The Chinese National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Held Firmly During SARS, May Be Postponed for the First Time Ever

Xi Jinping Likely to Face Impact on South Korea and Japan Visit Schedules

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), there is a high possibility that China’s largest political event, the Two Sessions (National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), will be postponed for the first time in history. Accordingly, there is growing speculation that subsequent schedules of Chinese President Xi Jinping, such as overseas visits, will also be delayed one after another.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 18th, Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), submitted a proposal to postpone the NPC session originally scheduled for March 5th to the Standing Committee on the 17th. This proposal will be finalized at the NPC Standing Committee meeting scheduled for the 24th. At the same time, the postponement of the other pillar of the Two Sessions, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), is also being considered. The NPC has been postponed three times before?in 1957, 1959, and 1963. However, postponing the Two Sessions is unprecedented since the two conferences began to be held around the same time in 1978, marking the first time in 42 years. Even during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, the Chinese government held the Two Sessions without changing the schedule.

At present, it is highly likely that the postponement of the Two Sessions will be approved at the Standing Committee meeting on the 24th. Article 2 of the Organic Law of the National People's Congress of China stipulates that "the NPC Standing Committee must notify the representatives of the meeting date and agenda at least one month before the NPC convenes." Since the sessions were scheduled for early March, the representatives should have already been notified of the meeting schedule earlier this month. However, it is reported that no such notification has been given to the NPC attendees so far.

The possibility of postponing the Two Sessions began to be raised earlier this month. This is because, due to the spread of COVID-19 this year, many NPC representatives have been fully engaged in epidemic prevention work in their respective regions. Zhang Tiewei, spokesperson for the NPC Standing Committee Legislative Affairs Commission, stated, "We judged that it is necessary to postpone the meeting to focus on prevention and control efforts and prioritize the safety and health of the people," adding, "Among the 3,000 NPC representatives, one-third are key local leaders playing important roles on the front lines of epidemic prevention." He emphasized, "After careful evaluation, we judged that postponing the NPC is necessary to prioritize the safety and health of the people and allow these representatives to concentrate on epidemic prevention."

Additionally, since the number of representatives attending the Two Sessions exceeds 5,000, there are concerns that gathering them in Beijing could increase safety and epidemic prevention risks. It is also necessary to consider that, according to current Beijing epidemic prevention regulations, local representatives attending the Two Sessions must undergo a 14-day quarantine. During the Wuhan city Two Sessions held from the 6th to the 10th of last month and the Hubei province Two Sessions held from the 12th to the 17th of the same month, it was pointed out that local representatives moving to Wuhan and Hubei significantly contributed to the spread of COVID-19 infections.

With the postponement of the Two Sessions, President Xi’s visits to South Korea and Japan, expected around April or at the latest in the first half of this year, are also expected to be affected. This is because the Two Sessions are regarded as the starting point of activities by the Chinese leadership. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on the 15th (local time) that "President Xi’s visits to South Korea and Japan will proceed as scheduled."