What’s new: China will hold the annual “Two Sessions” of its top legislative and political advisory bodies in March next year, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.
The National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, will start its annual session on March 5 in Beijing. The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, will begin its annual session on March 4.
Why it matters: During the annual NPC meeting, the world’s second-largest economy usually sets its annual economic targets, including the one for GDP growth, which are closely watched by politicians and economists around the globe.
In 2020, China abandoned its decades-old practice of setting a target for annual GDP growth amid the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, prioritizing instead the goals of stabilizing employment, alleviating poverty and preventing risks.
This year’s “Two Sessions” were delayed by two months from their usual March dates and were held in May in a shorter and lower-profile format than the traditional meetings to avoid infections during the nation’s Covid-19 epidemic.
Related: China Scraps GDP Growth Target, Boosts Budget Deficit Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Contact reporter Lin Jinbing (jinbinglin@caixin.com) and editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
