Congress seen as coming at crucial time

Analyst says meeting likely to address economic growth, development issues

The upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be a highly important meeting, as it will take place at a perilous time in global affairs amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and widespread economic unease, a US scholar said.

Jon Taylor, a professor and chair of the political science and geography department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said that the outcomes of the Congress may be both ideological and structural in nature.

"China faces multiple stress points that could impact the country's economic growth and development. The Party's task is to address these issues head-on," Taylor said.

He said he expects to see China put stronger emphasis on common prosperity and the second centenary goal of a great modern socialist country to address the issues of inequality as well as people's quality of life in the following years.

He also expects to see China make a push to align the regulation of businesses, the tech sectors and financial markets with priorities such as innovation and foreign policy initiatives.

He also noted that the Party has come a long way since its successful war of liberation and overthrowing of foreign dominance and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

"Over the course of the last 73 years, the Party transformed the country from an impoverished, isolated and weak nation into one of the two preeminent powers in the world," he said.

The Party has encountered various problems, but the CPC has regularly shown a capacity to be a driver of change and an ability to pragmatically respond to the stresses brought about by China's economic, political and military global rise, Taylor said.

"The Party has been able to govern a country with an incredibly large population and has enabled China to maintain long-term development and continue to rapidly improve the average Chinese citizen's living standards."

Rana Mitter, a professor of the history and politics of modern China at the University of Oxford, said he expected to see a variety of resolutions dealing with pressing questions of economic development during the Congress.

"Over the next few years, China will need to find growth that is truly green, so there are likely to be new statements on energy provision and global contribution to net zero (carbon emissions)," Mitter said.

There is also likely to be attention paid to a key employment issue — how to produce more jobs in the higher-value parts of the economy, including tech and services, he said.

The 20th CPC National Congress will likely set out the terms under which these key developments will happen, Mitter added.

Felix Valdivieso, chair of IE University's China Center in Madrid, Spain, said that the Congress will "set China on a new path for the 21st century, opening a new chapter in world history".

Christopher Bovis, a professor of international business law at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, said that China has been targeted by trade war actions and a hostile reception by the West to its proposed global trade, business and commerce solutions.

He said China should stick to its reforms and confirm policy directions that promote free trade, with a strong emphasis on industrial policies for innovation, as well as science and technology.

Bovis added that China has already pledged to promote sustainable development that is linked to carbon emissions reduction, and that pledge should be carried out over the next decade and beyond to signal commitment and global leadership.

Chen Yingqun in Beijing contributed to this story.