As long as the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping only emphasizes its reform stance, it cannot evade its conflict with the United States or its economic slowdown. To realize stable growth, it will be tested as to whether it can correct its disparate policies.
The National People's Congress started in China. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, delivering the government work report, set this year's economic growth target at 6 percent to 6.5 percent, effectively lowering the target from last year's "about 6.5 percent."
Saying that the Chinese economy faces increasing downward pressure, Li presented a policy of emphasizing stimulus measures, such as large-scale tax cuts and the expansion of social infrastructure investments.
If the country's economic slowdown does not stop, and social discontent grows over income disparity and other matters, it will be inevitable for Xi's unifying power to decline. With the 70th anniversary of the nation's founding in October, the administration has undoubtedly deepened its sense of crisis.
Regarding China-U.S. trade friction, Li candidly admitted it had an adverse effect on the production and business operations of some companies and on market expectations. He also did not refer to "Made in China 2025," which is watched with wariness as China's strategy to exceed the United States as a high-tech great power.
As China and the United States try to work out a final agreement on trade through the bilateral summit likely to be held as early as this month, Beijing has apparently demonstrated its cooperative stance.
Review legal systems
At the National People's Congress, a draft Foreign Business Investment Law that bans the use of pressure on foreign firms to transfer technology is also expected to get passed into law, with unusual swiftness since its draft was made public only last December. The United States is strongly calling on China to rectify the government's excessive protection of its domestic industries and the infringement of intellectual property rights.
The question is whether the effectiveness of these reforms can be ensured. "We faithfully honor our commitments," Xi emphasized but also asserted "and are resolute in safeguarding our lawful rights and interests."
The Xi administration has enacted the National Intelligence Law, which makes it obligatory for people to cooperate with the government's intelligence activities, and the Cybersecurity Law, which justifies the government's control of the internet.
The Xi administration should understand that unless China drastically reviews its legal systems, which greatly differ from those in developed countries, it cannot dispel a sense of distrust among countries, including the United States.
Military spending was announced to total 1.19 trillion yuan (about 19.85 trillion yen), up 7.5 percent from the previous year. This is nearly four times Japan's defense outlay. Concerns that the growth of military outlays tends to outpace economic growth cannot be wiped out.
China's building of aircraft carriers one after another and the reinforcement of medium- and long-range ballistic missiles pose a threat to neighboring countries.
On a day to celebrate the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in April, an international naval review will be held, and there will be a military parade on a day to celebrate the nation's founding in October. The country's display of its maintaining a strong military will only spur cautious views on China among the United States and other countries.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 6, 2019)
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