Theoretically, the National People’s Congress is its supreme legislative body, the closest analogue to the parliaments of other countries. In practice, the sessions of Congress, which convene annually and last about two weeks, mainly ratify bills already passed and renew the executive branch. This year’s session, which began on Sunday, focused on modest economic growth compared to previous years, a disproportionate increase in military spending and the ratification of the country’s supreme leader Xi Jinping’s third presidential term, the first since Mao Zedong’s death.

However, unlike previous years, this year’s session brought important news in the field of international politics from the first two days of its work. Xi himself began in his opening speech to the corps when he launched a direct attack on the United States and its allies. “Western countries, led by the United States, are systematically pursuing a policy of containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which creates unprecedented challenges for the development of our country,” he said.

unspeakable condemnation

Although Xi has repeatedly leveled accusations against “certain countries” in the West, his unequivocal condemnation of the United States in a public speech is unusual. This is seen as evidence of escalating tensions between the two countries, especially after the recent drop of a Chinese balloon (spy for Washington, meteorological for Beijing) hovering over US soil.

Yesterday, China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang came to power. In his first press conference since taking office, which he gave on the sidelines of the summit, Chin issued a stern warning: “If the United States does not put on the brakes and continue on the wrong track, no fences will stop the crash and there will definitely be conflict and confrontation.” “.

Taiwan is a red line, while Xi criticizes the US’s policy of “restricting” his country.

At the same press conference, Chin said that the Taiwan issue was a red line for his country and accused the US of “disrespect for its territorial integrity and sovereignty.” On the Ukraine issue, he reiterated that China is not part of the conflict, instead taking initiatives to resolve it peacefully, adding: “Peace talks efforts are being systematically undermined. It seems that an invisible hand is pushing to prolong and escalate the conflict, using the Ukrainian crisis for a certain geopolitical agenda.”

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov took Chin’s statement about the invisible hand as a “joke” and commented: “It’s not the invisible hand, it’s the hand of the United States.” The Russian official added that his country is looking very closely at Beijing’s recently presented 12-point peace proposal for Ukraine, and said that “a giant, powerful country with China’s authority naturally has its own voice on serious international issues.”

Relations with Europe

In his first interaction with Chinese journalists and foreign correspondents, Qin Gang did not fail to mention Europe. The Chinese official stressed that “the relationship between China and Europe is not directed towards any third country and does not depend on any third country.” He added that “China always considers the European Union as its strategic partner” and expressed his wish for its development: “We hope that Europe, having survived the ordeal of the war in Ukraine, will learn from the suffering that has fallen on its shoulders and its real strategic autonomy and long-term stability will win “.

However, in the first year, reports from Europe do not seem to live up to these expectations. As Chin spoke to reporters in Beijing, the German federal government announced plans to ban Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, which are instrumental in expanding the 5G telecommunications network, from supplying components deemed important to the country’s national security.