{"id":3007,"date":"2020-05-01T10:30:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T10:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbbcfocus.com\/?p=3007"},"modified":"2020-06-05T12:28:18","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T04:28:18","slug":"china-announces-date-of-two-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/china-announces-date-of-two-sessions\/","title":{"rendered":"China Announces Date of \u2018Two Sessions\u2019\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s government has confirmed that the country\u2019s \u2018Two Sessions\u2019 or \u2018Liang hui’ will take place in Beijing beginning from May 21st. These crucial political meetings had originally been scheduled to start on 5th March but were postponed due to Covid-19.<\/h2>\n
\n

This year\u2019s Lianghui is particularly important given the ongoing pandemic: confirmation that it is taking place in May will be seen as a key marker in China\u2019s process of getting back to normal. The full announcement by China\u2019s National People\u2019s Congress (in Chinese) can be read\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Key Topics<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During the ten day congress, the around five thousand members of the National People’s Congress (NPC) \u2014 whose opening ceremony is scheduled for May 22nd \u2014 and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will convene in China\u2019s capital to discuss and approve major legal and political decisions.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s economic growth target will be set during the meetings. After the economy\u2019s 6.8 percent year-on-year drop in the first quarter, the full year target will be closely watched as a signal about the health of the world\u2019s largest economy.<\/p>\n

The target will also indicate whether the Chinese leadership believes that it can achieve its long-term goal of doubling the country\u2019s GDP by the end of 2020 compared to its level in 2000-level, and thus also attain its aim of establishing a \u2018moderately prosperous society.\u2019 After a revision of economic data last year, China would need at least 5.9% growth this year to reach this goal.<\/p>\n

Achieving this goal has been a top priority for China\u2019s President Xi Jinping, even though the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has cast serious doubt over its feasibility. There has therefore been some talk of the government setting an unprecedented \u2018two-year\u2019 growth target, which would take the current crisis into account, but which could also create conflicting policy objectives for local policymakers and state-owned enterprises.<\/p>\n

Besides growth forecasts, the Two Sessions will also pass the annual budget for China\u2019s central and local governments and discuss and approve major legislation.<\/p>\n

Foreign businesses should particularly pay attention to the pending amendment to China\u2019s patent law as well as recent initiatives around China\u2019s anti-monopoly law, the new energy law, and other regulations related to the implementation of the country\u2019s new foreign investment law.<\/p>\n

\"Lianghui\"

Nearly 3,000 party officials convene at the annual meet to discuss new laws<\/p><\/div>\n

Background<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The \u2018Two Sessions\u2019 meetings occupy a central position in China\u2019s political calendar. The plenum of the NPC, whose 2,980 members convene only once a year, elects and confirms major government positions, including the Premier (currently Li Keqiang). It\u2019s also the only body with the authority to pass and change laws in China.<\/p>\n

The most significant recent NPC plenum meeting took place in 2018 when it not only amended China\u2019s constitution \u2013 getting rid of previously enshrined term-limits for the country\u2019s president \u2013 but also decided on a fundamental reorganisation of the central government\u2019s ministries and agencies. Last year, the NPC passed a major new Foreign Investment Law.<\/p>\n

The CPPCC, on the other hand, is the central pillar of the so-called \u2018United Front\u2019 which links the country\u2019s main civil, professional, and cultural associations to the ruling Communist Party. Similar to corporatist structures in other countries, the CPPCC\u2019s main function is to provide input and feedback on major policy initiatives.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Two Sessions\u2019 first took place in September 1954 but moved to March in 1985 to make annual budgeting and economic planning easier.<\/p>\n

Further Coverage<\/strong><\/h2>\n

CBBC<\/a> will be providing analysis for our members following the conclusion of Lianghui \u2013 including a webinar with Trivium<\/a> and readouts from our policy team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s government has confirmed that the country\u2019s \u2018Two Sessions\u2019 or \u2018Liang hui’ will take place in Beijing beginning from May 21st. These crucial political meetings had originally been scheduled to start on 5th March but were postponed due to Covid-19. This year\u2019s Lianghui is particularly important given the ongoing pandemic: confirmation that it is taking place in May will be seen as a key marker in China\u2019s process of getting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3008,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[334,135,332,335,333,331],"class_list":["post-3007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-government","tag-law","tag-lianghui","tag-plenum","tag-politics","tag-two-sessions"],"yoast_head":"\nChina Announces Date of \u2018Two Sessions\u2019\u00a0 - Focus - China Britain Business Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The two-sessions (lianghui) - the main government policy meeting - that was initially delayed due to the virus has been rescheduled for the 21st May 2020\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/china-announces-date-of-two-sessions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China Announces Date of \u2018Two Sessions\u2019\u00a0 - 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