Xi Jinping slips his lock on power in to National People’s Congress

The introduction of the legislation to allow Xi Jinping to remain president indefinitely grabbed centre stage last night.

Li Keqiang delivers his work report at the opening session of the National People's Congress yesterday. Picture: AFP

The introduction of the legislation to allow Xi Jinping to remain president indefinitely grabbed centre stage at the opening of China’s annual parliamentary ­session yesterday.

Although the premier’s state-of-the-nation address has comprised for decades the core of the National People’s Congress ritual, yesterday’s proceedings illustrated the country’s shift towards ­personal rule.

The 2900 NPC delegates ­applauded politely when, following Premier Li Keqiang’s two-hour speech, the constitutional amendment was presented.

Delegates will vote on the move on Sunday afternoon and are certain to support it.

The amendment has triggered considerable informal discussion in China, including inside the party, but public debate has been barred.

The tabling of the enabling legislation — which was not translated into English, as were the other documents tabled yesterday — was made after the live broadcast of the proceedings had finished, indicating that the authorities wished to handle it in a low-key way to avoid triggering further controversy.

At present, the president and vice-president are limited to two five-year terms, and Mr Xi, 64, has already served one term. His political ally Wang Qishan, 69, is tipped to become vice-president.

Mr Li stressed how important it was to “resolutely safeguard Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core status and the authority of the party’s central committee and its centralised and unified leadership”.

In an editorial The People’s Daily, in the face of the negative response, argued that the amendment would not lead to life-long leadership.

Mr Xi sat in the middle of the stage yesterday, wearing a dark suit and red tie, but is not scheduled to speak publicly during the NPC session. His prime role is as head of the ruling party, of which he is called “The Core”.

Mr Li announced ambitious plans for economic growth and military spending, and for Beijing “to get actively involved in reforming and improving global governance”.

In his speech, Mr Li revealed that the government is targeting gross domestic product growth of 6.5 per cent this year. China’s GDP grew 6.9 per cent last year, but 6.5 per cent is still well above the growth rate of any other major economy except India’s.

However, key areas for Australia’s major exports to China will see cuts to capacity. Steel production will be cut by a further 30 million tonnes this year and coal by 150 million tonnes, said Mr Li.

China has lowered its fiscal deficit target to 2.6 per cent of GDP, from 3 per cent last year — the first such reduction for six years. ANZ Research said this was a signal the central government wanted local governments to restrain their spending to reduce debt, which has reached 270 per cent of GDP.

Mr Li said that despite criticisms from some economists, China had “refrained from resorting to a deluge of strong stimulus policies”. “With grit and determination, we have overcome downward pressure on the economy, avoiding a hard landing,” he said.

He said China was fighting “three critical battles”: against ­financial risk (chiefly accumulating debt), poverty and pollution.

“People still have a lot of complaints about air quality, environmental sanitation, food and drug safety, housing, education, healthcare, employment and elderly care,” Mr Li said. “We can expect continued recovery of the global economy, but there are also many factors that bring instability and uncertainty. Protectionism is mounting, and geopolitical risks are on the ­ascent.”

China’s growth model is in a period of transformation, he said, with controls largely lifted on interest rates, state-owned enterprises mostly converted into “standard companies” and “big, strong industrial clusters” being created in emerging industries. Restrictions would be lifted on foreign equity in banking, securities, fund management, futures and financial asset management.

Mr Li promised to cut the price of electricity for businesses by 10 per cent and to “shave another third off the total time taken for customs clearance”.

This year, 5.8 million housing units would be built in “rundown urban areas” as Mr Li stressed that “houses are for living in, not for speculation,” and urged the development of the rental market.

The government would “uphold the principle that religions must be Chinese in orientation”.

The delegates to this NPC session include 152 people whom Shanghai-based rich list publisher the Hurun Report describes as “super-wealthy”, with a collective wealth of $830 billion. They are led by “Pony” Ma Huateng, founder of internet giant Tencent, with a net worth of $61bn; Li Shufu, chairman of carmaker Geely that owns Volvo, Lotus and Malaysia’s Proton; and Lei Jun, chairman of smartphone maker Xiaomi that has outflanked Apple in China.