BEIJING (AP) – China’s second leader announced a goal of healthy economic growth on Friday and plans to make this nation self-sufficient in technology amid tensions with Washington and Europe over trade, Hong Kong and human rights.
The ruling Communist Party aims to grow “more than 6%” as the world’s second largest economy recovers from the coronavirus, Premier Li Keqiang said in a speech in China’s ceremonial legislature. About 3,000 delegates gathered for their two-week annual meeting, the most high profile political event of the year, under intense security and antivirus control.
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 telecommunications, clean energy and electric cars.
The NPC meeting generally focuses on domestic issues, but is increasingly overshadowed by geopolitics, as President Xi Jinping’s government seeks more assertive commercial and strategic policies abroad, suppresses dissent at home and faces criticism for its treatment 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 tensions with India and other neighbors over conflicting territorial claims and ambitions to match the United States and Russia in ballistic missiles, stealth fighters and other weapon technology.
That figure in a budget report released while Li was speaking is less than the double-digit increases in previous years, but it exceeds economic growth and is a sharp increase in real terms at a time when inflation is close to zero. Foreign analysts say total military spending is up to 40% higher than the reported figure, which is the second highest in the world after the United States.
China became the only big economy to grow last year, reaching a 2.3% expansion in several decades, after shutting down most of its industries to fight the virus. Growth accelerated to 6.5% over the previous year, in the last quarter of 2020, while the United States, Europe and Japan struggled with new virus outbreaks.
Li promised to “work faster to increase our strategic scientific and technological capacity”, seen by communist leaders as a path to prosperity, strategic autonomy and global influence. These plans are threatened by conflicts with Washington over technology and security that prompted then-President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on companies like telecommunications equipment giant Huawei, China’s first global technology brand.
The ruling party’s latest five-year development plan says efforts to make China a self-sufficient “technological power” are this year’s top economic priority.
The party sees “scientific and technological self-sufficiency as a strategic support for national development,” said Li.
The prime minister warned that there are “weak links” not specified in the virus control work and said that the basis for economic recovery “needs to be further consolidated”.
Li promised to pursue “green development” after Xi’s pledge last year to guarantee China’s peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This will require sharp increases in clean, renewable energy in an economy that it gets 60% of its energy from coal and is the world’s largest source of industrial pollution that alters the climate.
“We will accelerate the transition from China’s growth model to one of green development and promote high-quality economic growth and high-level environmental protection,” said Li. He promised to reduce carbon emissions and energy use per unit of energy. economic production.
The prime minister said Beijing would “improve the relevant systems” in Hong Kong “to safeguard national security”, but gave no details of possible changes in the territory, where the ruling party is tightening control after pro-democracy protests. The party used last year’s legislative session to impose a national security law in Hong Kong, according to which dozens of activists were arrested.
“We will resolutely protect ourselves against and prevent interference by outside forces in Hong Kong affairs,” said the prime minister.
A legislature spokesman, Zhang Yesui, said on Thursday that he will consider unspecified changes to support “patriots who rule Hong Kong”, fueling fears that Beijing plans to shut down opposition voices from the city’s political process.
Speculation focused on the possibility of reallocating votes on the 1,200-member committee that selects the Hong Kong leader to exclude the small number of elected district councilors.
Li repeated official promises to promote “peaceful growth in relations” with Taiwan, but did not announce any initiatives regarding the self-governing island that split with the continent in 1949 after a civil war. Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and threatens to invade if it tries to make its de facto independence official. Li said that the continent will “resolutely stop” any activity that “seeks ‘Taiwan independence’”.
This year’s legislative meeting is being held mainly over video links to keep Chinese leaders, delegates and reports separate as an anti-virus measure. Last year’s meeting was postponed from March to May due to the outbreak. The official Xinhua news agency said the decision to follow the schedule this year shows that economic and political life is “getting back to normal”.
The ruling party previously announced that it had reached its goal of doubling economic output from 2010 levels last year, which required 7% annual growth. Xi spoke of doubling production again by 2035, which would imply annual growth of around 5%, still among the highest for any major economy.
The ruling party’s desire for prosperity produced by free market competition clashes with its insistence on playing a dominant role in the economy and reducing dependence on other countries.
The prime minister said Beijing will encourage consumer spending on appliances, cars and other expensive items to help fuel self-sustaining economic growth and reduce dependence on exports and investment.
Li said the ruling party will promote the development of China’s electric vehicles, building more charging stations and accelerating the development of battery recycling. China is the largest electric vehicle market in the world, accounting for about half of global sales.
Beijing will promote “domestic circulation,” said Li, a reference to official pressure on industries to use more components and technology provided by China and to rely less on inputs from the United States, Europe and Asian suppliers, even when it increases costs.
This emphasis on self-sufficiency fueled fears that the world could split into the United States, China and other industrial spheres with incompatible technologies, less competition and higher costs.
The goal of “detaching them from foreign technology and supply chains” is “more likely to hurt productivity than to help it” and will make it more difficult to reach the 2035 target, said Mark Williams of Capital Economics in a report this week.