‘Two sessions’ 2023: China’s new premier and what stock investors want to hear from him
- Li Qiang, tipped to succeed Premier Li Keqiang, is in the spotlight as China holds its biggest political gathering
- Economy needs reinforcements even as it emerges stronger in 2023, according to most forecasts
The CSI 300 Index, which tracks the nation’s biggest listed companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai, has fallen 3 per cent over the past three weeks, halting a bull-run from late October that started as Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid curbs.
A series of spy balloon incidents and China’s ties with Russia have heightened geopolitical tensions, while investors have been left unconvinced by a mixed bag of corporate earnings reports from Post parent Alibaba Group Holding, NetEase and other Chinese technology companies.
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The ‘two sessions’ explained: China’s most important political meetings of the year
“One of the appointments would be the challenge of [picking] the premier,” Timothy Moe, chief equity strategist for Asia-Pacific at the US bank, said at a media briefing in Hong Kong last week. “Is he going to be characterised as someone who will be much more economically-focused and friendly?”