Lianghui 2025 and Beyond: Between Economic Slowdown and Trump 2.0

In 2025, the so-called “two Sessions” (lianghui), namely the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) annual meetings, took place as usual in early March.

The 2025 Lianghui was dominated by economic issues: how to tackle the housing crisis, stimulate consumption and accelerate innovation is a context of growing protectionist barriers introduced not only by Trump 2.0 but many other countries. China’s economic slowdown has also fed social problems that the government tries to mitigate in supporting more actively but selectively the less privileged strata of the society. But it remains unclear whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership can and actually want to change a growth model still largely led by exports and dominated by state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Some NPC and CPPCC members are asking for more openness to the outside world and more freedoms for private businesses, but it remains to be seen how much the CCP leadership will take their view into account: the new law promoting private firms enacted in April 2025 is far from convincing. In the new context social stability and political security have continued to be the priority, hoping that Chinese CCP-led regime remains more resilient than its major partners and competitors, e. g. the United States. Presented as a symbol of stability, Xi Jinping, 72, continues to dominate the political system and there is no visible sign that he is preparing his succession.

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