https://www.scmp.com/rss/326510/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has finished his press conference to mark the end of the National People’s Congress.  This year’s congress  resulted in many significant changes, including the constitutional revision to remove presidential term limits, a sweeping plan to restructure the State Council and the appointment of many new figures to top government posts.  Here are the key takeaways from the two-hour event. China-US relations Li called on the United States not to act “emotionally” when asked... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2137907/live-premier-li-keqiang-addresses-media-close-landmark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2137907/live-premier-li-keqiang-addresses-media-close-landmark?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Mar 2018 02:30:15 +0000 Most of the time China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, goes along with the Communist Party and endorses its major decisions with an overwhelming majority. But there are times when the 2,000 or so lawmakers are more willing to exercise their preferences. A case in point is deciding who gets to sit on the NPC’s 159-member Standing Committee, which meets in between the full legislature’s annual sessions. On Sunday, one group of the 170 candidates in the running for the seats were... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2137742/when-chinas-top-lawmakers-dont-go-communist-partys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2137742/when-chinas-top-lawmakers-dont-go-communist-partys?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Mar 2018 23:01:10 +0000 China’s economic planning agency, a legacy of the command economy days that gained new power during the era of rapid state-led growth, will be significantly weaker under a government reshuffle announced on Tuesday. The National Development and Reform Commission, known as the “little cabinet”, has been a formidable power centre in the world’s second-biggest economy, with its portfolio ranging from approving high-speed railway projects to the electricity rates for every household. It will remain... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2137043/too-big-and-too-powerful-why-xi-jinping-reining-chinas-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2137043/too-big-and-too-powerful-why-xi-jinping-reining-chinas-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Mar 2018 22:03:57 +0000 Under the watch of a confident and relaxed President Xi Jinping, nearly 3,000 Chinese lawmakers were nearly unanimous in their approval on Sunday of changes to the state constitution that included removing the term limit on the presidency. Xi, who had maintained a poker face throughout the opening day of China’s parliamentary session last Monday, appeared much more at ease on Sunday. He even smiled when Wang Cheng, the vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress, announced the final result... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136748/chinese-president-xi-jinping-confident-and-relaxed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136748/chinese-president-xi-jinping-confident-and-relaxed?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Mar 2018 14:15:15 +0000 China’s legislature voted almost unanimously on Sunday in favour of changing the country’s constitution to remove presidential and vice-presidential term limits, formally allowing Xi Jinping to stay on as head of state beyond 2023. The National People’s Congress passed the constitutional amendments with 2,958 votes in favour, only two against, and three abstentions. One ballot was invalid. A total of 2,964 votes were cast. In addition to scrapping the two-term limits, the roughly 3,000 NPC... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136740/china-ends-presidential-term-limits-what-other-changes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136740/china-ends-presidential-term-limits-what-other-changes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Mar 2018 11:15:45 +0000 When the roughly 3,000 Chinese lawmakers line up to cast their votes on controversial changes to the constitution on Sunday, some may dismiss it as nothing but a ceremonial show. Given the Communist Party’s iron grip on the National People’s Congress and the two-thirds majority needed for passage of the changes, endorsement is almost a certainty. Still, President Xi Jinping is leaving nothing to chance. A flurry of closed-door meetings and public displays of support over the last few days signal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136645/why-every-vote-counts-chinas-biggest-foregone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136645/why-every-vote-counts-chinas-biggest-foregone?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Mar 2018 07:45:45 +0000 Nearly 3,000 NPC delegates will descend on the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday afternoon to cast their votes on proposed changes to the constitution, including a controversial move to scrap term limits for the presidency and vice-presidency. At least two-thirds of them must approve the amendment for it to pass, which would allow Xi to stay on as president well past the end of his second term in 2023, cementing him as the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. The National... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136605/how-will-chinas-legislature-vote-changes-constitution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136605/how-will-chinas-legislature-vote-changes-constitution?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Mar 2018 04:30:45 +0000 China’s foreign minister is often seen as the face of the country’s foreign policy but his actual say in foreign policy decision-making is much smaller than in many other countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not the most authoritative or influential actor in foreign policy formulation in China. Instead, a wide range of Communist Party organs and government departments, plus the military, may be involved in the process. The one-party state’s supreme body – the Politburo Standing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2136248/how-does-china-formulate-its-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2136248/how-does-china-formulate-its-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Mar 2018 05:15:16 +0000 A controversial plan to remove the presidential term limit from the Chinese constitution may have been first proposed three weeks before the Communist Party congress in October that confirmed Xi Jinping’s status as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. The leadership also went to a select group of party elders seeking their opinions and endorsement, according to an official report to the legislature on Monday that gave a rare glimpse into the making of the contentious policy... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135825/party-gives-its-version-how-xi-jinpings-plan-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135825/party-gives-its-version-how-xi-jinpings-plan-change?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Mar 2018 13:30:15 +0000 China will continue to focus on supply-side reforms, financial risks, poverty and the environment this year and beyond in the drive for “high-quality growth”, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday. With an annual growth target of “about 6.5 per cent” for 2018, Li made it clear in his two-hour speech to the national legislature that the speed of economic expansion was less of a worry now that the risk of a hard landing had faded. Li told the 3,000 or so delegates to the National People’s Congress... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2135811/china-reaffirms-goals-rebalance-economy-reduce-poverty-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2135811/china-reaffirms-goals-rebalance-economy-reduce-poverty-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Mar 2018 12:00:45 +0000 The annual session of the National People’s Congress opened on Monday amid a major shift in Chinese politics. It was the first session of the legislative body since the new Communist Party leadership was installed at its 19th congress in October. It was also China’s first big political event since it became clear that President Xi Jinping intends to stay in power beyond his second five-year term, with the party proposing the constitution be changed to remove the limit. Key takeaways from Premier... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135619/what-will-chinas-parliamentary-session-reveal-about-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135619/what-will-chinas-parliamentary-session-reveal-about-its?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Mar 2018 00:15:00 +0000 No phones, no breaks and no comment – China’s top political advisers and lawmakers began what is arguably the most important parliamentary sessions in years on Saturday in stony silence. A week after the ruling Communist Party announced a controversial plan to remove the limit on the president’s term, sparking fears of a return to strongman politics, Beijing gathered its policy advisers for the two-week annual meetings as thick smog blanketed the capital. By the time members of the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135584/no-comment-uneasy-silence-chinas-top-political-advisory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135584/no-comment-uneasy-silence-chinas-top-political-advisory?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Mar 2018 00:31:09 +0000 During the annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing, which started on Saturday and cap China’s five-yearly political reshuffle, all eyes will be on proposed constitutional changes that could end presidential term limits, paving the way for Xi Jinping to stay in power beyond 2023.  First term limits ... now Xi to shake up the state While this controversial move with far-reaching implications plays out, a new cabinet and other top-level officials will be unveiled, sealing more than two weeks of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135530/what-watch-chinas-two-sessions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2135530/what-watch-chinas-two-sessions?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Mar 2018 07:15:30 +0000 After the assassination attempt on US president Ronald Reagan in March 1981, vice-president George H.W. Bush stepped into the breach, famously telling a military aide as he sped towards Washington that “only the president lands on the south lawn”. But the concept of a vice-president would probably have confused many Chinese because the country did not even have a president at the time.  The 1975 constitution that was in force, dubbed the Cultural Revolution constitution, deliberately omitted the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2134417/will-chinas-next-vice-president-have-more-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2134417/will-chinas-next-vice-president-have-more-power?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2018 11:02:51 +0000