China adopts measured approach given ‘complicated terrain’ at major political meeting
China took a more measured, low-key approach on Tuesday as the annual meeting of its rubber stamp parliament kicked off, a yearly political spectacle of policy making in the Communist state.
In a state-of-the-union style address, Li Keqiang, China’s premier, ticked off government achievements from improved living standards to defusing financial risks over the last year, while noting that the country “faced profound change.” He announced a target of 6 to 6.5 percent economic growth this year, a hair lower than the 6.6 percent posted last year.
“Setbacks in economic globalisation, challenges to multilateralism, shocks in the international financial market, and especially the China-US economic and trade frictions, had an adverse effect in the product and business operations of some companies and on market expectations,” Mr Li said in a lengthy speech. “What we faced was a complicated terrain of increasing dilemmas.”
Mr Li’s remarks, peppered with unanimous applause and the rustle of unison page turns as parliamentary delegates followed along, attributed all achievements to the “strong leadership” Xi Jinping, the president, and reiterated the Communist Party has everything under control with “the courage, vision and strength to prevail over any difficulty or obstacle.”
The message, delivered in a Great Hall of People bedecked in red and gold tapestry, was as expected - a move to shore up confidence in the government’s ability to steer the ship in uncertain times. It was also notably toned down, a far cry from the swagger the country and its leaders had at this time last year.
China is experiencing tough times - economic growth is at its slowest pace in nearly three decades, intensified by a trade war with the US. Beijing is also in the middle of a global spying row that involves Huawei, a major private telecoms firm. And foreign governments have been squeezing China over human rights issues, particularly on Muslim internment camps where the United Nations estimates one million people are being detained.
Looking ahead, Mr Li said China would pledge to diversify its export markets - a nod to the trade war - and implement cuts to taxes and fees to shore up the economy.
Defence spending is set to rise 7.5 percent to 1.19 trillion yuan (£135 billion), roughly in line with increases in the last few years after a period of double-digit percent increases, according to a government budget report. Military spending this year is closely watched as China has been more aggressively exercising its sovereign claims over disputed territories including in the South China Sea, and talking tough on taking control of Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island nation Beijing has long called its own. Modernising its armed forces has been a stated priority for Beijing.
Mr Li also highlighted that China’s “capacity for innovation is not strong,” walking back the rhetoric the government previously spouted about the country’s efforts to support entrepreneurship and developed advanced technology. His comments may be in response to a growing global backlash against China’s “Made in China 2025,” a strategy to use state subsidies to help engineer homegrown greats to spur advanced manufacturing that some Western governments worry will become an import substitution plan.
Thousands of delegates are in the nation’s capital this week to discuss political and economic policy before they vote to approve proposals from the ruling Communist Party.
The annual meeting of the National People’s Congress takes place alongside meetings of China’s lower house of parliament over the next two weeks, and is typically heavy on pomp and circumstance and light on legislating.
Ahead of the meeting’s opening, Chinese censors went into overdrive, ramping up efforts to block access to foreign news and information. Service providers of virtual private networks, or VPNs, which allow users to mask internet traffic and jump over the so-called Great Firewall were on the fritz for days before and remained so into Tuesday. Such lockdowns are common in China around major political events.
