Trade war with US the elephant in the room as China’s political advisers meet in Beijing
- While it wasn’t directly mentioned in official work report, its potential impact on the nation’s development could be found reading between the lines
- It also dominated talk on the sidelines of the annual gathering, with one delegate saying it would be good for the country by forcing it to reform
The trade war with the US was the elephant in the room as the annual gathering of China’s political advisers began in Beijing on Sunday.
And while it was not directly mentioned in the advisory body’s official work report, the potential impact of trade tensions on the nation’s development could be found reading between the lines, and on the sidelines, of the meeting.
Addressing more than 2,000 representatives of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Wang Yang – chairman of the political advisory body – highlighted the headwinds China was facing amid increasing rivalry with the United States.
“We must adapt ourselves to the changing times and changing situations, raise our awareness of potential dangers and possible concerns, fully understand all aspects of stability, and enhance measures to achieve progress,” Wang told an audience of intellectuals, businessmen and grass-root workers at the start of the parliamentary sessions.
While his annual work report did not explicitly mention the trade war, tensions between the world’s two biggest economies apparently set the tone for the speech and dominated talk among delegates on the sidelines of the event.
