The perfectly folded red flags, the emblem of the People’s Republic in the background, the imposing star on the ceiling, nearly 3,000 officials listening impassively after crossing the heavy columns of the People’s Palace which borders the west of the Tiananmen Square: this is the ceremonial setting in which the Chinese Prime Minister in office for a year, Li Qiang, gave on Tuesday March 5 the road map of the second world power for 2024.
Expectations were high, commensurate with the challenges facing China. Economic first, with youth unemployment at more than 20% in June 2023 before the calculation method is suddenly revised during the summer to fall to 14.9% in January, real estate in crisis and deflationary pressure. Commercial too, while the European Union and the United States are worried about the surge in Chinese electric automobiles. China represents 60% of global production and sales of electric vehicles, said Mr. Li. Finally, politics, the Chinese having never known why their ministers of foreign affairs and defense, both appointed in spring 2023, were suddenly dismissed during the year. At the opening of the major annual meeting of Chinese political life, the session of the National People’s Congress, it was therefore a question of reassurance.
The Prime Minister, delivering his speech at the lectern behind his thin glasses, did not deny the obstacles, under the eyes of the all-powerful Xi Jinping, wearing a purple tie. “Geopolitical conflicts have worsened, protectionism and unilateralism have gained ground,” notes Li Qiang. The defense budget will increase by 7.2%, as in 2023. And internally, he notes, “after the shock of three years of Covid-19”, “deep contradictions, accumulated over a long time, emerged quickly, and new situations and new problems followed one another”. It lists the drop in external demand, the insufficiency of domestic demand, production overcapacity, risks linked to real estate or the debts of local authorities.
However, says Li Qiang, “practice has demonstrated that, under the firm leadership of the Party Central Committee gathered around Comrade Xi Jinping, the Chinese people have the courage, wisdom, and ability to overcome any obstacle, and that, against all odds, tides, China’s development has a bright future”.
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