China’s ‘Two Sessions’ 2025: Signals to Watch

Are China’s annual ‘Two Sessions’ (known in Chinese as ‘lianghui’) in early March the world’s largest political meetings you didn’t hear about?  We’re back again for a discussion of these critical political meetings in 2025, hosting our returning contributor Associate Professor Jason Young, Director of the Contemporary China Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, talking with our Council’s Executive Director Alistair Crozier

(For those new to the ‘lianghui’ you can also check out our previous video explainer on our ‘INSIGHT’ page for a quick introduction.)

As Beijing outlines its priorities for socio-economic growth, innovation, green development, foreign policy and much more, these meetings hold important clues for New Zealand’s relationship with our largest trading partner.

Timestamps

00:26	“Two Sessions 101” – what are these meetings with 5000 delegates?
04:31	Leadership continuity at the top in 2025 (personnel appointments)
05:40	Bird’s eye view of Beijing’s policy responses to internal and external challenges
11:40	5% GDP growth target – what does it mean for New Zealand?
14:30	Domestic consumption – are the signalled measures likely to work?
18:25	Back in the good books for the private sector?
23:00	Setting up for the future – signals on tech and innovation
28:06	Climate change response for 2025 and beyond
31:30	China’s foreign policy outlook – what the Foreign Minister said
36:22	The most surprising news from the “Two Sessions 2025”