Beijing Holds Annual Two Sessions Amid Economic Crisis

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: Beijing holds its annual two sessions amid a fraught moment for the economy and the political leadership, Australia finds itself embroiled in a spying scandal that seems to involve China, and why the Chinese leadership is not likely to name a new foreign minister at the meetings in Beijing this week.

What to Make of Beijing’s Annual Two Sessions

China’s annual pretense that it has a real legislature—known as the two sessions—opened in Beijing this week amid a fraught period for the country’s economy and the national political leadership under Chinese President Xi Jinping. There will be no press briefing from Premier Li Qiang to conclude this year’s events, marking the first time in three decades that the traditional conference has been skipped.

The change could be a sign of ominous rumblings beneath the surface of the two sessions, which provide a rare glimpse at how Chinese governance works and even at what is going on behind the scenes. The meetings are called the two sessions because two different bodies convene for the week: the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament; and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is an advisory body.

The premier’s annual press briefing, which included questions from both Chinese and international media, was one of the few times that foreign journalists had direct access to a top Chinese leader. And the answers were sometimes interesting. In 2012, the event took place as high-flying official Bo Xilai sought to defend himself as his political empire collapsed. At the briefing, then-Premier Wen Jiabao took a swipe at Bo in public.

There are a few possible explanations for why Li Qiang called off the event. For one, the questions would likely be about the state of the Chinese economy, a painful and uncomfortable topic. That his predecessor, Li Keqiang, often hinted at a desire for economic reforms during the briefing may contribute to the perceived risk of the event.

Furthermore, any stage for the premier is becoming politically unacceptable in the era of Xi-as-everything—even for someone like Li Qiang, who was chosen for the job because he poses no threat to Xi. He has avoided taking center stage at any major event during his year in office.

So, will anything happen at the two sessions? In theory, the NPC makes laws, elects China’s president and vice president (and can remove them), confirms nominations for premiership and ministerial positions, and can amend the Chinese Constitution. In practice, it does none of these things. Membership in both the NPC and the CPPCC is handed out as a reward for good behavior, akin to knighthoods in the United Kingdom.

The reality is that power, policy, and the law are in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and that party positions always matter most in China. For example, China’s defense minister has a relatively unimportant role compared to a position on the party’s Central Military Commission.

The NPC is the definition of a rubber-stamp parliament. Membership is essentially ceremonial, and the body only convenes for a few days per year, although a standing committee of around 175 people meets every couple of months. Still, there are usually some hints about the wider political mood in China at the two sessions. The government work report is the smoke signal with the most significance, and its presentation is in the premier’s hands.

This year’s report went public on Tuesday, with no big surprises: an expected economic growth target of 5 percent, some hints at stimulus but no major packages, and encomiums about how all good news is credit to “General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is at the helm charting the course, to the sound guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, to the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”

During the meetings, NPC delegates also individually propose new laws, which have no chance of being passed at the event but can offer a window into social or political concerns. 2022 saw a flurry of proposed domestic violence laws, mostly from female delegates. Other proposals may reflect quirky personal causes.

Yet for all the NPC’s general insignificance, it is also a potential landmine lurking beneath the CCP’s power. The body doesn’t matter at all, but if there were ever a real crisis of government it could matter a lot. For now, though, the two sessions are relatively insignificant.

What We’re Following

Australia spy scandal. The head of Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, Mike Burgess, accused an unnamed former politician of having “sold out their country, party, and former colleagues” in a recent speech. Although Burgess didn’t explicitly name the foreign opponent, whom he described as being recruited by an “A-team” targeting Australia, Canberra has been in a long conflict with Beijing over the latter’s alleged political infiltration and spying, leading to a sharp decline in relations.

Australia-China ties have stabilized somewhat under the current Labor party-led government. Burgess’s role is nonpartisan, but he was appointed in 2019 under the previous Liberal government. His raising of the issue may be a shot fired on behalf of critics who think Labor’s approach is too soft, including many officials inside the Australian security services.

The approach that Burgess describes is a classic one: approaching key individuals for consultancy work and paying them substantial sums for information. China often ends up paying for information it could get from a newspaper op-ed, but the level of opacity and paranoia about espionage in China causes officials and intelligence officers to underestimate what information is in the public domain in other countries.

Australian media is now demanding the name of the alleged spy, which Burgess has so far refused to reveal, except saying that they were a politician and were aware that a foreign intelligence agency was involved. Sam Dastyari, who left Australia’s parliament in 2018 over Chinese influence allegations, has already denied that he is the person named.

No new foreign minister. Since the mysterious disappearance and eventual removal from office of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang last year, his former boss, Wang Yi, has held the foreign minister role. That means he doubles as both foreign minister and head of the CCP’s foreign affairs committee. There has been some speculation that he would give up the foreign minister post during the two sessions, but personnel appointments are missing from the agenda, suggesting nothing is likely to happen.

It is strange that Wang is still stuck with both roles, which each involve a lot of work. The lack of new personnel may mean that last year’s purges have left internal politics unsettled enough that Xi—and maybe others in power—can’t settle on new candidates.

Tech and Business

Automotive fears. The latest front in the sprawling U.S.-China trade and technology conflict may be cars. U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Commerce Department to probe the risks posed by Chinese tech in cars. The investigation could lead to a more aggressive policy aimed at China’s globally dominant automotive industry, which produces nearly three times as many cars as that of the United States and is a global leader in electric vehicles.

However, it is true that modern tech, including in vehicles, allows plenty of surveillance opportunities, which are already operational in networks in Xinjiang and sold as part of “smart city” technology in China’s Belt and Road deals.

Shipping CEO dies mysteriously. Angela Chao, the chief executive of the Foremost Group, a family-run shipping enterprise with close ties to China, died last month after her car went into a Texas pond with Chao behind the wheel. Texas police announced last week that her death is under criminal investigation. Chao is the sister of former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, who is the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Although Elaine Chao held no stake in her family’s business while in government, several whistleblowers raised serious concerns about Elaine Chao bringing relatives to meetings while she was on a State Department trip to China. In 2020, the inspector general recommended a criminal investigation, but the Justice Department refused to act.

FP’s Most Read This Week

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• The Brutal Logic to Israel’s Actions in Gaza by Raphael S. Cohen
• War Between Israel and Hezbollah Is Becoming Inevitable by Steven A. Cook

A Moment of Culture

Poet and official Zhang Yanghao (1270-1329) wrote the famous lyric below, an example of the nostalgic genre of huaigu (“reflections on the past”), in contemplation of the fortress at Tong Pass, which was built in 196. The fall of the citadel, known for the near-impregnability of “mountains on one side, the river on the other,” in 756 during the An Lushan rebellion nearly brought down the Tang dynasty.

The Mongol Yuan dynasty, which Zhang served, would fall four decades after his death.

Reflections on the Past: At Tong Pass
Translated by Brendan O’Kane

The peaks of Mount Glory muster in,
The waves of the Yellow River rage.
Threading through mountain and river it runs:
The road up to Tong Pass.

I pause
and gaze west toward the capital that was:
where Qin and Han and Tang passed through,
and every one of their palaces turned to dust.

Dynasties
rise: the little people suffer.
fall: the little people suffer.