China in a surprise announcement says it is eliminating annual news conference by premier
The Chinese government says it is eliminating an annual news conference by the premier that was one of the only times a top Chinese leader took questions from the news media
BEIJING — China's government said Monday it is eliminating an annual news conference by the premier that was one of the rare times a top Chinese leader took questions from journalists.
Lou Qinjian, the spokesperson for the National People's Congress, said on the eve of the opening of the legislature's annual session that Premier Li Qiang would not hold a news conference at its conclusion, as it has every year since 1993.
The move appears to be in line with a diminishing of the premier’s power, and that of the government bureaucracy generally, as the Communist Party and leader Xi Jinping centralize control of the nation’s affairs, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.
“Because the structure now is the party leads, the premier is more like an implementer of the party’s orders, so no longer so important,” he said. “That’s the main message.”
The weeklong meeting of the largely ceremonial congress, which opens Tuesday, is being closely watched for any indications of what steps the government will take to boost the struggling economy. Li will present an annual report at the opening that is expected to include the government’s economic growth target for 2024.
On Monday, state leaders including Xi and Li attended the opening session of a parallel advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, in the cavernous, red-carpeted chamber of the Great Hall of the People on one side of Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Lou said that journalists would be given more opportunities to ask questions of
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