Only a third are optimistic about the future
One from the independent NGO “Guangzhou Public Opinion” in the south Canton The survey carried out showed for the first time widespread dissatisfaction in 20 of the 26 economic thematic areas surveyed. Only a third of those interviewed are optimistic about the future. A result that could no longer be found online after just a few hours.
A video by a Dutch journalist captured how tense the atmosphere is around the People's Congress. He wanted to be in the big Chinese city Cheng you filmed a protest by businesspeople who invested in the struggling bank Sichuan Trust – and was temporarily arrested by undercover police:
No more Prime Minister press conferences
The Prime Minister's opening speech on Tuesday was therefore received with enthusiasm Li Qiang expected. After all, on paper, state number two is responsible for Chinese economic policy. The pressure on Li is enormous, especially as the 64-year-old has only been in office for a year and is opening the People's Congress for the first time.
The prime minister trusted in consistency: the economic growth target remains the same as last year, “around five percent”, although economists consider this target to be extremely ambitious given this year's problems. The military budget is also increasing at the same rate as the previous year: 7.2 percent more. In concrete terms, this means that the state's focus on security and control will continue – despite all the economic stagnation.
More politically explosive was what Li didn't say – or will say: for the first time in more than 30 years, the prime minister will not speak to journalists at the end of the People's Congress. This is nothing more than a break with the country's political traditions.
Li Qiang is considered the weakest prime minister in decades
The role of prime minister in China was established over decades as a balanced counterweight to the president and was generally filled by a different wing of the party. Li's predecessors gladly took advantage of the press conference at the end of the People's Congress to express the opinions of their party wing.
But Li is considered the weakest prime minister in decades: his rise is the result of his loyalty to President Xi Jinping, for whom he worked at the provincial level twenty years ago. As Party secretary of Shanghai province two years ago, Li implemented a strict lockdown despite a looming supply collapse – and was rewarded. When Xi secured a historic third term in October 2022, he named his loyalist Li as prime minister.
The fact that he is now canceling the press conference is a symbol for the people: economic policy is now also a top priority in Xi Jinping's China. Around the well-orchestrated People's Congress, the little things take on great importance. The fact that, since the beginning of his third term, 70-year-old Xi has always been the only one among thousands in the room to be served not one but two cups of tea is a sign of his power.