China’s leaders gather for key strategy session

BEIJING (AFP) — China’s leaders are set to unveil strategies to confront challenges that include sluggish consumption, a shrinking population and shifting geopolitical landscapes when they gather in Beijing this week for the annual Two Sessions political meeting.

Thousands of delegates from across China will convene for a carefully orchestrated affair in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, largely to rubber-stamp decisions by the ruling Communist Party under leader Xi Jinping.

The nation’s 15th Five-Year Plan — a blueprint for the world’s second-largest economy through to 2030 — will also be released.

With most of the decisions already made, the Two Sessions are mainly a talking shop with little room for spontaneity or off-the-cuff comments.

However, they do provide a rare glimpse into the party’s priorities on matters ranging from the economy to defense and foreign policy.

This year’s gathering begins on Wednesday with the start of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body.

It is generally overshadowed by the next day’s opening of the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, at which Premier Li Qiang will outline key growth targets.

China’s economy expanded by five percent in 2025, in line with Beijing’s target but one of the slowest rates in decades.

Analysts expect this year’s target to be set even lower — between 4.5 and five percent — with 14 provinces reducing their GDP targets in recent weeks compared to 2025.

China’s leaders say the country’s economic model must shift towards consumption-based growth, rather than traditional drivers, including production and exports.

But factors such as the flagging property market, deflation and youth unemployment have left consumers tightening their purse strings.

Over-production spurred by state support and low demand, as well as international trade tensions, have also loomed over industrial output.

Beijing’s five-year plan for 2026 to 2030 will aim to address such issues, with officials vowing it will “create new demand through new supply and provide strong innovative measures.”

Analysts, however, are skeptical.

“The thrust of it is to double down on the direction of travel Xi had already set,” Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, told Agence France-Presse.

Expected measures are “unlikely to address the fundamental problem behind weak private consumption,” he said.

The plan is expected to concentrate on high-tech manufacturing, green transition and supply chain resilience.

“This signals a shift away from debt-fuelled expansion toward innovation-led growth,” said Sarah Tan of Moody’s Analytics.