Xi Jinping, center, with outgoing Premier Li Keqiang on his left, followed by Vice Premier Li Zhanshu and on his right Wang Yang, outgoing Chairman of the Chinese People’s Consultative Commission, and Li Qiang, Secretary-General of the CPC in Shanghai and a member of the Standing Committee on appointment as Prime Minister in Beijing, Sunday March 5, 2023. THOMAS PETER/ Portal
China on Sunday, March 5, during its annual nine-day parliamentary session, announced a cautious growth target for 2023 but an increase in defense spending that will allow Xi Jinping to remain president for five years.
The defense budget — the second largest in the world after the United States — is set to increase 7.2% to 1,553.7 billion yuan this year, the biggest increase since 2019.
As nearly 3,000 deputies from the National People’s Congress (ANP) gathered at the People’s Palace in Beijing on the second day, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang assured that “outside attempts at containment continue to increase.” He called for an “intensification” of army training as well as “combat preparation” as Sino-US tensions, particularly over the Taiwan issue, rise.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers “Xi Jinping does not understand the world”: the secrets of a Chinese intellectual
After three years of slowdown due to anti-Covid restrictions, “China’s economy is enjoying a solid recovery,” Mr. Li stressed. However, the target of “around 5%” set for 2023 is one of the lowest in decades. In 2022, China’s gross domestic product grew by just 3% amid a global economic slowdown, the outbreak of Covid-19, lockdowns and a housing crisis.
“China’s economic development has encountered several unexpected factors like the epidemic at home and abroad,” Li Keqiang said Sunday. “However, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee, we have effectively coordinated epidemic prevention and control, as well as economic and social development,” he added.
The parliamentary session will decide on Xi Jinping’s reappointment as head of state for a five-year term as president. The 69-year-old chairman had already been confirmed as party chairman in October. As every year, few surprises are expected from this carefully orchestrated event, which sees thousands of politicians from different provinces travel to Beijing to vote almost unanimously on texts already pre-approved by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). MEPs will discuss several economic and social issues, ranging from strengthening sex education in schools to boosting birth rates from online harassment.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers In China, the severe financial crisis of the local authorities
Xi Jinping has encountered some pitfalls in recent months, with demonstrations in late November against his zero-Covid policy and then a death wave after abandoning that notorious health strategy. These sensitive issues are unlikely to be discussed during this parliamentary session, which is set to appoint Li Qiang, a close friend of Xi Jinping and ex-CCP chief in Shanghai, as the new prime minister.