BEIJING (`) – China’s 3,000-member ceremonial parliament will open its annual session on Saturday, with the government facing a slowing economy and international pressure for its refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
While domestic issues typically dominate the National People’s Congress, the war in Ukraine highlights the ideological confrontation between the American-led West and the competing worldview of Beijing and Moscow.
However, any discussion of the conflict is expected to be muted, with the focus on spurring growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The more than 3,000 delegates make little legislation — that is handled by the smaller Standing Committee of Congress, which meets year-round.
Rather, the ruling Communist Party uses Congress to announce general goals for the economy and other issues such as the environment and military spending. This year, a key party meeting will take place in November, where leader Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term.
This year’s NPC was shortened from the usual two to one week due to the pandemic. Few large gatherings are planned and press conferences will be held via video link.
Analysts will focus on an annual report presented at Saturday’s opening session by Premier Li Keqiang, the second-largest head of state and top economic official. He’s expected to announce an annual growth target of just 5%, up from last year’s 8%.
The report is likely to review China’s response to COVID-19 and may provide clues as to the future direction of virus control. While China has largely contained the outbreak, questions have increasingly been raised about the economic costs and long-term sustainability of its “zero tolerance” approach.
The remainder of the week-long session will be largely taken up by closed-door discussions among delegates from every province and region in China, as well as the party’s powerful military, the People’s Liberation Army.
The plight of trafficked women is expected to be discussed following a recent widespread case of a woman found chained in a shed in east China.
According to the official People’s Daily, delegate Jiang Shengnan plans to introduce a motion to hold criminally liable those involved in human trafficking or obstructing the rescue of a trafficked person.
Another delegate, Zhang Baoyan, has suggested that all localities investigate the background of girls whose family origins are unclear and help them return home, China Youth Daily reported.
An advisory body to Congress, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, opens its annual session on Friday, held concurrently with the legislature.
War in Ukraine looms over this year’s event, with China seen as largely siding with Russia against a global wave of growing criticism of the invasion.
As the main buyer of Russian oil and gas, China is the only major power that has failed to criticize Moscow’s invasion. China has also ruled out joining the US and European governments in imposing financial sanctions on Russia.
Instead, Beijing has joined the Russian argument that Moscow’s security is threatened by NATO’s eastward expansion. China abstained when the UN voted at an emergency meeting on Wednesday to demand an immediate halt to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Beijing Renmin University, said China must express its position and reservations.
“It affects the unity of China’s international attitude and it also affects China’s global reputation,” Shi said. “But unfortunately, given the complex situation, no major parties would listen to it.”
The conflict over Ukraine has drawn some comparisons to China’s own claim to sovereignty over the self-governing island republic of Taiwan, although the circumstances are very different.
China’s defense budget, which is largely geared toward potential military action in Taiwan, is another key issue under scrutiny from observers in Congress.
While annual defense spending has fallen from double digits in 2015 to just 6.8% last year, at $210 billion it is the second largest in the world after the US
Comments are closed.