BEIJING (AP) – China’s No. 2 leader announced healthy economic growth on Friday and plans to make this country self-reliant in technology amid tensions with Washington and Europe over trade, Hong Kong and human rights.
The ruling Communist Party aims to grow “over 6%” as the world’s second-largest economy returns from the coronavirus, Prime Minister Li Keqiang said in a speech to China’s ceremonial legislature. About 3,000 delegates gathered for the annual two-week meeting, the most talked about political event of the year, under intense security and antivirus controls.
The party is shifting from the fight against the virus that emerged in central China in late 2019 to its long-term goal of becoming a global competitor in profitable technologies, including telecom, clean energy and electric cars.
The NPC meeting focuses mostly on domestic issues, but is increasingly overshadowed by geopolitics as President Xi Jinping’s government pursues more assertive trade and strategic policies abroad, tackles disagreements at home, and is criticized over its treatment of Hong Kong and Ethnic Minorities.
Also on Friday, the government announced a 6.8% increase in military spending to 1.4 trillion yuan ($ 217 billion) as China faces conflicting territorial claims and ambitions to the United States and other neighbors with India and other neighbors. Match Russia in ballistic missiles, stealth fighters and other weapon technology.
That figure in a budget report released while Li spoke is less than the double-digit increases of previous years, but outpacing economic growth and is a marked increase in real terms at a time when inflation is close to zero. Foreign analysts say total military spending is up to 40% more than the reported figure, which is the second highest in the world after the United States.
China became the only major economy to grow last year, experiencing low growth of 2.3% for more than a decade after closing most of its industries to combat the virus. Growth accelerated to 6.5% from a year earlier in the last quarter of 2020, as the United States, Europe and Japan grappled with renewed virus outbreaks.
Li pledged to “work faster to improve our strategic science and technology capabilities,” seen by communist leaders as a path to prosperity, strategic autonomy and global influence. Those plans are threatened by conflicts with Washington over technology and security that prompted then President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on companies, including the giant Huawei, China’s first global technology brand.
According to the ruling party’s last five-year blueprint, efforts to make China a self-sufficient “technology power” are the top economic priority this year.
The party sees “scientific and technological self-reliance as strategic support for national development,” said Li.
The prime minister warned that there are unspecified “weak links” in the virus control work and said the foundation of economic recovery “needs to be further consolidated”.
Li pledged to pursue ‘green development’ following Xi pledge last year to ensure China’s carbon emissions peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. That requires a surge in clean and renewable energy in an economy that gets 60% of its power from coal and is the world’s largest source of climate-changing industrial pollution.
“We will accelerate the transition from China’s growth model to one of green development and promote both high-quality economic growth and high-quality environmental protection,” said Li. He pledged to reduce CO2 emissions and energy consumption per unit of economic output.
The Prime Minister said Beijing will “improve the relevant systems” in Hong Kong “to ensure national security,” but did not detail possible changes to the territory, where the ruling party is tightening control after pro-democracy protests . The party used last year’s term to impose a national security law on Hong Kong under which dozens of activists have been arrested.
“We will be resolutely on the lookout for and deter the interference of outside forces in Hong Kong’s affairs,” said the prime minister.
A spokesman for the legislature, Zhang Yesui, said on Thursday it will consider unspecified changes to support “patriots who rule Hong Kong,” fueling fears that Beijing has plans to ban opposition votes from the city’s political process. .
Speculation focused on the ability to reassign votes in the 1,200-member committee that selects the Hong Kong leader to exclude the small number of local district advisers elected.
Li reiterated official pledges to promote “peaceful growth of relations” with Taiwan, but announced no initiatives for the self-governed island that split from the mainland in 1949 after a civil war. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to invade if it tries to make its de facto independence official. Li said the mainland will “resolutely” deter any activity “seeking” Taiwan independence. “
This year’s legislative session is mainly held via video links to keep Chinese leaders, delegates and reports separate as an antivirus measure. Last year’s meeting was postponed from March to May due to the outbreak. The official Xinhua News Agency said the decision to stick with the schedule this year shows that economic and political life is “returning to normal”.
The ruling party previously announced that it had achieved its goal of doubling its economic output from its 2010 level versus last year, which required annual growth of 7%. Xi has talked about doubling production by 2035, which would mean annual growth of about 5%, still one of the highest for all major economies.
The ruling party’s desire for the prosperity generated by free-market competition conflicts with its push to play a dominant role in the economy and reduce dependence on other countries.
The prime minister said Beijing will encourage consumer spending on household appliances, cars and other major items to promote self-sustaining economic growth and reduce dependence on exports and investment.
Li said the ruling party will promote the development of electric vehicles in China by building more charging stations and accelerating the development of battery recycling. China is the world’s largest electric vehicle market, accounting for about half of global sales.
Beijing will promote “domestic circulation,” Li said, referring to official pressure on industries to use more components and technology supplied by China and to rely less on inputs from the United States, Europe and Asian suppliers, even if that is the case. costs increases.
That emphasis on self-reliance has fueled fears that the world could split into separate American, Chinese and other industrial areas with incompatible technologies, less competition, and higher costs.
The goal of “decoupling them from foreign technology and supply chains” is “more likely to harm productivity than help it” and will make it more difficult to meet the 2035 target, Capital Economics’ Mark Williams said this week. in a report.