Chinese Parliament Might Declare “Victory Over Coronavirus”

The pandemic delayed the annual parliamentary session opening in China. It might declare "victory over coronavirus" and agree on retaliatory measures in case the US imposes sanctions. On Friday May 22, the National People's Congress (NPC)with a more than two months late, restarted the annual session. Initially, it was planned to be held in early March but the coronavirus pandemic prevented it. Deputies wore protective masks at the opening ceremony, payed tribute to the doctors and expressed deep sorrow for those whose lives were taken by COVID-19. AFP sources say that President Xi Jinping might declare "victory over coronavirus" during the session, since the number of infections in China is relatively low. In mainland China, only 4 cases of infection have been recorded over the past 24 hours. On the agenda are the economic development plan, budget and Hong Kong The agenda also includes the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang report on the work of government in 2019 and the plan for the country's socio-economic development for 2020. This plan is intended to answer the question of how the Chinese economy will recover from the new coronavirus epidemic. The session attended about 3 thousand deputies who must adopt the country's budget, consider the reports of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Prosecutor’s Office, the report of the NPC Standing Committee on the work for the year. Several laws were submitted for consideration within the session, including the law on legal system and mechanisms formation for ensuring national security in Hong Kong. On the eve, two US senators, the Democrat Chris Van Hollen and the Republican Patrick Tumi drafted a bill imposing sanctions against Chinese officials and organizations that monitor compliance with national security laws in Hong Kong. They stated that the document they prepared was aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong and exerting pressure on China in order to maintain the special status of this territory. Beijing threatens retaliation for possible US sanctions NPC spokesman Zhang Yesui threatened the United States with "retaliation" if the US Congress imposes sanctions on China for withholding coronavirus information and refusal to cooperate. At the same time, according to the presented at the session report, China intends to continue adhering to terms of trade agreements with the United States, in particular, the deal concluded in January. On January 15, China and the United States signed the agreement after a year and a half of trade war between the two countries. This document obliges Beijing to sharply, at least by $ 200 billion in two years, increase imports of American products. In particular, purchases of energy from the United States, namely oil, oil products, gas and coal, should grow by $ 52.4 billion over this period compared to 2017.