Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The biggest indication, if any was needed, that China is declining came from the just-concluded annual meeting of its parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC) which, for the first time since 1993, ended without the Prime Minister’s customary press conference to skirt embarrassing questions about the Dragons’ progressing multiple organ failures.
Even a year after President Xi Ping was “re-elected” for an unprecedented third term–making him almost President-for Life–corruption and degeneration across China is so rampant that scores of leaders, including senior ministers, have been sacked or jailed over the last few months and even the commanders of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have pointed to the war unpreparedness of their troops.
According to the media reports, China’s week-long meeting of the NPC (March 4-10), which gathered some 3,000 delegates from the political, business, and cultural elite in Beijing, closed on Monday after securing delegates’ rubber-stamping the continuance of President Xi Jinping’s regime, the new laws and political appointments.
Since 1993, the NPC proceedings were wrapped up with a press conference by the country’s premier but it was announced last week that Li Qiang would not be addressing the media.
Without the customary press conference, China removed one of the few avenues open to foreign media trying to understand where this nation sees itself in the world.
But some nuggets did trickle out.
Speaking to delegates, some ministers were relatively frank about the challenges China is facing, especially in the area of economic growth. Housing Minister Ni Hong was quoted as describing the task of fixing China’s property market as “very difficult.”
The collapse of property developer Evergrande was potentially a touchy subject at the meeting with one journalist reportedly having been questioned about her ties to the company after going through a facial recognition scanner.
China’s target of 5 percent growth for 2024 was seen by some as “ambitious.” Beijing has been wary of stimulus tied to the flailing housing market.
However, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on the NPC sidelines, said there had been “some improvement in China-US relations” since Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden met in San Francisco last year, after a steep deterioration of ties in the wake of issues from trade to Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon.
Asked about China’s relationship with Russia in light of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, he described the two countries’ closer relationship as a “strategic choice”, noting that bilateral trade had reached a record USD 240 billion in 2023.
The Xi Jinping regime announced that defense spending would rise by 7.2 percent in 2024, the same level of increase as in 2023. Unlike last year, references to peace were notably absent from sections of the premier’s work report in its references to Taiwan. Last year’s report called for “advance(ing) the process of China’s peaceful reunification”, while this year, it said the country would “be firm in advancing the cause of China’s reunification.”
Beijing’s defense budget has more than doubled since 2015 but, according to William D Hartung of the Quincy Institute, the US continues to outspend China on its military by a substantial margin.
On the technology front, China is focusing on the development of new technologies to achieve self-sufficiency. It is driven by a sense of urgency to catch up with the United States.