https://www.scmp.com/rss/511944/feed Two Sessions refers to China's annual parliamentary meetings, where the two main political bodies of China - the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - reveal plans for China's policies involving the economy, military, trade, diplomacy, the environment and more. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com After last week’s annual parliamentary meetings, which were overshadowed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s stock market this week experienced a level of tumult rarely seen since the stock market meltdown in the summer of 2015. Disrupted by its worst Covid outbreak in two years, and challenged by growing pressure from the West to condemn Russian aggression, China is grappling to tame economic headwinds, and its efforts have been further complicated by the US Federal Reserve’s rate-hike... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3171027/6-takeaways-chinas-two-sessions-and-economic-turmoil-followed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3171027/6-takeaways-chinas-two-sessions-and-economic-turmoil-followed?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Mar 2022 10:00:17 +0000 Like the rest of the world, China is watching closely as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolds, while also bracing for the impact of escalating Western sanctions against Russia. As the largest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, China has a lot at stake, especially as the warring nations are both participants in the Belt and Road Initiative – China’s ambitious plan to grow global trade with billions of dollars worth of investment and infrastructure projects. Physical dangers;... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170142/how-will-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-fare-when-partners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170142/how-will-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-fare-when-partners?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Mar 2022 10:30:16 +0000 The ongoing war in Ukraine will not halt China’s push to surpass the United States to become the world’s largest economy by 2030, according to a senior Beijing adviser, despite a recent sell off of Chinese bonds by overseas investors. Russia’s invasion comes at a time of downward economic pressure and rising tensions with Western powers for China, as well as global uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine and the ongoing disruptions caused by the coronavirus. The Russia-Ukraine war will have an... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3169687/ukraine-invasion-wont-dent-chinas-push-surpass-us-become-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3169687/ukraine-invasion-wont-dent-chinas-push-surpass-us-become-top?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Mar 2022 22:00:29 +0000 The chief of China’s top advisory body has moved to allay fears and quell suggestions that authorities are not doing enough to support the nation’s private companies, in Beijing’s latest attempt to reassure the jittery sector that is struggling amid pandemic lockdowns and regulatory crackdowns. The country will stick to its reform and opening-up policies, while the promise of “unswervingly” encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector will not change, and neither... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169576/two-sessions-2022-small-business-concerns-persist-chinas-no-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169576/two-sessions-2022-small-business-concerns-persist-chinas-no-4?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 22:15:17 +0000 China has rolled out a raft of proposals on how to incentivise women to have children, including encouraging postgraduate students to get married, subsidising kindergarten and greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education to reduce costs and save time for families. The ideas, discussed at the annual “two sessions” parliamentary gathering that started on Friday, come against a backdrop of growing concern about the nation’s demographic challenges. China’s population is ageing rapidly... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169579/two-sessions-2022-ai-tax-cuts-beijing-grasps-solutions-its-population?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169579/two-sessions-2022-ai-tax-cuts-beijing-grasps-solutions-its-population?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Mar 2022 11:30:20 +0000 China has underscored self-reliance in its economic priorities this year amid warnings of trade headwinds and geopolitical complexities. At the opening of the annual National People’s Congress on Saturday, Premier Li Keqiang announced new incentives in the nation’s push for innovation and “faster breakthroughs” in core technologies, and highlighted the need for secure industrial and supply chains. Li said the government would raise the tax rebate for small and medium-sized science and technology... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169405/self-reliance-chinas-top-economic-priority-turbulent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169405/self-reliance-chinas-top-economic-priority-turbulent?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2022 03:00:20 +0000 China unveiled a cautious and inward-looking government report for this year, putting the focus on the country’s bottom line as it confronts mounting external risks. Addressing national legislators on Saturday, Premier Li Keqiang made no mention of the United States, Europe or Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Instead the emphasis was squarely on maintaining stability and risk control. “We are very clear about the problems and challenges before us,” Li said to nearly 3,000 deputies as he delivered the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169398/looking-inward-chinese-premier-li-keqiang-focuses-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169398/looking-inward-chinese-premier-li-keqiang-focuses-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Mar 2022 15:30:29 +0000 China struck a cautiously confident tone for its economic growth to lead the post-pandemic global economic recovery, while appearing to acknowledge the challenges posed by growing disruption from geopolitical conflicts. China set its gross domestic product (GDP) growth target for 2022 at “around 5.5 per cent”, or the upper end of the market forecast, according to the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang to an annual legislative meeting on Saturday. However, it also sounded the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169406/china-strikes-cautious-note-economy-55-cent-gdp-target-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169406/china-strikes-cautious-note-economy-55-cent-gdp-target-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Mar 2022 14:11:05 +0000 China’s strict Covid-19 control measures are unlikely to be eased in the near future, but will be fine-tuned to minimise disruptions to economic growth, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang implied. Delivering the annual government report to deputies of the National People’s Congress on Saturday, Li said China would continue with “routine” epidemic control measures, including preventing both outbreaks introduced from overseas and any resurgence in local cases. This indicates strict epidemic control... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169390/china-stick-zero-covid-policy-rules-may-be-refined-premier-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3169390/china-stick-zero-covid-policy-rules-may-be-refined-premier-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Mar 2022 13:00:24 +0000 As soaring global demand for lithium shows no signs of abating amid a global shift to battery-powered vehicles to reduce carbon emissions, the acceleration of lithium mining and extraction in China is of keen interest to industry representatives at the “two sessions” policy-setting gatherings in Beijing. Jiang Weiping, chairman of Tianqi Lithium, a leading lithium miner and products maker in China, suggested that the country expedite the extraction of lithium resources in southwestern Sichuan... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169301/two-sessions-2022-china-urged-accelerate-mining-major-lithium?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169301/two-sessions-2022-china-urged-accelerate-mining-major-lithium?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:30:21 +0000 Despite its slowing economic growth, China may not raise its fiscal deficit target significantly and is likely to refrain from excessive stimulus to prevent the further build-up of aggressive debt by local governments, according to analysts. Premier Li Keqiang will deliver the government work report on Saturday during the annual “two sessions” gatherings of the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which kick off on... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169124/two-sessions-2022-chinas-debt-and-economic-outlooks-tap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169124/two-sessions-2022-chinas-debt-and-economic-outlooks-tap?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 23:30:18 +0000 China should lift all of its family-planning restrictions and step up pronatalist measures to boost the country’s precariously low birth rate, according to a number of representatives to the “two sessions” agenda-setting meetings that kick off on Friday. With thousands of China’s political elites converging on Beijing to attend the annual parliamentary gatherings, a number of representatives have revealed their proposals to the central government to address the nation’s worsening demographic... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169118/two-sessions-2022-calls-chinas-family-planning-restrictions?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 20:30:18 +0000 Germany is expected to remain an investment hotspot for China after it unveils new overseas spending priorities at the National People’s Congress this month, despite uncertainty following the retirement of chancellor Angela Merkel, who was praised for her pragmatic approach to bilateral ties. China’s top officials will lay out major economic policies for the year at the “two sessions” – the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169081/china-germany-investment-faces-challenges-rivalry-grows-post-merkel-era?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3169081/china-germany-investment-faces-challenges-rivalry-grows-post-merkel-era?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 16:00:26 +0000 Ahead of the “two sessions”, Chinese legislators and political advisors have called for uniform national standards on pandemic control to balance containment and the economy amid growing debate about the country’s zero-Covid policy. Local authorities across China are still applying their own rules, including arduous restrictions on travellers, that are hurting economic activities, said Wang Yu, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169111/chinas-zero-covid-policy-under-microscope-leaders-gather-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3169111/chinas-zero-covid-policy-under-microscope-leaders-gather-two?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Mar 2022 12:30:28 +0000 In January 2022, Xian, a city in northern China, was 22 days into a lockdown due to a Covid-19 outbreak, when two private hospitals were ordered by local authorities to suspend operations for three months. They were being punished for rejecting patients, citing Covid-19 control measures based on government orders, which led to the death of an unborn baby and a man from a heart attack. As soon as the decision was made public, the stock price of International Medical – the listed company behind... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168805/chinas-private-sector-struggling-common-prosperity-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168805/chinas-private-sector-struggling-common-prosperity-covid-19?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Mar 2022 11:00:27 +0000 A widely-anticipated push by China’s government to boost construction to stabilise growth in the world’s second-largest economy has yet to materialise, a blow to hopes that Chinese stimulus would lift global growth early on this year. The Communist Party has made its stimulus goals clear in recent months, pledging to “front-load” pro-growth policies in 2022, pushing early sales of bonds to fund investment and easing curbs on financing for the property sector. The Politburo, the party’s top... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168625/chinas-economy-suffers-blow-beijings-stimulus-push-fails-jolt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168625/chinas-economy-suffers-blow-beijings-stimulus-push-fails-jolt?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Feb 2022 04:22:48 +0000 After a brutal start to the year, traders are pinning their hopes of a turnaround in Chinese stocks on top policymakers, who will gather in Beijing this week for the annual legislative and consultative conferences that set in motion economic policies and growth targets. The National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) will be in the spotlight at a time when the pressure on a slowdown in growth is building up and the government’s efforts to... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3168424/traders-count-chinas-two-sessions-reverse-stock-market-decline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3168424/traders-count-chinas-two-sessions-reverse-stock-market-decline?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Feb 2022 23:30:11 +0000 China will soon convene its annual parliamentary meetings, which will set out plans for policies involving the economy, trade, diplomacy, the environment and more. The “two sessions”, which are the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), begins this year on March 4 in Beijing. It will offer China’s top officials the chance to lay out major economic policies affecting global markets and... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3168233/chinas-two-sessions-what-can-we-expect-beijing-plots-course-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3168233/chinas-two-sessions-what-can-we-expect-beijing-plots-course-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:00:08 +0000