Significance Of China’s Two Sessions

Yuba Nath Lamsal Mark Twain has said ‘history does not repeat itself but it often rhymes’. In the history of human civilisation, events have often reoccurred but not in exactly similar fashion. In the international order and geopolitics, history has, so far, not repeated but rhymed. The wheel of history continues to roll with triumphs and tumults. In the course of time since human civilization began, several empires rose and fell. The structure of global order, too, has continued to change and taken different shapes. The unipolar world order that came into being after the collapse of the Soviet Union has now crumbled. The bipolar world order is brewing with China rising almost neck and neck with the United States as a super power. According to Lowy Institute’s Global Diplomacy Index 2024, while United States has ‘edge over China in Americas, Europe and South Asia, China is ahead in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific’. Both these powers are in the race of enlarging their influence and domination in the world and are almost at par. Geopolitical phenomenon China’s rise as a superpower is the most significant geopolitical phenomenon of the 21st century, which has been viewed by the world with interest and concerns. The United States and its allies are concerned more and have taken it as their principal threat while the rest of the world is watching Chinese phenomenon with intense curiosity. The western concern is understandable as China’s rise is likely to end the western hegemony in the international power structure. But the global south appears to be more buoyant as China’s rise provides a new alternative and opportunity for the rest of the world. Deng Xiaoping said ‘reform is China’s second revolution. The establishment of People’s Republic of China in 1949 was the first revolution that marked China’s politic rise. The reforms initiated in 1976 marked the beginning of China’s economic rise. China has already emerged as world’s second largest economy in GDP per capita term and is poised to take the first place displacing the United States in near future, while China has already been number one in purchasing power parity or PPP term. With the rise in economy and wealth, ambition of a country naturally goes up. This is common phenomenon for all powers which can be applied to China as well. With economic rise, China’s military, technological, strategic and geopolitical strength and leverages are also shoring up rapidly, to the indignation for the existing super power United States and its allies. As the world is watching China with both concerns and interests, China’s Two Sessions or Lianghui are taking place in Beijing. The Two Sessions is the annual conference of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). The NPC is China’s supreme legislative body or parliament while the CPPCC is an apex political consultative council of the Communist Party of China having more advisory, supervisory and coordinating role. This is annual conference charts out the future course of China for the year and thus the Two Sessions are significant political events. Thus, the world is watching the Two Sessions and their decisions more curiously. In the Two Sessions that have already kicked off, Chinese leaders and officials are expected to take stock of the events and developments taken place within China and also in the world over the last one year. This is the first year for Premier Li Qiang and the Two Sessions will endorse his report and adopt necessary policies and plans of actions for the year 2024. Similarly, President Xi Jinping’s speech provides guidelines for the government and China to be taken into action this year. In other words, the Two Session will reflect what China thinks about the turns of events both at home and also in the world and what China seeks to achieve in 2024. Napoleon Bonaparte is believed to have said ‘China is a sleeping giant, once it wakes, it shakes the world’. China is no doubt a global giant but it is not sleeping giant but an agile dragon. China’s rise has already shaken the world. Given this scenario, there are expectations, anxieties and concerns about what China will do in the Two Sessions as the fate and future of the world is closely linked with China’s course of actions. The western world is sceptic about China’s rise while the global south has high expectations from China and seeks Beijing to play more constructive role in addressing multiple challenges facing the humanity ranging from economic downturns, climate crisis and global disorder. The despondency of the western world can be understood as China’s rise poses a threat to America-led global hegemony. It is this reason why the western world is trying to check China’s rise and weaken it portraying Beijing in a bad light. Peaceful rise However, China has time and again said that its rise is peaceful and its rise poses threat to none. China has announced its varieties of schemes including Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), which it says, seeks to connect the world and share benefits with the global community. Chinese President Xi Jinping often says China seeks to create an atmosphere wherein all countries can share for common prosperity, for which BRI is an opportunity. So far as Nepal is concerned, China is our neighbour with which we share border. China’s rise and its prosperity is an opportunity for Nepal. Nepal can take benefit from China’s development and prosperity as China has a great sympathy towards Nepal and Nepali people. But Nepal has not taken due advantage from China’s goodwill and willingness to contribute to Nepal’s development and prosperity. As Nepal is struggling for its development, it seeks support from all countries as we have ‘amity with all and enmity to none’. (The author is former ambassador and former chief editor of this daily. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)