What you should know from the opening of China’s 1 legislature..?

What you should know from the opening of China’s legislature.

In Beijing, China’s Premier Li Qiang conveyed a sense of assurance as he unveiled conservative economic growth targets for the world’s second-largest economy during a significant political assembly. Speaking before several thousand delegates at the National People’s Congress, the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, held in Beijing, Li outlined the economic objectives.

It’s a period when the government assesses the achievements of the past year and crucially unveils objectives and priorities for the upcoming year, particularly in areas like the economy, military budget, and Chinese society.

Here are some key highlights from Li’s speech on Tuesday.

1. **STABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH**
The government’s overarching strategy for the economy remains unchanged, with a focus on stabilizing growth. Li announced a 5% GDP growth target for this year, indicating a cautious approach. Achieving this target poses challenges as China grapples with an economic slowdown and a real estate market in crisis due to a crackdown on excessive borrowing, resulting in a liquidity crunch among developers.

“The targets for this year closely mirror those of the previous year, highlighting a policy stagnation in Beijing. The central leadership appears to be deferring substantial economic policy decisions until the Third Plenum later in the year,” remarked Neil Thomas, a Chinese Politics fellow at the Asia Society.

The language on Taiwan in Li’s report took a more assertive tone, emphasizing the self-ruled island that China claims as its own.

Notably absent from this year’s report was the word “peace.” In the previous year, the premier had advocated for “advancing the process of China’s peaceful reunification.” In the current report, Li expressed the commitment to “be firm in advancing the cause of China’s reunification.”

Describing the language this year as more stringent, Arthur Zhin-Sheng Wang, an expert on cross-Straits relations and a professor at Taiwan’s Central Police University, pointed out the omission of the word “peace” combined with the assertion of “resolutely opposing Taiwan independence.” Unlike the previous year, the work report for this year offered only a brief acknowledgment, with less emphasis on promoting the prosperity of both sides.

Taiwan held presidential elections in January, electing Lai Ching-te as its next president, securing a third term for the Democratic Progressive Party. The party’s stance maintains that Taiwan is already independent of China.

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Since 1949, Taiwan and China have maintained separate rule following the Nationalist government’s retreat to the island led by Chiang Kai-shek after losing a civil war on the mainland to Mao Zedong’s communist forces.

1. **DEFENSE SPENDING RISING 7.2%**
The government has announced a 7.2% increase in the military budget, standing at 1.6 trillion yuan ($222 billion), making it the world’s second-highest, behind the United States. China’s defense budget has more than doubled since 2015, although recent years have seen a moderation in the increase as economic growth slowed.

2. **MIGRANT WORKERS**
Addressing the longstanding division between rural and urban populations through the hukou system, the government’s work report highlighted an intention to facilitate the transition of migrant workers with rural hukou registrations to urban ones. This mention signals a potential elevation of hukou reform on the central authorities’ agenda.

3. **CONFIDENCE**
Despite economic challenges and U.S. export controls on key tech-related industries, such as semiconductors, Premier Li expressed confidence in his report, stating, “The Chinese people have the courage, wisdom, to overcome any difficulties or obstacles. China’s development will surely endure storms and plow through the waves, and the future is promising.”

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