CCG Two Sessions Recap– Insights from China’s Annual Meetings
March 12 , 2025
▲ VIDEO | CCG Two Sessions Recap
The event featured a presentation by Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder & President of CCG, followed by his Q&A with the audience.
Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder & President of CCG
Good afternoon to all the friends from the Swiss Chamber and, of course, CCG as well. I am very pleased to be attending this exchange session this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, I was at CGTN, where I spent the whole afternoon commenting on the closing of the NPC annual session for a global audience.
This afternoon, I plan to give a briefing of about 15 to 20 minutes based on my understanding of what actually happened, or what my takeaways are from the Two Sessions. After that, I hope we can have a roundtable discussion for exchanges and communication.
We are very happy to co-host this with the Swiss Chamber and also our Benelux Chamber, which Ms. Song represents. I would like to briefly introduce the Center for China Globalization.
The Center for China Globalization is one of the leading think tanks in China and has been ranked among the top 100 think tanks by the University of Pennsylvania’s think tank program for many years. We are also the only think tank with special consultative status granted by the UN in the think tank category.
So, we’re very happy to be active and engage with the business community. I understand that this afternoon we have many business representatives from different companies and chambers, and we are pleased to welcome all of you to this CCG roundtable.
I’d also like to mention that the Two Sessions were completed yesterday, but I believe now is the time to truly understand what the key takeaways are. In fact, CCG is organizing another event, which we normally do. We will be holding a CCG VIP luncheon at the International Club this Friday, with 30 to 40 ambassadors already registered. We will have a brief session there, with some experts, as well as CPPCC National Committee and NPC members in attendance.
What I’d like to emphasise about this year’s sessions of the NPC and CPPCC National Committee is that they are quite significant. The reason for this is that, first, it is likely one of the best NPC and CPPCC National Committee sessions held after COVID.
Although it was relatively short, lasting only eight days, it was very well-prepared. I believe that about a week or 10 days before the sessions, President Xi met with private sector leaders and business tycoons, such as Jack Ma and Lei Jun, as well as representatives from BYD and DeepSeek, who all met with President Xi and other top Chinese leaders. I think this sends a very strong signal. As a result, the mood at this year’s conference was very positive and encouraging.
Furthermore, one thing I found to be quite different is that the world has been changing rapidly. Many countries had elections last year. Then, about 40 days after President Trump took power—just over a month—so many changes occurred. I was just at the Munich Security Conference last month, where I was in the audience when J.D. Vance criticised Europeans, saying that China is not a threat, Russia is not a threat, but that Europeans are losing their values, the freedom of speech, and many traditional Western values. He stated that those are the threats. It’s interesting to see how fast the world is changing.
There’s also uncertainty with Trump launching his trade war—not just against China. He raised tariffs by only 20% on China this term—of course, there’s another 25% from his first term. But he’s also imposed another 25% on Canada, Mexico, and on steel and aluminium imports across the board, with even higher tariffs on EU countries. This creates a whole world of uncertainty, and we saw the financial markets reflect that. For a few days, the New York Stock Exchange was tumbling. However, what I see now is that China has become a stabiliser.
That’s why this year’s conference was so notable. As a matter of fact, I noticed that over 3,000 journalists from China and abroad participated in the Two Sessions, including international journalists from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and more than 1,000 international journalists in total. This is probably a record. This year’s conference has really attracted a lot of attention. Amidst the uncertainty, people were eager to see what China would say, what actions China would take, and what progress would be made.
I think this time, there is a lot of assurance people have gained from the Two Sessions. Moreover, China announced that it achieved 5% growth last year, and for this year, the growth target continues to be 5% in 2025. We can also see that, for example, in 2024, the ten largest provinces contributed over 60% of China’s GDP. Many major provinces, like Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang, continued to maintain this 5% growth rate.
I was at the CGTN studio yesterday for live coverage, and anchors were asking me why the Two Sessions are so important. I explained that the Two Sessions are a regular exercise that China needs.
After a month of Lunar New Year celebrations, people start fresh in the spring, signalling that China is fully back in business. The Two Sessions serve as an announcement to the world that China has resumed operations after the holiday slowdown. We can expect economic activity to pick up in March, April, and May, and even throughout the year. This is the time to set the tone, establish targets, and build consensus.
Consensus-building is especially important because people are looking for answers: What about domestic consumption? What about stimulus packages? What are the government’s policies at the central, local, and grassroots levels? What is the way to go? The Two Sessions play a crucial role in shaping that consensus. And that’s what I mean by regular exercise.
I was calculating—there are 3,000 NPC members and 2,000 CPPCC National Committee members, making up about 5,000 participants gathered in Beijing at the national level. This is likely the largest political meeting in the world.
Beyond that, I was a Beijing CPPCC Municipal Committee member for many years and also served as a Counsellor to the State Council. This kind of exercise is not just conducted at the central level but also at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. In total, there are four layers of Municipal People’s Congress and CPPCC members.
For example, in Beijing alone, there are about 700 to 800 CPPCC Municipal Committee members and roughly 1,000 Municipal People’s Congress members. That means this city alone has around 1,500 to 2,000 representatives. If you multiply that by the 31 provinces and municipalities, the total number becomes quite significant.
Beyond the provincial level, there is also the municipal level. China has 26 cities with populations exceeding 1 million, as well as around 2,500 counties. The total number involved in this system could easily reach a million. This is an enormous consensus-building process.
People often ask about the characteristics of China’s governance system. One key characteristic is its ability to gather elites, experts, and officials at all levels. For example, the 5,000 people attending the NPC and CPPCC National Committee sessions do not even include government officials. When you count them as well—when I was a Counselor to the State Council, I used to participate in each year’s sessions—the total number of attendees could reach 8,000 to 10,000.
This is a massive process of consensus-building, morale-boosting, and action coordination. It also helps clarify debates and deliberate on key issues, such as the Premier’s work report and legislative matters. One notable aspect is that during this year’s NPC session, 269 legal proposals were submitted, and over 8,000 recommendations were received from 3,000 delegates. Meanwhile, CPPCC National Committee members submitted 5,890 proposals.
I understand how this process works. For example, when a CPPCC National Committee member submits a proposal, it must be formally presented during the conference. The proposal must be specific—addressing a particular issue, targeting the relevant government body, outlining the process, and making clear recommendations.
When I was a Beijing CPPCC Municipal Committee member, I submitted several proposals, and I received responses. At the national level, ministries also responded to recommendations. Any CPPCC member who submits a proposal or recommendation—whether on education, tourism, talent development, or other issues—the government must respond. This is quite an interesting process to go through.
It is a valuable exercise, often referred to as a form of “whole-process people’s democracy.” However, I see it as both a consultative democracy and a meritocracy in the making. Every year, 60 million students take the national exam to enter college, with 13 million admitted based on their exam performance. Similarly, 3 million college graduates apply for 200,000 government positions, again selected through a merit-based examination system. Those who enter the system start at the grassroots level and can advance to county, municipal, provincial, or even central government positions based on performance.
This is a unique system that has been practised in China for thousands of years, which, I think, is why China operates in an organic and structured manner—year by year, and through successive five-year plans. This year marks the conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the setting of targets for the next five years.
This process is quite unique and productive, yet it is not widely discussed. Different countries have their own styles of democracy, and China has developed its own distinctive approach. Rather than prolonged debate without action, the goal is to build consensus.
Yesterday, on CGTN, they highlighted the importance of stability. The Two Sessions also project stability. This stability reassures people, boosts confidence among entrepreneurs and multinational companies, and fosters a clearer understanding of China’s direction. I find this process highly interesting.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi also spoke at the press conference, emphasising that China will continue to inject stability into the global economy, maintaining its 5% GDP growth target for 2025.
According to calculations by Bloomberg, based on the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast, China will be the largest contributor to global economic growth over the next five years, accounting for 25% of total GDP growth—exceeding the combined contribution of G7 countries. Yesterday, I also attended a World Bank event where they discussed the IMF, financing, and economic prosperity. It is clear that China will continue to provide stability and contribute significantly to global GDP growth.
Another key area of interest is the concept of “new quality productive forces.” People really didn’t know what this term meant when it was invented last year. DeepSeek is one of these new productive forces. For instance, last week, I read in the Beijing Daily that major hospitals are rushing to implement DeepSeek. When a doctor diagnoses a patient, DeepSeek runs an AI-driven analysis of all relevant medical data, providing a valuable reference for the doctor’s diagnosis. This has huge implications for healthcare. No wonder when I visited Beijing Union Hospital last week, they collected extensive data and asked detailed questions. This is an example of new quality productive forces.
On top of that, if hospitals, the automotive industry, and education are all integrating AI, the transformation will be enormous. Even my children now check with AI before making decisions. This shift will have a massive impact in the years to come.
China, of course, is already the world’s largest producer of AI talent. Each year, out of 30 million college graduates, half specialise in STEM-related fields, generating a vast number of engineers. Even in the U.S., 30–40% of AI talent originates from China.
The Chinese government is emphasising new quality productive forces in AI, the digital economy, quantum computing, electric vehicles (EVs), green energy transitions, battery technology, and many other emerging industries. These innovations will inject new momentum into China’s economy.
Recently, I read about developments in Hangzhou. While China’s real estate market has struggled over the past two to three years, a particular land auction in Hangzhou exceeded government expectations. In many cities, land auctions typically close below the government’s set price, but this one was an exception.
The reason for this is that six major AI companies are based in Hangzhou, and the plot of land in question is located near one of them. Real estate developers recognize that AI-driven growth will fuel future demand.
This reminds me of the internet boom 20 to 30 years ago when there was a wave of returnees—such as Charles Zhang—who came back to China to start businesses. If China currently supplies 30–40% of AI talent for the U.S. and many other countries, it’s likely that more talent will return to seize new opportunities. Take Mr. Liang, for example—he never studied abroad but, as a Zhejiang University graduate, founded DeepSeek AI, a company that has disrupted Wall Street’s high-tech and semiconductor sectors, shaking up markets worth trillions of dollars.
With this evolving economic model and open innovation ecosystem, I expect a second wave of startups—not in internet technology, but in AI. Given China’s solid talent pool, new quality productive forces will continue to make significant progress, especially when combined with the country’s green energy transition and other emerging industries.
Another fascinating topic in this year’s government work report is embodied intelligence, which has become a hot subject. Humanoid robots, as key carriers of embodied intelligence, are evolving from mechanical shells into digital life forms. Many new terms and concepts are emerging, and it is difficult to keep up.
On foreign investment, as you all know, all manufacturing sectors are fully open, with no restrictions on foreign manufacturers. The government work report also emphasises stabilising foreign trade through concrete measures, such as strengthening policies to support foreign trade, fostering new growth areas like green trade and digital trade, and supporting different qualified regions in developing new offshore trade.
“New offshore trade” was mentioned for the first time in the government work report, likely due to ongoing trade tensions, tariff disputes, and policies like the “small yard, high fence” strategy. These challenges have forced many Chinese companies to go global ahead of schedule. Many business leaders I’ve spoken to weren’t originally planning to expand globally, but trade barriers have made it a necessity. Instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, they are now diversifying across multiple regions.
This new offshore trade mainly refers to transactions between Chinese residents and non-residents where the traded goods do not physically enter or exit China’s customs territory and are not included in Chinese customs statistics. So again, if a Chinese company invests in Vietnam, Indonesia, or the Middle East, the order may come to China, but the calculation, delivery, and all related processes that happen outside China may not be counted in China’s trade figures. However, the benefits still go to the Chinese company.
So, in fact, China’s trade with the world is even larger if this new offshore trade continues to expand. This was a particularly interesting point mentioned during the Two Sessions. This category of trade includes but is not limited to, offshore re-exports, global procurement, overseas commissioned processing, and overseas purchases for contracted projects.
You can see that this new offshore trade is growing, whether it is friend-shoring, near-shoring, or other offshore models. So, why is it considered new?
Compared with traditional cross-border import and export trade, new offshore trade separates capital flow, order flow, and goods flow. For example, a domestic enterprise may take an overseas order, but the goods do not pass through Chinese customs. Instead, they are delivered directly from an overseas supplier to an overseas customer.
I think this phenomenon has developed so quickly because of the trade war and tariff war. China’s new offshore trade is still in its early stages of development and exploration, but it is growing rapidly, with significant progress in different regions. Many free trade zones are actively exploring and developing distinctive models, such as offshore exports in Shanghai and overseas commissioned processing in Suzhou. I think the Chinese government has recognised this as another opportunity to expand overseas business.
Regions with favourable conditions for developing offshore trade typically share the following characteristics:
1. Developed economies with high levels of openness.
2. Policy advantages, such as free trade zones and comprehensive bonded zones.
3. A well-developed financial services system and strong technological innovation capabilities.
So, places like Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Beijing are well-suited for developing new offshore businesses. This is just one example of what has emerged from the Two Sessions.
Finally, I would like to return to the global macroeconomic landscape. President Trump is pursuing a more aggressive economic warfare strategy, which is understandable—he is trying to make America great again because American businesses have suffered.
But I think one of the fundamental problems for businesses in the U.S. is that they operate globally but do not do enough to repatriate their profits back to the U.S. This is why the OECD, G20, and about 100 countries have agreed to implement a global minimum corporate tax. However, I don’t think Trump is likely to pursue that.
It is important to level the playing field so that China is not blamed every year. If companies repatriated enough profit, the government would have sufficient resources to compensate workers and those who have lost in the globalisation process. I think this is something that deserves attention.
At the same time, Trump’s trade approach this term appears to have a much broader agenda. In his first term, the focus was mainly on China, but now, in his second term, it seems to be aimed at the whole world.
In his State of the Union speech last week, he stated that the whole world is “ripping the U.S. off.” He is once again trying to rebalance trade with every country he believes has an unfair advantage over the U.S.
In that sense, I think the U.S.-China trade war does not work for China. In my view, China has already adapted to it. If tariffs are raised by 10% or even another 10%, it won’t have a significant impact.
China has been relatively mild, reserved, and restrained in its response. For example, when Trump imposed 10% to 20% tariffs on all categories of Chinese products, China responded with only 10% to 15% tariffs on about 80 product categories in the first round, and then another 10% to 15% tariffs on just a small number of additional products. In total, China imposed tariffs on fewer than 100 product categories—showing a relatively restrained approach.
Despite this, I was totally surprised to see that since Trump’s first trade war (Trump 1.0), China-U.S. trade has actually grown by almost 20% over the past six to seven years. However, the U.S. now accounts for only 10% to 11% of China’s total trade, down from the previous 15% to 20%.
This suggests that China has adapted well and is better prepared for future trade disputes than perhaps any other country. In the end, I believe such policies may hurt the U.S. more than China, as it is American consumers who ultimately pay the price.
Additionally, China has now become the largest trading partner for 150 countries, up from 120 to 140 countries in previous years. At the same time, ASEAN has become China’s largest trading partner, and Vietnam is now China’s fourth-largest trading partner. This highlights the growing trade relationships between China and its neighbouring countries. Given this trend, I can understand why Trump is now focused on consolidating North America. He has even talked about making Canada the 51st state of the U.S. and bringing Greenland under U.S. control.
Last week, I had a dialogue with a former Danish foreign minister in my office. He mentioned that during Trump’s first term, there were already discussions between Pompeo and him, his Danish counterpart, about the U.S. purchasing Greenland. However, he said that the decision would ultimately be left to the Greenlanders themselves, which seems to suggest the door is still open.
Trump has also claimed that if Canada became part of the U.S., Canadians would only pay half the tax. I don’t think if it will ever happen—perhaps it’s just his wishful thinking—but his disruption to global affairs is undeniable, and the world must be prepared.
In this context, I believe China’s Two Sessions have provided some stabilising effect for the world.
China has also significantly improved its relations with European countries, Latin America, the Gulf states, and Africa. While the U.S. is raising tariffs by 25% or more across the board, China is cutting tariffs to zero for 43 least-developed countries exporting to China. One country is raising barriers, while the other is lowering them. I hope China can further expand tariff exemptions for more developing countries.
Moreover, China has unilaterally introduced visa-free policies for 59 countries, allowing transit passengers to stay in China for 240 hours without a visa, without requiring reciprocity. Additionally, China has granted one-month visa-free entry to nearly 40 countries, including most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Again, the Two Sessions reinforce China’s commitment to openness. China remains dedicated to welcoming foreign investment and continuing to serve as a stabilising force in the global economy.
These are my thoughts and takeaways from the Two Sessions. I don’t claim to be an expert on the topic, but I’d like to exchange ideas and have a dialogue with all of you.
I’ll stop here. I’ve been talking for 35 minutes. I think we have enough time for discussion. Thank you very much.
Note: The above text is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. It is posted as a reference for the discussion.
