there are very special circumstances," spokesperson Lou Qinjian told reporters in Beijing Monday ahead of the legislative meeting's opening day, citing other interview opportunities for media throughout the event. This year's legislative gathering will also last just seven days, a shorter format than was typical prior to the pandemic.
The changes are likely to add to broader concerns about transparency around China's policymaking and further dim the premier's profile, which had already been impacted by Xi's hardline control over all policy areas, including the economy. Under Xi, the premier and the State Council, which functions as China's cabinet, have been increasingly sidelined.
"By design, they only want one voice — from the (Communist) Party. They don't want other voices to dilute the voice of the party, which is controlled by Xi," said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
That also means Xi is heavily under the spotlight as economic pain has sparked growing frustration within China. The gathering comes one year after he began a norm-shattering third term as president, having consolidated power atop the party and stacked its leadership with a raft of officials who appeared to be selected for their loyalty as much as experience.
A year later — as an expected post-Covid recovery has yet to fully materialize, young people struggle to find jobs, investors grapple with market losses and small business owners fight to stay afloat — skepticism has been rising about the direction charted by the leader and his new team. Xi has also overseen a political shakeup in his own ranks, further marring the start of the new term.
Those challenges may not pose a threat to Xi, who is China's most powerful and authoritative leader in decades. But how his team addresses those concerns will have implications not only for the future of China and its 1.4 billion people, but the global economy at large — and Xi's top officials are likely stepping into the meeting feeling that pressure.
Policymakers, investors and business owners in capitals across the world will also be watching closely, especially in a year when America's presidential election could further strain the relationship between the world's two largest economies.
Keep reading about what's on the agenda.
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