Why is there more dissent inside Beijing’s legislative ‘two sessions’ this year?
- Some of China’s signature policies are labelled problematic and a waste of money by delegates, while Premier Li Keqiang’s report is questioned
- Foreign policy a particular focus of debate, although domestic politics is not
Red-faced argument is a sign of good policymaking, at least according to an oft-cited slogan of the Chinese Communist Party.
In reality, however, the public rarely see meaningful policy debate in China. The country’s political elite instead like to keep real discussion behind closed doors and to project a public image of unity.
To many people, Beijing’s annual meetings of its policymaking bodies – rubber-stamp legislature the National People’s Congress (NPC) and advisory body the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) – are scripted, boring fare. Most of the time at these bodies’ meetings, or “two sessions”, delegates choose to stick to the official line and avoid saying anything critical to reporters.
A noticeable increase of dissenting voices – although still mild by nature – at this year’s parliamentary sessions is therefore interesting, even though President Xi Jinping faces no real challenge to his power.
Most of these voices are heard in relation to China’s foreign policy, with the country locked in a costly trade war with the United States and facing setbacks in its attempts to spread its influence around the world.
At one of the open discussion panels, Ye Dabo, a former diplomat and now a member of the CPPCC, questioned whether it was accurate for Premier Li Keqiang to say in his government work report that the “Belt and Road Initiative” had made “important progress” last year.