China: National People's Congress faces the challenge of reviving the economy

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It was under the sign of China's “victory” over the coronavirus that the annual session of the People's National Assembly, the Chinese Parliament, opened on Thursday, May 21. President Xi Jinping will speak this Friday. The Prime Minister must also present his main economic forecasts while the country is struggling to recover from the pandemic.

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From the start of the crisis, the Chinese government has taken a series of targeted and relatively cautious measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. It was notably decided to lower the key rate of the Chinese Central Bank, which made it possible to inject the equivalent of more than 6 billion euros into the real economy.

But it was not enough. Despite both monetary and fiscal support, the Chinese economy suffered a shock with an unprecedented fall in its gross domestic product of 6.8% in the first quarter. This should make it difficult to reach the 6% annual growth previously targeted by the authorities. Chinese authorities who are banking on maintaining jobs. In their eyes, unemployment threatens the social stability of the country and would risk causing protests from the population.

Ultimately, Beijing assures that the recovery is certain. But the path leading to it will be long. This is bad news for the Chinese Communist Party, which is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its birth next year.  

►Also read: Coronavirus: China announces measures to revive its economy

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• China
• Coronavirus
• Economy
• Xi Jinping

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