Beijing's heart, as in every cold March, has been fortified for its annual major political event. Around Tiananmen Square, a large security operation has been deployed, with military posts and police checkpoints at many intersections of the capital's first and second ring roads. China, paying close attention to all global shifts caused by the Trump earthquake, is engrossed this week in the most important political meeting of the year where the leaders of the Asian giant will present the most prominent policies for 2025.
This Tuesday, the imposing Great Hall of the People is opening its doors for the opening of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the main advisory body, composed of prominent local officials, major business figures, intellectuals, scientists, actors, or athletes. It is a diverse group of 2,000 delegates who have a significant influence on the decisions of political leaders, who will face representatives from all regions of the country on Wednesday at the start of the National People's Congress (NPC).
The period that encompasses both parliamentary meetings, lasting approximately a week, is known as the "two sessions" (or lianghui). In the Chinese legislature, many of the 3,000 deputies participating, including farmers and workers, have been elected by local assemblies to represent their communities.
But the democratic process stalls at the highest levels: the ultimate task of these representatives, in addition to presenting proposals, is to validate the economic, military, commercial, or environmental plans predetermined by the 364 members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee, led by the 24 members of the Politburo, the top governing body, which in turn is controlled by the Standing Committee, composed of only seven leaders, including President Xi Jinping.
This is the structure of the political conclave of the world's second-largest power. Internally, attention is focused on economic goals, fiscal stimuli to revive the ailing economy, and technological advancements. Beyond internal issues, the spotlight is on any statements or proposals coming from Beijing regarding the reshaping of global geopolitics with the rapprochement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the clash between the Republican and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, and Europe's uncertain role in current power games.
In this scenario, Xi Jinping, as the leader of the world's second-largest economy, has not hidden China's ambitions to lead a new order alternative to the one led by the US for the past 50 years. Xi has long been promoting among his allies a foreign policy program, the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which presents Beijing as the only stabilizing power capable of filling the void left by Washington's diplomatic failures.
This governance plan, according to sources from the Asian giant, is now gaining more strength than ever as Trump, while turning towards Russia, sows divisions everywhere, breaks with international institutions and some of his supposed allies, while indiscriminately brandishing tariffs as a protectionist weapon.
"Amid the intensification of global geopolitical turmoil, China's two sessions will bring stability and governance wisdom to the world," read Monday's editorial in the Chinese state newspaper Global Times. Chinese media increasingly highlight the opportunities for Xi's regime to continue expanding its influence and strengthening diplomatic ties worldwide. The more Trump isolates himself, the more leeway Beijing's soft power will have to gain weight. "Faced with Trump's isolationist suicide, China has a great opportunity," said Hu Xijin, former editor of the Global Times and one of the most influential opinion leaders in the Asian country, in a video on social media.
One of the most anticipated points of the political meeting in Beijing will be the increase in military spending that will likely be announced on Wednesday by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is responsible for reading the Government's "work report" during the NPC opening. In recent months, the Chinese military has flexed its muscles by intensifying patrols near Taiwan and in the more distant waters of the Pacific. It is also conducting many more joint maneuvers with the Russian Navy, strengthening the "unlimited partnership" that Xi and Putin signed just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Regarding the close relationship between Beijing and Moscow, Chinese spokespersons have emphasized in recent days, following continuous reports from the US press, that Washington's efforts to reconcile with Moscow are also part of a strategy to distance Putin from Xi. An idea that the Asian giant finds absurd because both authoritarian leaders have a very strong personal bond, share ideological hostility towards the West, are aligned on many issues, and China is Russia's main trading partner, which it has supported even more after international sanctions.
"US attempts to sow discord between China and Russia are doomed to fail," a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry asserts. Last week, coinciding with the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Xi spoke with Putin for the first time after the radical shift in US foreign policy towards Moscow. "History and reality show that China and Russia are inseparable good neighbors and true friends who share the good and the bad," said Xi, making it clear that Russia would remain a key partner for the Asian superpower.