China’s new premier, Li Qiang, holds his first press conference following the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress on Monday.
As a long-time aide to President Xi Jinping, Li is expected to have more leeway to express his thoughts in public without being seen as a challenge to Xi.
His responses offer signs of what might lie ahead for the world’s second-largest economy.
The takeaways
The main points from Premier Li Qiang’s press conference:
China will shift focus to high-quality development and improve science and technology
Achieving the 5 per cent economic growth target will not be easy, and the Chinese government will introduce policies to stimulate demand and investment
Hong Kong has a key role as a financial, trading and shipping centre
The Chinese government has supported private business, and talk that China is discouraging private entrepreneurs is “inappropriate”
China’s Covid-19 strategy was well conceived and gave the country time to develop vaccines and drugs
Decoupling between China and the US is just “hype”
Final vow
Li Qiang ends the press conference with a commitment to implement the policies decided by the Communist Party’s Central Committee.
He refers repeatedly throughout the gathering to Xi Jinping’s and party documents.
Public opinion
Li also calls on government officials – especially young cadres “sitting” in government offices – to visit local communities to solicit public opinion.
And he says that “when dealing with matters of administration and approvals, local governments should not just slam on the brakes but hit the accelerator”, referring to criticism of local officials who are reluctant to make decisions.
Read More at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3213301/chinas-two-sessions-2023-road-ahead-according-premier-li-qiang