The Two Sessions (March 2024)

The National People’s Congress (NPC) and China’s Political People’s Consultative 
Conference (CPPCC) annual plenary meetings — also called the “two sessions” 
(lianghui) — took place as planned in early March 2024 in Beijing. Nonetheless, they 
were held before a third plenum of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central 
Committee, which was supposed to convene in the autumn of 2023, could be 
convened, suggesting possible divisions within the Party leadership. Instead, an 
important CCP Central Work Economic Conference was held in December, followed 
by several Politburo meetings deciding about the two sessions’ agenda and 
substance. The two sessions’ choreography was without surprise: all reports and 
decisions submitted by the government were approved, quasi-unanimously. 
Ambitious economic objectives were announced, especially a 5% growth rate for 2024 
and the move towards a high-quality development model. As usual, the two sessions 
were also the occasion for NPC and CPPCC delegates to air some of their concerns 
about the situation in their locality or bureaucracy. Nonetheless, even more than 
before the 2024 two sessions have underscored how much the Party and General 
Secretary cum State President Xi Jinping in particular call the shots. Premier Li Qiang’s 
press conference was cancelled. New rules on the operation of the State Council, 
China’s central government, were adopted, putting it under closer Party watch and 
confirming that decisions are made elsewhere