China is playing an ascendant over the West as it marks the economic path

Image creation will continue during an annual legislative session beginning Friday, as Xi pivots from poverty reduction to his next priority: building a modern, powerful nation by 2035.

In this “new expedition” to modernize China, the “risks and tests to be faced will not be less than in the past,” Xi told a group of middle-level party officials earlier this week. He renewed demands for allegiance to his leadership, saying party members should show courage to endure hardships and take risks, and demonstrate their loyalty to the Communist Party through their actions.

Nearly 3,000 lawmakers are meeting in Beijing to review a new economic plan (known as the 14th Five-Year Plan) and broad guidelines that would shape China’s growth model over the next decade and a half. Advancing the party’s centennial celebrations in July, the week-long conclave also offers Mr. Xi a platform to promote the merits of his autocratic style over the weaknesses of Western democracy.

This year’s Chinese legislature and other political actions “will show the party’s leadership as a successful model of government, which is resilient and able to deliver on the promises it makes,” in contrast to the apparent chaos in the West, he said. dir Nis Grünberg, senior analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. “In the eyes of the Chinese leadership, competition with the West has been won.”

In recent months, officials have been trumpeting Mr. Xi’s portrayal of an ascending China facing global challenges that have sown chaos elsewhere. “The East is rising and the West is falling,” is a trend, and the evolution of the international situation is favorable to us, “Chen Yixin, a senior law enforcement official close to Mr. Xi, said in a statement. January meeting to spread the leader’s vision on China’s long-term development.

While national economic imbalances and U.S. efforts to contain China remain serious, there are generally more opportunities than challenges, said Chen, who urged officials to unite their thoughts and actions around the Xi’s leadership.

China was the only major world economy to expand last year, after blocking borders and the central province of Hubei in a highly successful bid to contain the coronavirus. But China’s recovery remains fragile in some areas, including consumer spending, and regulators are increasingly concerned that property prices are rising to unsustainable levels.

In the longer term, declining birth rates and declining labor power, combined with declining productivity, have raised alarms among economists about the growth trajectory of an economy that is the second largest in the world. in size, but only around the same level as Mexico and Malaysia. of gross domestic product per capita.

Growth could also be limited by Xi’s promises about climate change. Last year it promised to achieve carbon neutrality (net carbon dioxide emissions) by 2060, with maximum emissions by 2030, an ambitious goal that would likely put economic pressure on China’s poorest interior. and coal-dependent.

Many economists expect Beijing to avoid a formal economic growth target in 2021, citing continued uncertainties. Still, China’s provinces have set their own goals, reflecting optimism that the global economy will recover from last year’s low performance.

With economists expecting growth to rebound by about 8% or more this year, Beijing is likely to shift its focus to risk control and debt reduction, with the goal of a smaller fiscal deficit, a growth in lower credit and a relatively narrower monetary policy in an annual government work plan. which will come out on Friday.

The conclave will provide more clarity on Beijing’s 2035 goals, which include recalibrating China’s economic model to ensure fairer growth and environmental sustainability. While Chinese officials have recently pointed out plans to address controversial issues, such as raising the retirement age, some policy analysts say they are skeptical that Beijing will implement bold new measures.

Lawmakers are also expected to discuss plans to tighten Beijing’s control over the former British colony of Hong Kong, where authorities have gathered about 100 pro-democracy figures under a national security law since its enactment. last year.

The annual sessions of the National People’s Congress, the Chinese legislature and an advisory body of nearly 2,200 members, constitute political joint pieces where the Communist Party elite portrays unity and defines its priorities. Prior to the rally, party authorities have directed flashy publicity that makes Mr. Xi a central figure in putting the nation on a path to prosperity.

State broadcaster Central China Television last month aired an eight-part documentary, “Shaking Poverty,” which recounted Xi’s efforts to reduce poverty over the past eight years. The party’s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily, published a lengthy article – covering some 23,000 characters in more than two full pages – detailing Xi’s step-by-step involvement in the campaign.

The day after Xi declared a “complete victory” in China’s war on poverty at a televised awards ceremony last month, the Daily Mail devoted almost its entire front page to a report on its statements. It included a large image of Mr. Xi and a group photo showing him with about 200 people who accepted awards for achievements in poverty reduction and whose faces were too small to be seen clearly.

—Grace Zhu in Beijing contributed to this article.

Write to Chun Han Wong to [email protected]