Unprecedented major changes in China

It has done so on the occasion of the simultaneous annual meeting of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislative body that aspires to wrest from the United States the status of first universal superpower.

The most frightening conclusion for the 8.5 billion people on Earth is that China is prepared to fight ‘any war’ that the Americans propose, be it a military one with all its ramifications and scenarios, or a technological or commercial one. Of course, Beijing will not be the one to unleash hostilities, establishing itself as an ‘anchor of [global] stability, an engine of economic development for all peoples, all while reiterating its commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and the consequent respect for the rule of law.

Jealous of their own path and destiny, the two bodies meeting in the gigantic People's Palace reaffirmed their adherence to the plans of President Xi Jinping, summarised in what the Chinese leader described as ‘great changes never seen in a century’, thus renewing their promise to achieve an enormously powerful country by the centenary of the People's Republic of China in 2049. 


Both the CPPCC and the NPC have given their unanimous backing to the unquestionable leadership of the Communist Party (CCP), whose almost one hundred million members will be responsible for ensuring that the 1.4 billion Chinese people work in unison towards the great objectives defined by Xi. In this respect, security, already quite strict, has become an absolute priority in all areas.

According to Prime Minister Li Quiang, who was in charge of presenting the economic objectives, China should continue to grow this year at 5% of GDP, while the defence chapter will maintain the same rate of 7.5%, although there are well-founded suspicions that Beijing is not including some military-technological items that have allowed it, among other things, to acquire the largest fleet of warships in the world.

China's position on the major global issues was explained by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, at the packed press conference after the close of the sessions. The head of Chinese diplomacy emphasised the difference between the United States and China, claiming to be an advocate of ‘international justice’ and firmly opposed to the will to power and hegemony dragging the world into accepting the jungle law of the strongest.


Wang Yi avoided criticising the rapprochement between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which many see as an attempt by the US to mitigate Russia's dependence on China. He praised ‘the historical logic of friendship’ between the two countries, predicting that it will not only remain unchanged, but that its strength will also remain intact. On the other hand, he did take advantage of the European Union's current stupor at being held in contempt by Trump to proclaim that ‘in today's world there are more reasons than ever to trust Europe’. He seasoned the praise by recalling that Sino-European relations will have been going on for half a century in 2025, with a volume of trade already reaching 780 billion euros. Aware that, nevertheless, differences between Beijing and Brussels have grown, he continued with the soft and conciliatory language, calling for ‘both sides to strengthen dialogue and trust and resolve existing differences through friendly consultations’.

With regard to the war in Ukraine, the Chinese minister expressed his support for peace, in abstract terms, without wishing to comment on either the EU's alleged rearmament plan or the deployment of troops to ensure the maintenance of a hypothetical peace agreement. Instead, he emphasised that the world sees China as the ‘anchor of stability’ it needs to progress and develop.

Beijing is clearly taking sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, coming out in favour of the two-state solution and the peace plan presented by Egypt, which has already been rejected by both the US president and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Wang Yi placed special emphasis on stating that ‘Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people and is an inalienable part of their territory’.

The minister did not alter in the slightest the claim of Taiwan as an also inalienable part of the sovereign territory of China. He reiterated that ‘China will be reunified’, although he did not set any specific date. The ‘rebel island’, as it is often referred to by the Beijing authorities, has denounced the persistent and increasing operations of harassment, intimidation and even bullying by the Chinese army. By way of warning, Wang Yi pointed out that any legitimisation of separatist movements, i.e. those who aspire to have Taiwan recognised as an independent country, is an attack on the claim of reunification of the country.

And, while the United States counteracts China's attempts to establish its expansion and dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, Beijing considers the US presence and actions to be ‘an unacceptable intrusion’, implicitly claiming as its own and exclusive the sphere of influence that would cover practically all of Southeast Asia. Of course, Wang Yi avoided expressing this in categorical terms, preferring to qualify it by advocating a policy of non-intervention. 

The conclusion is that China believes that Trump's attempt to establish a new international order will meet with much reluctance, which presumably opens up windows of opportunity for it to pick up and benefit from these disappointments. And, in any case, there is no sign of any intention to back down in the conflicts posed by the United States, thus establishing itself as the alternative model or leader to which those disappointed with the former global beacon of democracy and prosperity can turn.