Budgets, targets and how to deal with Trump: what to watch at China’s biggest political show

Annual ‘Two Sessions’ meetings will give insight into China’s economic and foreign policy direction for the coming year

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China’s biggest political show of the year opens on March 3. Photos: Xinhua, AP, AFP

Published: 10:02am, 28 Feb 2017Updated: 10:54pm, 12 Jun 2017

It’s the Chinese equivalent of America’s State of the Union Address and the Queen’s Speech in Britain. Come March 3, at what’s known as China’s biggest political show of the year, thousands of the nation’s governing elite will descend on Beijing to discuss and decide on the most pressing issues facing the country.

This year’s “Two Sessions” meetings come amid intense uncertainty as the Communist Party prepares for its upcoming power transition and the government struggles to deal with the new US President Donald Trump and the fallout from Brexit, while juggling the country’s own daunting economic challenges.

The Two Sessions, or lianghui in Chinese, are the annual plenary meetings of China’s top legislative and consultative bodies, the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Each year, the gathering is attended by more than 5,000 prominent officials, business leaders and other top representatives of Chinese society.

Among the key issues to watch this year include:

1. How much money will China devote to its military defence?

The answer is of great interest to world leaders and political and military experts alike, as tensions continue to simmer over the contested South China Sea, animosity grows between China and the United States under Trump, and Beijing pushes on with its military reform plans.