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The Chinese premier, the foreign press and the state of the nation

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Premier Li Keqiang greets journalists at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2016. Photo: Xinhua

Since the late 1980s, the Chinese premier’s press conference at the end of the country’s annual congressional sessions has been a rare chance – albeit limited – for overseas media to ask the premier directly about the state of the nation.

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This year is the fifth time Premier Li Keqiang will mount the podium in Beijing to take questions .

SCMP.com will cover the press conference in a live blog.

What is the press conference and why does it matter?

The tradition started in 1988 when the then new premier, Li Peng, took questions from journalists after the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, according to China Newsweek. The question-and-answer sessions generally lasted anywhere between one and three hours.

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It’s one of the few opportunities foreign reporters have to pose questions directly to a top official, but it’s also a chance for the premier to show his command of the issues of the day.

Premier Li Keqiang arrives for his annual press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. Photo: Xinhua
Premier Li Keqiang arrives for his annual press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing last year. Photo: Xinhua
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