China’s NPC To Meet As Economy Sags

Thousands of delegates from across China are gathering in Beijing this week for the start of the sessions of the National People’s Congress, 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, as reported by Simone McCarthy, Laura He, and Nectar Gan for CNN.

Signs leading up to the gathering suggest the Chinese government is gearing up to focus on supporting economic growth in the year ahead. I Photo: Dong Fang, Voice of America / Wikimedia Commons

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 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 US — all fueling questions about whether the country will lose steam before it reaches its goal of becoming a developed global power.

Signs leading up to the gathering suggest the Chinese government is gearing up to focus on supporting economic growth in the year ahead, but it’s unlikely China will unveil any major stimulus.

“Beijing will likely use the two sessions to announce tactical measures aimed at boosting short-term confidence in China’s economy but without changing Xi’s underlying strategy of state-led development,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis.

The announcement of the economic growth target for 2024, set to be delivered by Premier Li, is among the most important issues to watch during the two sessions.

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