NPC calls for ‘unrelenting struggle’ for China’s rise |

BEIJING:

China on Tuesday concluded one of its biggest political events of the year with a call to “struggle unrelentingly” for the country’s rise after a conclave dominated by a deepening confrontation with the United States, its largest trading partner.

Nearly 3,000 delegates congregated in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on a dusty Tuesday afternoon before President Xi Jinping entered to the sound of rousing martial music.

Senior Communist Party official Li Hongzhong then kicked off proceedings, standing in for National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji, whose absence was attributed to a “respiratory infection”.

Li presided over a series of votes on legislative documents and wrapped up the conference with a call to “struggle unrelentingly for the great endeavour of the rejuvenation of the Chinese people”.

“Let us unite even more closely around the Party centre with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core!” he said, receiving rapturous applause before a military band played the national anthem.

The NPC is China’s top legislature and usually meets for around a week each spring alongside the country’s main political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

The conclave is meticulously choreographed, with voting tightly controlled and legislation pre-approved by the party.

Delegates on Tuesday almost unanimously approved work reports from the national government, supreme court and top public prosecutor.

They also greenlit resolutions on central and local budgets, economic development plans, and an amendment to the lawmakers’ law — with only a handful of votes in opposition.

“The meeting has successfully completed each item on the agenda (and) fully carried forward democracy,” Li said in his closing remarks.

Representatives “strictly handled affairs in accordance with the law, clarified targets and tasks, and transmitted confidence and strength,” he said.

The most closely watched moments of the conclave came last week, when Premier Li Qiang delivered the annual government work report.

He announced an ambitious economic growth target of “around five percent” — matching last year’s goal but still a far cry from the double-digit figures that powered China’s rise.

Zheng Yueming, a delegate from Shandong province, told reporters after the voting that he had faith in China’s economy, though he admitted there were “difficulties every year”. AFP