China’s ‘two sessions’: why this year’s event is so important for Xi Jinping’s vision for the future
- Next month’s major political set piece will take on special significance this year as it coincides with the Communist Party’s centenary
- The gathering also marks the start of the next five-year plan and could also reveal more about the leadership’s long-term economic plans
China’s political elite will gather in Beijing next month for the year’s biggest legislative set piece facing a number of major political challenges, including the aftermath of the coronavirus and the ongoing rivalry with the United States. In this the first part of a series looking at the key items on the agenda, we explain why this year’s event is especially important in terms of political messaging.
The meeting of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, and the top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is always important in terms of shaping the political agenda for the year ahead.
The country’s success in containing Covid-19 domestically and keeping the economy on track will help shape the political messaging – especially in contrast with the struggle of many countries in the West to contain the pandemic and events such as the attack on the Capitol in Washington last month – but it still has to overcome serious problems both at home and abroad.
The presence of senior officials who have been sanctioned for their actions in Xinjiang and Hong Kong at the gathering will serve to highlight how Beijing’s policies on the domestic front have caused growing alarm internationally.
Accusations that it mishandled the start of the pandemic – combined with issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea and the prolonged border stand-off with India – have further damaged its image on the world stage, and any further international backlash could threaten its economic plans.
