• Xi Jinping is poised to consolidate his control over China’s government and economy.
• NPC will confirm Mr. Xi’s third term as president as well as his top team appointments.
• China announced that it will pursue a 5% economic growth target this year.

As lawmakers gather in Beijing to pass far-reaching reforms, Xi Jinping is poised to consolidate his control over China‘s government and economy.

The National People’s Congress (NPC), a rubber-stamp parliament, will confirm Mr. Xi’s third term as president as well as his top team appointments.

They will also name a new premier to succeed Mr. Xi, as incumbent Li Keqiang steps down.

The Two Sessions, as the meetings are known, take place once a year.

However, delegates are expected to reshape several key Communist Party and state institutions during this year’s sessions.

According to state media, they will also tighten control over bodies overseeing the finance sector and scientific and technological work, while “strengthening party-building work” in private businesses.

The moves are likely to blur the lines between the Chinese Communist Party and the government, while also consolidating the party’s control of the private sector.

This comes amid an ongoing corruption crackdown that has resulted in the disappearance of a number of high-profile businessmen in recent years. The most recent missing person was one of China’s top dealmakers in the technology sector.

This week’s NPC meeting will also formalise Mr. Xi’s leadership of the country, as he will be elected President of China and Commander-in-Chief of the People’s Liberation Army.

He consolidated his position in Chinese power in October of last year, when the Communist Party re-elected him as its leader for a third term.

It was a departure from decades of tradition, as no other party leader other than Communist China’s first leader, Mao Zedong, had served for as long. The removal of term limits on the presidency was approved by lawmakers at the 2018 NPC meeting, effectively allowing Mr Xi to remain leader for life.

Mr. Xi’s appointment comes at a time when he is under domestic pressure to turn around an economy battered by his zero-Covid strategy and crackdowns in various business sectors.

At the start of the meeting, China announced that it will pursue a 5% economic growth target this year, while defence spending will increase by more than 7%.

Mr. Xi is navigating deteriorating relations with the US over the Ukraine war and the recent spy balloon saga while warming his embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The NPC will also announce the appointment of a new Premier, China’s equivalent of a prime minister who traditionally oversees the economy and administrative aspects of governance.

Mr. Xi’s most trusted colleague, Li Qiang, is expected to take over. As Shanghai party secretary, he oversaw a lengthy and painful Covid lockdown that enraged residents and made international headlines.

Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, who was deposed in a leadership reshuffle at the party congress in October, will deliver his final work report speech.

Political appointments for the rest of the Politburo Standing Committee, Mr. Xi’s cabinet, will also be made.

Many people will be watching to see who is appointed to key positions such as commerce minister, head of the national development and reform commission, propaganda chief, and state security chief.

According to observers, the team was chosen for their loyalty to Mr. Xi and the party rather than their expertise.

[embedpost slug=”/china-li-keqiang-delivers-the-government-work-report/”]