China to unveil priorities for next 5 years at key annual political meeting

Beijing — BEIJING (AP) — China’s ceremonial legislature will convene Thursday where it will unveil the country’s policy direction and economic goals for the coming years.

The meeting was organized in Beijing where the National People’s Congress and its Advisory Committee met. The National People’s Congress approves new laws decided by the Chinese Communist Party leadership. While the nearly 3,000-member board technically votes, the vote is always unanimous.

Also met is the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body made up of elite members of Chinese society, from businessmen to athletes. They also include representatives of China’s minority groups, but the body has little authority over matters of public policy.

The union of these two bodies is called two periods. Political meetings have changed under President Xi Jinping’s rule, with tighter scripts and less room for debate.

“Long, long ago, it was a place for policy debate,” and even controversial issues, said Alfred Wu, a professor of public policy at the National University of Singapore. “Now it’s very much a show, a publicity stunt.”

The National People’s Congress is when the Chinese premier announces the country’s GDP targets and other economic goals for the year.

This year, observers await details of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the draft of which was unveiled by the government in October. It is expected to focus on building tech prowess and self-reliance.

China releases five-year plans to direct its economy, a legacy of its historical approach when it had a planned economy.

China’s economy is slowing, with high youth unemployment, weak housing prices and shrinking domestic consumption. It is facing a trade war with the US, which has raised tariffs on all Chinese goods.

Experts say China will have to strike a tough balance between its goals of boosting domestic consumption and increasing production of technologies such as robotics, renewable energy and AI. Tech supply chains are narrower and the trickle-down effect is less pronounced.

Asia Society policy experts Neil Thomas and Lobsong Tsering have predicted that China is likely to cut its headline growth target to record lows. He wrote that this was significant as a step “from high-speed to high-quality growth”.

China’s legislature fired 19 members last week after heavily promoting two of its senior generals in January.

Now, only one member remains in the powerful Central Army Commission, which controls the army, but policy experts say they don’t expect any personnel announcements in the next two sessions. However, observers will want to watch attendance closely for any signs of a possible purge.

Xi Jinping has removed 100 senior officers in the People’s Liberation Army over the past four years, according to new research from the Center for Strategic Studies, headed by General Zhang Yuxia in January.

However, there is no big rush from the leadership to find a replacement.

“I don’t think they are particularly worried about this,” said Wu of the National University of Singapore. For example, Wang Yi became foreign minister again after stepping down because of Qin Gang’s high-profile removal, he said.