China scraps Premier Li Qiang's briefing, breaking years of convention

China’s Li Qiang will become the first premier in three decades to skip holding a press briefing at the annual parliamentary meetings, a move likely to fan investor fears around opaque policymaking.
 

The announcement was made by Lou Qinjian, a spokesperson for this year’s National People’s Congress, at a briefing on Monday in Beijing. “Barring any special circumstances, this arrangement will continue for the remainder of this term of the NPC,” added Lou.
 

The annual press conference by the sitting premier has been in place since at least 1993, according to Chinese media reports. The lawmakers assembled this week are expected to meet until 2027.
 

Scrapping a rare opportunity for a top Chinese official to interact with the public and elucidate on policies comes at a time when the ruling Communist Party is restricting access to information. China has limited the flow of corporate data, court documents and academic journals over the past year, hampering investors’ ability to assess the faltering economy.
 

“This may be another way to downgrade the importance of the premier,” said Dongshu Liu, an assistant professor specializing in Chinese politics at the City University of Hong Kong. The premier used to be the highest senior official with this type of direct media channel, which has provided a venue for them to convey their personality, image and reputation, he added.
 

Premier Li will still deliver the government’s work report that sets the 2024 growth goal, the most important policy signal from this month’s meetings. Beijing is expected to announce the target at around 5%, a fairly ambitious number for a government grappling with severe economic challenges. 
 

Investors will be closely watching this week to see how the government intends to bolster growth after a turbulent 2023 that saw the economy contend with deflation, a prolonged property crisis, high debt and declining foreign direct investment. There have been growing calls from economists for more aggressive stimulus. 
 

This year’s annual legislative session will run from Tuesday to March 11, making it one of the shortest meetings of China’s parliament, outside pandemic years.
 

Before 2020, the annual gathering of lawmakers usually lasted 10 days or more. While Covid-related curbs might have contributed to a condensed duration of around a week or so, Beijing hasn’t ramped back up to a lengthier schedule since abruptly dropping pandemic restrictions a the end of 2022. That’s despite President Xi Jinping touting the NPC as “an important institutional vehicle” for the ruling Communist Party to promote a “whole democratic process” for the people.