As it happened: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on pandemic, ‘new Cold War’ and Hong Kong
- National People’s Congress concluded with resolution to proceed with controversial law for Hong Kong
- Premier said that China supports independent inquiry into coronavirus origin
China’s annual parliamentary session wrapped up with the passage of a controversial resolution to craft a national security law for Hong Kong, and a pledge to boost the economy which has been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The National People’s Congress – which is usually held in March but was delayed because of the pandemic – concluded with an endorsement by lawmakers of Premier Li Keqiang’s government work report which, for the first time, did not set a GDP growth target.
The congress wrapped up amid heightening tensions between the US and China, with the Trump administration telling Congress just one day earlier that Hong Kong was no longer suitably autonomous from the mainland.
Li held a press conference to mark the end of the parliamentary session. This is the South China Morning Post’s live coverage.
Reporting by Wendy Wu, Gary Cheung, Frank Tang, Mai Jun, Sarah Zheng, Kinling Lo, Linda Lew, Coco Feng, Liu Zhen, Laura Zhou, Echo Xie, Keegan Elmer, Catherine Wong, Zhuang Pinghui, Tony Cheung