The annual sessions of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC) ended on March 10 and 11 respectively, followed by the press conference by Premier Li Keqiang, like last year conducted via video link, with the Premier answering questions at the Great Hall of the People and journalists watching a large video screen in the Media Center 9 km away. 

Premier Li said that securing jobs remained the government’s top priority in maintaining social stability. China is facing mounting pressure to generate jobs this year, including providing employment for 14 million people – among them 9 million college graduates. “We believe that through the steady recovery of economic growth, more jobs will be created, and more jobs will promote the stability and improvement of the economy,” he said. He argued that a 6% GDP growth target was not low as it was equivalent to about 8% growth at the start of the 13^th Five Year Plan in 2016. Higher growth would be possible, but China wants to achieve high-quality and sustainable growth, he said. Large fluctuations would not be good for long-term stable growth. “Walking quickly for a moment does not mean one is walking steadily. It is only with a steady pace that we will be firm in our steps,” Li said.

China’s economy is already deeply integrated into the world economy and will continuously open up further in the interests of both China and the world. The growing domestic market will offer huge opportunities for foreign companies. China will continue to uphold free trade built on WTO rules, shorten the list of areas off limits to foreign investment, and continue to push for opening up of industries and services. We will make China an important destination for foreign investment and a big market for the world, Premier Li told domestic and foreign journalists. With 260 million elderly people, China’s “aging industry” in particular can be a huge “sunrise industry” for foreign companies, Li said. 

The government did not flood the market with large amounts of liquidity. The CNY2 trillion stimulus package ensured the people’s basic living standards. There will be no quantitative easing or policy change, but micro and small enterprises would be supported and tax and fees be cut. Sixty million businesses were started in urban areas in the past five years. In the second half of last year, the number of businesses increased to 130 million, creating 200 million jobs. Premier Li said the government would further streamline administrative procedures to ease the burden on businesses. Funding for education and health care will be increased to ensure that the children of migrant workers can go to school in urban areas and township and county hospitals are upgraded. 

Premier Li said China made breakthroughs in scientific innovation but still lagged behind in basic research. “Over the years, China has made major breakthroughs in technology and innovation. It has also developed rapidly in the field of applied innovation, but there are indeed deficiencies in the field of basic research,” Li said. The country would increase funding for basic research and try to make progress step by step. Scientific development requires international cooperation and decoupling would do no country any good, Li said. A national science center is to be set up in Xian, according the city’s Mayor Li Mingyuan. “The center – which aims to help solve major scientific problems and clear bottlenecks in cutting-edge technologies – will play an important role in improving China’s global competitiveness in the sci-tech sector,”  the Mayor said.

Answering a question on the origin of the coronavirus, Premier Li Keqiang said that it was a “complex scientific issue” and called on all parties to join hands to beat the virus. On the state of U.S.-China relations, the Chinese Premier said that “healthy development of U.S.-China ties is in the interest of people in both countries”, and that he hoped “to see dialogue between the two countries in various areas and on multiple levels. There are many areas where the U.S. can work with China.” Yang Jiechi, Director of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi are scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18 and 19 for the first face-to-face high-level talks between leaders of the two countries since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January.

In a break from a decades-long tradition, the 14^th Five Year Plan (2021-25) did not set a specific GDP growth target for the five-year period, but instead stresses other indicators, including the unemployment rate, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, in line with the aim to improve people’s livelihood and the quality of development. The plan has 192 chapters and includes detailed plans for the next five years. It mentions that growth would be kept in a “reasonable range” and an annual target would be set based on the specific conditions each year. In the 13^th Five Year Plan (2016-20) a growth target of above 6.5% on average was set. While GDP growth was maintained above 6.5% in the first three years, the Covid-19 pandemic brought the five-year average to around 5.7%. For the first time, the plan contained a special section on food, energy and financial security. The plan contains 20 main indicators covering a wide range of areas, including eight obligatory targets, with seven focusing on ecological protection and security. On food security the plan said that China would keep 120 million hectares of cultivable land to ensure the food supply.

This overview is based on reporting by the South China Morning Post, the China Daily, Shanghai Daily and Global Times.