National People’s Congress convenes as China reckons with major economic

Heading into this NPC, there has been a lot of speculation about China’s next foreign minister. The country has been without one since Qin Gang was abruptly fired last year, setting off a wave of rumors about a man once regarded as part of Xi’s inner circle.

Currently, Wang Yi holds down the position in addition to his job as the country’s chief diplomat. Judging by comments officials made yesterday, it is unlikely that a new foreign minister will be announced by the end of this year’s session (or any time in the near future, it seems). 

The front-runner is still widely believed to be Liu Jianchao, who started his career as a translator in 1987 and has worked his way up through the foreign ministry ranks, including as China’s ambassador to Indonesia and the Philippines. Already, Liu has been doing some diplomatic globetrotting even if he hasn’t been anointed yet.

Qin’s “resignation” as a delegate to this year’s National People’s Congress was accepted last week, though he has not been seen in public since June. Wang will conduct the traditional foreign minister’s news conference this week.

As China struggles with high unemployment and other economic issues, job-related proposals at this year’s legislative sessions are drawing special attention on Chinese social media.

One delegate to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a top advisory body, is urging officials to address the perception that companies are reluctant to hire people 35 and older, a phenomenon referred to in China as “the curse of 35.” A topic about the delegate’s proposal has garnered more than 63 million views on Weibo, a popular Chinese social media platform.

Another topic touching on the intense competition for jobs among university graduates drew more than 22 million views.

The country’s record low birthrate also propelled several proposals about increasing parental support and easing pressure for families with children, but it met with tepid reaction on social media, with one comment reading, “It’s a bit late now.” Another user wrote, “The future is uncertain, I don’t want to pressure myself so much.”

Regarding the politically sensitive issues of Taiwan and Hong Kong, Li did not signal much of a shift in China’s policy. Li said the Chinese territory of Hong Kong will remain committed to “law-based governance” administered by “patriots” (in other words, officials loyal to Beijing).

On Taiwan, a self-ruling island democracy that Beijing claims as its territory, Li repeated China’s official stance on “reunification” (it will happen), “separatist activities” (China is opposed) and “external interference” (that’s a standard reference to U.S. support for Taiwan, including arms sales).

It was at the 2020 meeting of the National People’s Congress that China announced the sweeping Hong Kong national security law with no warning. The law was adopted within a month to end democratic protests in the city, a former British colony that returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. The subsequent crackdown on dissent has all but wiped out Hong Kong’s democratic opposition and prompted some foreign companies to shift away from the international financial hub.

Hong Kong is now preparing to enact its own local national security law, known as Article 23, as required under the city’s mini-constitution. Critics say the legislation is likely to further undermine Hong Kong’s civil liberties, which it was guaranteed would be preserved for the first 50 years of Chinese rule.

Delegates are filing out of the auditorium after Li finished delivering the government work report, a bit more than an hour after he began speaking.

Among the highlights:

• China is aiming for economic growth of about 5% in 2024, in line with last year’s target, although it could be harder to reach amid economic headwinds and structural imbalances.
• Officials hope to create more than 12 million new urban jobs and keep the urban unemployment rate around 5.5%.
• The government is targeting an increase of about 3% in the consumer price index.
• China is intensifying efforts to attract foreign investment, including abolishing all market restrictions on investment in manufacturing and loosening restrictions on investment in market access restrictions in service sectors such as telecommunications and health care.

Li also talked about “keeping China’s advantage” when it comes to electric vehicles. In recent years, Chinese-made EVs have powered ahead of U.S. and other foreign competitors here — with help from heavy…