BEIJING – Thousands of delegates from across China are in Beijing for this year’s annual session of the country’s rubber-stamp legislature and its advisory body, meetings delayed by more than two months because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The National People’s Congress session is more a chance for the authoritarian ruling Communist Party leadership to directly communicate its message than an occasion to debate or pass laws.
That’s especially important at a time when China is seeking to restart its economy as the epidemic wanes in the country and tensions are rising with its chief international rival, the United States.