China's NPC opens today Focuses on economic growth and the whereabouts of the Hong Kong election system

The National People's Congress, which decides important policies in China, will start in Beijing on the 5th.

As the economic recovery continues to decline due to the effects of the new coronavirus, the focus will be on how to set economic growth targets and where the electoral system will change to eliminate the influence of Hong Kong's democrats.

National People's Congress of China, those such as the representative of the members and around the highest leadership of Xi Jinping Jintao et al Communist Party determines the important policy to attend, will be held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing from 5 days.

On the 5th of the first day, Prime Minister Li Keqiang will report on government activities, and it is expected that he will suppress the spread of the new coronavirus and realize positive economic growth.

With the economic recovery expected to continue, the focus is on how to set economic growth targets that were not shown last year.

In addition, the National People's Congress will formally determine a new "five-year plan" that will be the basic policy of economic policy and long-term goals up to 2035.

As the conflict with the United States continues even after the inauguration of the Biden administration, it is expected to confirm the policy of reducing dependence on foreign countries to expand domestic demand, fostering high-tech fields, and aiming for the top level in the world.

Meanwhile, the National People's Congress spokesman Zhang Yesui, who had a press conference on the night of the 4th, revealed that the development of Hong Kong's electoral system would be included in the agenda.

Although the details have not been disclosed, it is expected that the system will be changed to eliminate the influence of the pro-democracy in the elections to select the top executive of the Hong Kong government and the elections for members of the legislative council.

Announced that no infected person has appeared except for new Corona immigrants

In China, the number of newly infected people in the country has continued to exceed 100 every day since the beginning of this year, but strict measures have been taken such as blocking the areas where infected people have been infected one after another, and since the 15th of last month. , Has announced that no infected people have been found except for those who have entered the country from overseas.

Of these, in Shijiazhuang, the central city of Hebei Province, which is adjacent to Beijing, more than 800 people were infected one after another in the month of January, and local authorities stopped the operation of subways and buses and became citizens. In addition to prohibiting people from going out of the city, we took measures such as conducting three PCR tests on all about 10 million citizens.

In addition, we have built more than 4,000 prefabricated huts to isolate people who have come into close contact with infected people through rush work to control the infection.

In addition, the Gaocheng district, where infections were concentrated, was temporarily designated as an area with a high risk of infection and strict blockade measures were taken, and residents were repeatedly subjected to PCR tests from the beginning of the year to last month.

A man who worked at a pharmacy in the Gaocheng district said, "I took the PCR test 15 times. It's not a hassle to take the test, and if the result is negative, I can rest assured."

On the other hand, at Shijiazhuang, many people have already regained their daily lives after the infection has subsided, but in principle, residents of the Gaocheng area are not allowed to go out of the city until the beginning of this month. Departments and actions are restricted.

Of these, Mr. Hirohiro Liu (30) has been driving trucks and doing delivery work all over the country, but since the beginning of the year, movement has been restricted and he could not work and lost his income.

Mr. Liu said that while he appreciates the authorities' measures against infection, he is busy repayment of a truck loan that he bought for about 2.8 million yen last year, and he is strongly impatient with the situation where he cannot work.

Mr. Liu said, "I haven't been able to leave the area for more than 50 days and have parked my truck near my house all the time. I want to go to a place with high transportation costs and work."

The only positive growth maintenance and emphasis in major GDP countries

The Chinese government has emphasized that GDP = gross domestic product growth rate was up 2.3% compared to the previous year, maintaining the only positive growth in major countries, but at present, trade friction with the United States The impact of the new coronavirus has added to the prolongation of the period, and the employment site is also hit directly.

Of these, in Guangdong Province in the south, where the manufacturing industry is concentrated and is also called the factory of the world and has been the driving force of the Chinese economy, small and medium-sized enterprises with weak management bases are going bankrupt one after another.

In Dongguan, Guangdong, the office of a manufacturing equipment manufacturer that went bankrupt at the end of last year had some machines and desks still abandoned.

At the entrance door, a court document was posted on a lawsuit in which workers were seeking payment because the representative was missing and the wages were unpaid.

Mr. Kaozawa Hayashi, the representative of a consulting company that deals with labor issues centered on Dongguan, said that the effects of the new coronavirus have hit the manufacturing industry due to the prolonged trade friction with the United States, and since the latter half of last year, it went bankrupt. It is said that there are a series of consultations from workers who complain of unpaid wages.

The number of corporate bankruptcies over the last year has not yet been announced, but the Supreme Court has published about 40,000 documents regarding corporate bankruptcies over the last year, an increase of more than 60% compared to adults. I am.

Regarding this, Mr. Kao points out, "In many cases, the management is in a state of fleeing at night and legal bankruptcy procedures cannot be taken, so the actual scale of corporate bankruptcy may be even larger."

At the employment agency in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, people who were unemployed due to the effects of the new coronavirus were seen visiting for consultation in search of new jobs.

A man who visited said, "I have been working for a long time, but last year the company went bankrupt due to the new virus, and since then I have returned to my parents' house. I think the employment situation has not changed." Was there.

Another man said, "Few companies are looking for workers. In addition, many companies do not hire people over the age of 40, so it is not easy to find a job. I want you to relax the conditions." ..

Economic Growth Rate Targets Pay attention to how to announce

At the National People's Congress this year, attention is being paid to what the Chinese government will announce about its economic growth target.

Last year, the growth rate of GDP = gross domestic product increased by 2.3% compared to the previous year, maintaining positive growth even under the influence of the new coronavirus.

This year, partly due to the low growth rate last year, a high growth rate is expected, and the IMF = International Monetary Fund is forecasting a positive 8.1% growth in the latest outlook.

However, last year, the announcement of the target was postponed because it was difficult to predict due to the spread of infection, and the announcement may be postponed for the second consecutive year due to the high uncertainty of the world economy. There is also a view that.

Attention is also being paid to what kind of policy will be set out regarding fiscal spending.

Last year, as an economic stimulus measure, a total of 2 trillion yuan for the expansion of the government's budget deficit and the issuance of special government bonds, 33 trillion yen in Japanese yen, and bond issuance quotas for local governments to invest in infrastructure. We made aggressive fiscal expenditures, such as expanding the amount to 3.75 trillion yuan and 62 trillion yen in Japanese yen.

Since this year, which corresponds to the year of the milestone of 100 years from the founding of the Communist Party, but seen as as the Xi Jinping leadership there is also speculation that want to produce a booming economy, the need to promote structural reform depression to the reduction of government expenditure has been pointed out I will.

In addition, the Chinese government has indicated a policy to tighten regulations on giant IT companies that are expanding their influence as a priority item of this year's economic policy, and what kind of policy will be shown this time is also drawing attention. ..

New "5-year plan" and long-term goals up to 2035 officially decided

For this year's NPC, a new "five-year plan", which is the basic policy of economic policy, and long-term goals up to 2035 will be officially decided.

Of these, the "5-year plan" is expected to set up a development model called "bi-circulation" = "two cycles".

This is to lead to the sophistication of domestic industry by attracting foreign investment as the "circulation" of the international economy while focusing on the "circulation" of the domestic economy such as the expansion of domestic demand.

It seems that the background is that the confrontation with the United States is expected to be prolonged, and it seems that the aim is to reduce the dependence of the economy on foreign countries.

In addition, as we promote the domestic production of semiconductors and electronic components, we are expected to reiterate our policy of strengthening the development of high-tech industries.

In addition, in the previous "5-year plan", the target of economic growth rate was set to 6.5% or more on average annually, but while emphasizing the stance of emphasizing quality over speed of growth, which one is in this plan? It is also the focus to set such goals.

On the other hand, the long-term goals by 2035 are expected to raise GDP per capita = gross domestic product to the level of moderately developed countries and aim to become a top-level innovation-oriented nation.

Xi Jinping Jintao have shown the idea that "it's possible to double the economic scale or national average income", what kind of policy will be attention be that shown.