Chinese leaders are “completely confident” in the long-term growth prospects of the world’s second-largest economy, the spokesperson for the annual parliamentary session said on Monday. “We are completely confident” on this subject, assured Lou Qinjian, interviewed during a press conference on the eve of the opening of this major political meeting. This annual meeting of Parliament, the National People’s Congress (ANP), will begin on Tuesday with the announcement of the official economic growth objective for 2024. It will end on March 11, said Lou Qinjian.
At the same time, the annual session of the “Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference” (CPPCC), a consultative body, will take place, which starts this Monday. Its spokesperson, Liu Jieyi, indicated on Sunday during a press conference that “economic issues are of great concern” for the more than 2,000 members of this assembly. “The employment of young people, particularly young graduates, is a subject of great concern,” he also declared. The youth unemployment rate officially stood at around 15% at the end of 2023, after the National Bureau of Statistics adjusted its calculation methods.
These two parliamentary meetings should not, a priori, lead to the announcement of large-scale economic recovery measures. These initiatives are nevertheless necessary, according to many experts, in order to revive the Chinese economy, which last year recorded one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades (5.2%). “I don’t expect major policy changes, such as significant structural reforms that would change the economic trajectory,” Lynette Ong, a professor at the University of Toronto, told AFP. “The emphasis will be (…) placed on security” during this parliamentary session, she underlines.
