https://www.scmp.com/rss/324039/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Premier Li Keqiang has declared that the authority of the country’s constitution and Hong Kong’s mini-constitution have been further realised in the city, vowing full support for its integration into developments on the mainland. Delivering his work report on Monday at the start of the biggest political meeting of the year, China’s No 2 official also pledged that the central government would fully and accurately implement the “one country, two systems” governing principle in Hong Kong. However,... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2135685/premier-li-keqiang-declares-chinas-hold-over-hong-kong-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2135685/premier-li-keqiang-declares-chinas-hold-over-hong-kong-being?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Mar 2018 03:57:26 +0000 After years of decoding “forward guidance” from the US Federal Reserve, market participants feel increasingly confident that they can anticipate monetary policy direction. For many, decoding China’s policy communication is not quite as straightforward. China’s “two sessions” – annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – wrapped up last week. During the sessions, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan (周小川) for the first time... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081443/decoding-chinas-policy-intent-how-liberalisation-happens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081443/decoding-chinas-policy-intent-how-liberalisation-happens?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Mar 2017 06:02:36 +0000 The Chinese central government has added a new line in the final version of its annual work report, pledging to curb surging property prices in big cities, as home prices in central Beijing rise to levels on par with Hong Kong. A day after the revised government work report was published, the Beijing municipal government announced new measures to discourage home buying, including raising down payments for most property deals for second home purchases to an unprecedented 80 per cent. Beijing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2080019/china-adds-national-pledge-curb-housing-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2080019/china-adds-national-pledge-curb-housing-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Mar 2017 15:45:30 +0000 The “two sessions” in Beijing – the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – offer some sense and insight about China’s governance. Attending them this year, I have come away with several impressions. One is the conjunction of two ways of thinking that Westerners would deem incompatible: stricter conformity and enforcement of political orthodoxy, and greater freedom and encouragement to critique government programmes. To... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2079109/chinas-two-sessions-delivers-core-message-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2079109/chinas-two-sessions-delivers-core-message-xi-jinpings?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Mar 2017 07:35:23 +0000 One of the most eye-catching scenes of Premier Li Keqiang’s two-hour press conference on Wednesday actually took place a couple of minutes before it started – when one of the nation’s most high-profile policemen unexpectedly came into the main hall and sat quietly near the press corps. The appearance of Fu Zhenghua, the second-in-command of the world’s largest police force, flanked by security personnel in suits and ties, immediately raised eyebrows. Fu was the top police officer in a task force... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2079195/top-cop-shows-two-sessions-beijing-hes-still-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2079195/top-cop-shows-two-sessions-beijing-hes-still-game?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 15:59:20 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday defended his record of economic management, saying his biggest achievements in his four years in the top office have been steering the country on a steady growth course and avoiding the much talked-about threat of a “hard landing”. Addressing hundreds of journalists at the end of the annual gathering of the country’s legislature, Li hit back at the doubters, saying the economy would be able to maintain medium to high growth in the long run. “I’ve been... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2079190/steady-growth-and-no-hard-landing-chinese-premier-lays-out-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2079190/steady-growth-and-no-hard-landing-chinese-premier-lays-out-his?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 15:30:15 +0000 China will continue to support a united European Union and a strong euro, Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday, sending a clear message of the country’s hopes for the bloc’s future. Despite the uncertainties ahead, Li said he was optimistic about the future of the EU as well as Sino-EU ties. The assessment delivered at his annual press conference in Beijing came just hours before the start of a general election in the Netherlands, a poll seen as a ­barometer of this year’s key national elections... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2079186/china-throws-weight-behind-strong-european-union?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2079186/china-throws-weight-behind-strong-european-union?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 15:15:45 +0000 Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula will only lead to harm for all concerned, Premier Li Keqiang warned as he called for dialogue to contain Pyongyang’s nuclear programme. But Li made no mention of Beijing’s row with Seoul and Washington over the deployment of an controversial anti-missile system, which the United States began to deploy in South Korea this month. China views the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence missile system (THAAD), as a threat to its own strategic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2079133/speaking-korean-issue-chinas-premier-says-no-one-wants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2079133/speaking-korean-issue-chinas-premier-says-no-one-wants?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 10:22:06 +0000 The Chinese premier took a wide range of questions during his media briefing at the end of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, including on the economy and China-US relations. We give you the six key points from Li Keqiang’s press conference on Wednesday. 1. China-US relations Premier Li highlighted the damage that any trade war between the two countries would inflict, saying American companies would be the first to suffer. “We don’t want to see any trade war breaking out between the two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2079082/what-china-doesnt-want-highlights-li-keqiangs-press?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2079082/what-china-doesnt-want-highlights-li-keqiangs-press?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 07:30:15 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang pledged to enhance support for Hong Kong by establishing a bond market connect scheme between the city and the mainland this year, as he stressed the importance of implementing the “one country, two systems” principle in its entirety. The scheme, the country’s No 2 official said, would enable Hong Kong to maintain its status as an international financial centre and ensure long-term prosperity and stability. “The principle of one country, two systems needs to be perceived and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2079043/one-country-or-two-systems-both-premier-li-keqiang-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2079043/one-country-or-two-systems-both-premier-li-keqiang-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 05:30:14 +0000 Welcome to the South China Morning Post’s live coverage of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s message on the closing day of China’s annual plenary meetings. Li is giving his speech on Wednesday morning at the annual post-National People’s Congress press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Read on to see the highlights of Li’s message as they flow in. The Chinese premier, the foreign press and the state of the nation https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2078800/live-coverage-chinese-premier-li-keqiangs-message-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2078800/live-coverage-chinese-premier-li-keqiangs-message-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 02:30:30 +0000 There have been numerous calls for greater integration with Guangdong and Macau since the return of Hong Kong to China. In 2011, a paper termed “Study on the Action Plan for the Bay Area of the Pearl River Estuary” was rolled out jointly by authorities in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau to coordinate regional development. The term “bay area” is also found in Hong Kong’s strategic planning blueprint, the “Hong Kong 2030 Plus” plan. But this concept of closer integration was elevated to a national... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077763/can-hong-kong-get-fully-behind-idea-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2077763/can-hong-kong-get-fully-behind-idea-southern-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2017 03:33:03 +0000 At 26, Yu Jiawen is one of China’s youngest and most high-profile internet tycoons. His mobile social-networking app Super Curriculum, created four years ago, catapulted him to fame and wealth and is used by more than 33 million mainland university students. Yu is just one of countless young Chinese, born in the 1980s and 1990s, who embraced the country’s top-down national “entrepreneurship and mass innovation” campaign, seen as a key to boosting the flagging economy. Yu created an uproar in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076391/young-take-lead-chinese-premiers-innovation-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076391/young-take-lead-chinese-premiers-innovation-push?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Mar 2017 01:30:30 +0000 For the first time in his ­annual work report to the National People’s Congress, Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) publicly condemned the notion of Hong Kong independence. He warned that the movement would lead nowhere. On this point, Li can expect the support of Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong. To the vast majority of Hongkongers, the idea of independence is simply and obviously untenable. The demand for independence has been spearheaded by an extreme group within the pro-democracy... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076757/can-battered-hong-kong-regain-some-its-dignity-eyes-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076757/can-battered-hong-kong-regain-some-its-dignity-eyes-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2017 10:01:52 +0000 The most important Hong Kong-related part of Premier Li Keqiang’s ( 李克強 ) annual work report delivered at the National People’s Congress last Sunday is arguably the idea of a Greater Bay Area for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. A day after he spoke about it, Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui (馬興瑞) expressed hope that the Dawan area (literally, “big bay area”) should not only be comparable to New York, Los Angeles and other coastal economies, but also have a way of coordinating regional differences... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076997/hong-kong-has-stake-birth-greater-bay-area-chinas-south?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2076997/hong-kong-has-stake-birth-greater-bay-area-chinas-south?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2017 06:36:20 +0000 Six skyscrapers overlooking a huge, man-made lake once seemed like a dazzling illustration of a city’s ambition, the transformation of desert on the edge of Ordos in Inner Mongolia into a gleaming residential and commercial complex to help secure its future prosperity. At noon on a cold winter’s day the reality seemed rather different. Only a handful of people could be seen entering or exiting the buildings, with hardly a trace of activity in the 42-storey skyscrapers. The complex opened five... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076346/why-chinas-rush-urbanise-created-slew-ghost-towns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076346/why-chinas-rush-urbanise-created-slew-ghost-towns?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Mar 2017 06:45:15 +0000 The PLA Navy will assume a larger role in national defence to ­support the country’s growing ­assertiveness in protecting its maritime claims, including in the disputed South China Sea, a ­retired senior general said. Liu Xiaojiang, a former navy political commissar, said the traditional view that land forces were the PLA’s priority must change. “The navy’s role will be more and more important,” Liu said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress session on Sunday. “China is a maritime... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2076240/navy-must-take-lead-national-defence-retired-pla?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2076240/navy-must-take-lead-national-defence-retired-pla?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Mar 2017 00:00:59 +0000 For the first time in decades, ­Beijing has not revealed its ­defence spending total for the year despite a stated commitment to transparency in military ­outlays. The decision is seen as an attempt to downplay the sensitive budget figure, which has not only raised concerns in the international community but also among military personnel who want spending to rise at a faster rate. The total military budget has long been included in the Ministry of Finance’s report released at the start of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076253/china-all-quiet-its-military-spending-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076253/china-all-quiet-its-military-spending-front?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 14:47:45 +0000 The Chinese government unveiled a conservative master plan for the economy for 2017 as Beijing prepares to undergo a power reshuffle at home while facing mounting uncertainties abroad. At the National People’s Congress gathering on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the country was aiming for 6.5 per cent growth or “higher if possible” for 2017 – a target slightly less ambitious than last year’s range of 6.5 to 7 per cent. The year-end figure fell in the middle at 6.7 per cent, but still... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076224/amid-brexit-and-trump-uncertainties-china-strikes-note-caution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2076224/amid-brexit-and-trump-uncertainties-china-strikes-note-caution?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 12:30:00 +0000 China has changed its long-standing rhetoric on its yuan policy, signalling Beijing may alter its course on exchange rates this year under pressure from US Federal Reserve rate rises and US President Donald Trump’s threats of a trade war. For the first time in an annual government report, the central government included the requirement to ensure the stable global status of the yuan as one of its major tasks, dropping the line “keeping a stable yuan at a reasonable and balanced level” that has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076223/china-signals-change-course-long-standing-yuan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076223/china-signals-change-course-long-standing-yuan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 11:30:15 +0000 Beijing will press ahead with a controversial plan for greater integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced on Sunday. Delivering his annual work report at the start of the National People’s Congress, Li said the authorities would push on with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area concept. The plan surfaced in a State Council policy paper in March last year but this is the first time it has been mentioned in the premier’s annual report. It is... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076221/beijing-throws-weight-behind-ambitious-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076221/beijing-throws-weight-behind-ambitious-greater-bay-area?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 11:30:00 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to review troops at the PLA’s Hong Kong garrison as part of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the city’s handover to Chinese sovereignty, according to the former PLA commander. “It is standard practice for there to be a military review but the Central Military Commission has not yet made a final decision,” said General Zhang Shibo, a former PLA Hong Kong garrison commander. Under the Basic Law, the central government is responsible for the defence of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076208/xi-jinping-likely-preside-over-military-parade-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076208/xi-jinping-likely-preside-over-military-parade-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 09:30:15 +0000 Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has for the first time publicly denounced the notion of Hong Kong independence in his annual work report, warning that the movement would “lead nowhere”. While Beijing’s firm rejection of such separatist sentiments is well-known, the mention of Hong Kong independence in the annual government report was unprecedented. It is likely to be read as a strong signal to candidates of the coming chief executive election that the winner would be expected to handle the issue... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076171/calls-hong-kong-independence-will-lead-nowhere-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076171/calls-hong-kong-independence-will-lead-nowhere-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 03:00:00 +0000 China faces “far more complicated and graver situations” both at home and abroad as it steps up economic development and seeks to play a greater international role, Premier Li Keqiang said in his annual report on Sunday. In his speech delivered at the opening of the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Li spoke about a wide range of issues including border control and defence, China’s economic goals, the role of the Chinese currency, calls for Hong Kong independence, as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076161/china-aims-65-cent-economic-growth-or-higher-if?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2076161/china-aims-65-cent-economic-growth-or-higher-if?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2017 00:45:00 +0000 At this time every year more than 5,000 of China’s governing elite descend on Beijing to discuss and set economic and social agendas for the year. The meetings, known as the “Two Sessions” used to be staid national affairs, as the deputies to the National People’s Congress and delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference merely toed the party line and rubber stamped government proposals. Who goes there? Hong Kong’s participation in China’s ‘two sessions’ explained But in... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2075773/chinas-two-sessions-economy-agenda-trump-hidden-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/2075773/chinas-two-sessions-economy-agenda-trump-hidden-agenda?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Mar 2017 02:30:14 +0000