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Premier Li Qiang will present the annual government work report at the opening ceremony of China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), on Wednesday.
The annual meetings of the top legislature and the top advisory body – together known as the “two sessions” – are being held amid global chaos that has erupted since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
China is facing external uncertainties and growing economic pressure from the US. The two sessions will be the most important occasion for people to get a glimpse of Beijing’s strategy in the coming year.
Li is expected to address China’s plans to counter these uncertainties and turn the nation into a source of stability.
Much attention will be paid to the measures the Chinese government will roll out to boost the economy.
Many are also watching to see whether Li will reveal any clues about further stimulus efforts that would add to a basket of measures rolled out late last year.
This is the final year of Beijing’s ambitious “Made in China 2025” plan to boost the country’s technological and innovation capabilities, as well as the last year of its 14th five-year plan.
Li is expected to provide clues about China’s next phase of science and technology development and how to support private entrepreneurs – hot topics thanks to the enthusiasm over home-grown AI model DeepSeek.
While Li is unlikely to mention the US explicitly, China’s efforts to counter the effects of tariffs and trade measures imposed by Trump will be an underlying theme of the report.
Reporting by Jane Cai, Frank Chen, Yuanyue Dang, Ji Siqi, Xinlu Liang, Josephine Ma, Sylvia Ma, Luna Sun and Enoch Wong.