The National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party convened yesterday morning (March 5th) at 9:00 a.m. at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang read out his second “Government Work Report” during his tenure, drawing attention to the reactions of the attendees. Despite rounds of applause as is customary, some were seen continually rubbing their eyes, while others propped their heads on their hands or intermittently took sips of water.
During Li Keqiang’s report yesterday, as reported by the Hong Kong’s Ming Pao on March 6th, some individuals on the platform continued to wipe their eyes, prop their chins, or occasionally drink from their cups.
In the first half of Li Keqiang’s report, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping closed his eyes to rest, not flipping through the report documents on the desk. It was only when Li reached the section on “Consolidating and Expanding Achievements in Poverty Alleviation” that Xi began to read through the report.
Commentator “Jin Tao Pai An” wrote in “Seeing China” that the tone of Li Keqiang’s delivery of the government work report did not seem particularly strong, with his voice sounding slightly hoarse while reciting the report, perhaps appearing sleep-deprived to avoid any verbal slip-ups as occurred during his report in 2024.
Last year, during the “Two Sessions,” Li Keqiang, while reading the work report, seemed to realize a mistake when he said, “China’s development will surely break waves and have a future.” He quickly corrected himself to “the future holds promise.”
“Jin Tao Pai An” stated that this year, Li Keqiang’s delivery of the report was somewhat “smooth,” as the phrase “the future holds promise” was not present in this year’s report. However, the attention-grabbing scene of a delegate stifling a yawn captured by the official photographer did not escape the audience watching from their screens, though the delegate is predicted to face slim odds.
The article suggests that this yawn, juxtaposed with Li Keqiang’s statement in the report about “serving the people, forming a virtuous cycle of economic development and improving people’s livelihoods,” creates a complete “dubbing effect” that appears to mock Li Keqiang’s rhetoric. Moreover, many data points in the report also indicate that 2025 may not be favorable.
In the report, Li Keqiang stated that the main expected targets for 2025 include a GDP growth rate set around 5%; an urban surveyed unemployment rate of about 5.5%; urban employment increase of over 12 million people; and a consumer price index (CPI) increase of around 2%.
American economist Huang Dawei told Epoch Times yesterday that such official data has always been questioned, with this growth target being more of a political propaganda move, detached from economic reality. Epoch Times columnist Wang He also believes that the Chinese Communist Party’s “Two Sessions” has turned into a political performance, with these data points essentially lacking practical significance.
Li Keqiang is a trusted ally of Xi Jinping and is considered the weakest Premier in Chinese Communist Party history. Not only that, as the second-highest-ranking figure within the party, Li Keqiang’s position has also been impacted by internal clashes within Xi’s inner circle.
On September 13th and 14th, 2023, a meeting of the National Party Committee and Government Secretaries was held in Beijing, marking the unprecedented merger of the party and government secretaries’ meetings, led by the party committee system, with Cai Qi as the highest-ranking official in attendance, conveying Xi’s directives. Attendees included Li Keqiang’s chief steward, State Councilor and Secretary-General Wu Zhenglong, and other State Council secretaries.
At that time, former Central Commission for Discipline Inspection draftsman Wang Youqun wrote in Epoch Times, analyzing that Cai Qi is now the head of the national party committee secretary and government secretaries.
In addition, a review of past official reports reveals that Wang Yi, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has seemingly never attended a State Council meeting chaired by Li Keqiang.
According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on February 28th this year, 60-year-old Chinese aerospace expert Jin Zhuanglong no longer serves as the Party Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with Liaoning Governor Li Lecheng taking over. Since the establishment of Li Keqiang’s cabinet in 2023, four current ministers have stepped down, including former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang, former Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, former Minister of Agriculture Tang Renjian, and Jin Zhuanglong’s dismissal.
During the Chinese “Two Sessions” in March 2024, the traditional Premier’s press conference, held for over thirty years, was canceled. The session also passed the first amendment to the “State Council Organizational Law” in over forty years, adding “upholding central authority and centralized unified leadership” as the top political principle. International opinion widely perceives this amendment as “diminishing the role of the State Council and Premier”.
The Economist previously analyzed that by the time of the leadership transition in 2027, incumbent Premier Li Keqiang might retire due to reaching the age of 68.